Now after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. And behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and . . . Continue reading →
Author: R. Scott Clark
R.Scott Clark is the President of the Heidelberg Reformation Association, the author and editor of, and contributor to several books and the author of many articles. He is professor emeritus of church history and historical theology at Westminster Seminary California, where he taught for 29 years. He also taught at Wheaton College, Reformed Theological Seminary, and Concordia University. He has hosted the Heidelblog since 2007 and the Heidelcast since 2009.
Saturday and the Silence of the Lamb
During this season, which many Christians call “Holy Week,” I am perversely drawn to Saturday. Perhaps it is because the Saturday between “Good” Friday and Resurrection Day is, for others a sort of relief. For them it is a day off from the . . . Continue reading →
Online Classes: Just Because They’re Hip and Convenient Doesn’t Mean They Educate
One of the primary purposes for the HB is to but there are limits to what can be done online. The limits of online education/distance ed is has been a frequent topic here and here on the HB. The maxim is this: . . . Continue reading →
Machen’s Testimony before the House and Senate Committees on the Proposed Department of Education (1926)
The following is a transcript of the proceedings of the Senate Committee on Education and Labor, and the House Committee on Education, February 25, 1926, Congress of the United States, Washington D.C. — The committee met, pursuant to adjournment, at 10 o’clock . . . Continue reading →
Available Now: A Faith Worth Teaching
New Resource on the Heidelberg Catechism
This is the 450th Anniversary of the Heidelberg Catechism (1563). The HB, of course, is devoted to explaining and applying the catechism and to pointing you to worthy resources to that end. This is one of them. Here’s my jacket blurb: As a . . . Continue reading →
Casino Conundrum and Creational Ethics
An HB Classic
California voters are being asked to vote on a ballot proposition that would allow larger casinos on the premise that it will generate more tax revenue. It’s being opposed by other gambling interests in and out of state. The folks who oppose . . . Continue reading →
Dislocation, Relocation, and Sympathy for the Israelites
When we read about Israelite unbelief prior to crossing the Red Sea we are tempted to think, “Tsk, tsk. Shame on them for their unbelief. Didn’t they know that the Lord would part the waters, lead them through on dry ground, and . . . Continue reading →
Just in Case You Know Someone Who Reads Danish
Just out: “Introduktion” in Heidelberg-katekismen af Zacharias Ursinus of Caspar Olevianus, ed. and trans. Silas Riisager Dahl (Denmark: Forlaget Latria, 2013). It’s available here. I’ll post the English version later.
The Gospel in Paradise
Last time we saw that there’s nothing new in “biblical theology.” The Christian church has been doing a form of what we “biblical theology” for a very long time. This is because the gospel may be considered as a topic or as . . . Continue reading →
All We Want
“Our problem is that most of us would like to remain the PCA, all we really want is an orthodox, Bible-believing, law and gospel preaching, Presbyterian church that is solidly committed to the doctrines taught in the Westminster Confession of Faith.” —Andy . . . Continue reading →
Wisdom for Pastors and Elders on How to Stay Out of Civil Court
There has been a difficult and painful case in an URC congregation in Iowa. Recently, things have become even more complicated due to new legal action by members against some of the officers in the church. Mikel at Presbyterian Blues has been . . . Continue reading →
Three Ways of Relating to American Religion
An HB Classic
Darryl Hart has weighed in at DRC regarding the controversy at WTS/P. He is responding to a couple of blogs and to a post by Carl Trueman to which I replied a month ago. Darryl has pointed out for a years now, . . . Continue reading →
Is the Reformed Faith Just an “Accent”?
HB reader Joseph Grigoletti pointed me to an interesting article on the website of the Christian Reformed Church in North America that seeks to explain to visitors what it means to be Reformed. The article says, in part: Reformed Christians are a . . . Continue reading →
Muller on Calvin’s Doctrine of Union with Christ Through Faith
“Calvin’s understanding of union with Christ, as accomplished by the work of the Spirit through faith, was foundational to his soteriological expression from the time of the second edition of his Institutes and the initial publication of his Romans commentary. Given, moreover, . . . Continue reading →
Office Hours—Sacred Bond: Covenant Theology Explored
Too often, the way covenant theology is presented, it seems too complicated to understand or explain to others. It doesn’t have to be that way and it isn’t in this interview with Zach Keele and Mike Brown, authors of a new introduction . . . Continue reading →
Do Confessional Protestants Have Anything At Stake in the Papacy?
“Be of good comfort, Master Ridley, and play the man. We shall this day light such a candle, by God’s grace, in England, as I trust shall never be put out.” These were among the last words of Hugh Latimer, as he . . . Continue reading →
10 Reasons Not to Pope
Shane is, as they say on sports-talk radio (at least in Omaha and Lincoln), “doing work” at the Reformed Reader.
Non Habemus Papam. Christus Solus Noster Mediator et Pontifex Maximus
Resurgent Catharism?
In the 2nd century, the Fathers faced one of the greatest threats ever to confront the Christian faith and church: Gnosticism. The gnostics taught a hierarchical scale of being in which salvation meant being delivered from our status as creatures. Salvation was . . . Continue reading →
The Myth of the Papacy
You know by now that Benedict XVI has abdicated the papacy and the college of Cardinals have been preparing to elect a new pope. on Tuesday they are set to begin the process of actually electing a new pope. Over the next . . . Continue reading →