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.
The Standing Judicial Commission of the Presbyterian Church in America ruled that the Missouri Presbytery erred when it failed to find a strong presumption of guilt that [Teaching Elder] Jeffrey Meyers holds views contrary to the Westminster Standards (BCO 34-5) when it . . . Continue reading →
It is not because we have renounced any article of the catholic faith. We are not heretics. We cordially receive all the doctrines contained in that Symbol which is known as the Apostles’ Creed. We regard all doctrinal decisions of the first six ecumenical councils to be consistent with the Word of God, and because of that consistency, we receive them as expressing our faith. We therefore believe the doctrine of the Trinity and of the person of Christ as those doctrines are expressed in the symbols adopted by the Council of Nicea AD321, that of the Council of Constantinople AD381 and more fully that of the Council of Chalcedon AD451. Continue reading →
some of the most acute and chronic relational hurts Christians experience is within the believing community. Continue reading →
Part 2 The next point of contention is over the doctrine of original sin, i.e., the teaching that “in Adam’s fall sinned we all.” The issue is not whether we sinned in Adam but whether, as Perkins put it, “after baptism…how far . . . Continue reading →
Cheesy yes, but you won’t forget it will you? The HB is self-hosted but you can help the HB defray the cost of renting space on the computer and of bandwidth (the cost of accessing a web page). There are no ads on . . . Continue reading →
Dennis Johnson picks up where Steve Baugh left off in our discussion of the book of Hebrews. This episode features Dr. Dennis Johnson, Professor of Practical Theology, who begins where Steve Baugh and I left off. Dennis is Professor of Practical Theology . . . Continue reading →
Join Bob Godfrey and me for the Central Valley Conference on Reformed Theology, November 2-3, at Zion URC in Ripon, California. Things kick off Friday evening at 7:30PM. Bob Godfrey will answer the question: Is the Reformation Over? He says “Yes!” On . . . Continue reading →
“‘Come to me a you who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest’ or ‘I will be your rest.’ How good are we at pleading with people? Do people get the impression from us not only that there is a feast but that God wants them there and that you want them there?” Continue reading →
In 2013 the Heidelberg Catechism will be 450 years old. To mark this event Karla Apperloo-Boersma and Herman Selderhuis have edited a new volume (hardcover, 440 pages) on the catechism. According to Amazon it’s $56.00 (HT: Michael A. G. Haykin). Thus begins the . . . Continue reading →
The main concern is that TGC comprises folk who do not confess the same understanding of the church and sacraments. Continue reading →
Part 1 In his treatise defending the Reformation understanding of Scripture against resurgent Romanism Perkins counted 22 issues between Protestants (his term) and Rome: 1 Of Free-will. 2 Of Original sin. 3 Assurance of salvation. 4 Justification of a sinner. 5 Of . . . Continue reading →
Just finished recording another session with Steve Baugh on Hebrews. This episode covered Hebrews 7:18–28. This is the fourth season and we’re approaching our 100th episode. In that time we’ve discussed many things, including a lot of Scripture, but this is the . . . Continue reading →
USA Today has a story on recent Pew Forum survey that shows that 48% of Americans are “Protestant,” 22% Roman, and 20% are slotted under “none,” and 6% under “other” (the greater share of which one guesses is Islam, which is gaining . . . Continue reading →
John Preston (1587–1628) was a Reformed English theologian and preacher. He was dean of Queens College, Cambridge, master of Emmanuel College, Cambridge, regular preacher at Lincoln’s Inn, and chaplain to the King. His Wikipedia entry seems accurate enough. James T. O’Brien has . . . Continue reading →
Michael Kearney writes: “The vivid image of howling, prowling dogs, occurring not once but twice in Psalm 59, is completely omitted from the text, as are the references to the “swords in their lips” (v. 7) and “the sin of their mouths” (v. 12).” Continue reading →
Part 4. In part 4 we saw that William Perkins taught that believers are given new life by the Spirit and by the same Spirit given faith and through that faith united to Christ. It is particularly useful to be aware of . . . Continue reading →
James Oord summarizes a provocative passage from Eugene Peterson about worship: Peterson points out that experience-driven worship was the hallmark of Baalism, the religion of the Canaanites in the Old Testament era. Their entire worship structure was focused on catering to emotions. . . . Continue reading →
It’s easy to subscribe to the HB. Click on the RSS image to the left or the one on the right. You can read the HB in your RSS reader via your web browser (or if you use a Mac you can . . . Continue reading →
The theme for Season 4 of Office Hours is “Hebrews: Jesus is Really Better.” Steve is Professor of NT at Westminster Seminary California. He teaches our course on Hebrews and has been studying it for about 30 years. You can hear episode . . . Continue reading →
I admit it. I’m a huge fan of the Chicago Manual of Style. I started paying attention with CMS 14 and have bought successive editions through CMS 16. In my field most things need to conform to CMS 15 or 16. So, . . . Continue reading →