Pre-mill? Post-mill? Or A-mill? The subject of the millennium, often portrayed as a period of unprecedented peace, ironically has been a theological battlefield for millennia. Missions agencies have refused missionaries, churches have rejected pastors, and seminaries have dismissed professors for lacking proper . . . Continue reading →
New Bavinck Institute Website
Thanks to Laurence O’Donnell (Calvin Seminary PhD student in systematics) for the heads up regarding the new Bavinck Institute website. They are featuring Ron Gleason’s to-be-released bio of Bavinck himself and an online journal, The Bavinck Review. Well done!
Second and Third Thoughts on Edwards
Few figures are as electrifying and divisive in the study of American religious history as Jonathan Edwards. To many he is and can be only St Jonathan, the paradigm of theology, piety, and practice. To others the story is more complicated. It . . . Continue reading →
Office Hours Talks to Dennis Johnson
Office Hours this month talks with Dr Dennis Johnson, Professor of Practical Theology at Westminster Seminary California. Dennis is one of the original faculty members at WSC and has taught New Testament as well Practical Theology and served as Academic Dean for . . . Continue reading →
Putting Existential Union with Christ into Perspective
Darryl does it nicely. John Owen is very helpful here in his Greater Catechism (1645) where he makes (existential) union with Christ one of the benefits of faith.
Traditionalists and Willow Creekers: Really the Same Thing
Zrim gets it. The regulative principle (=the second commandment + sola scriptura) is neither “progressive” nor “conservative” but radical.
Paul Helm on Owen Contra Biblicism
Good stuff here—as expected.
Using the Common to Advance the Sacred or Using the Sacred to Advance the Common?
One need not be a Christian to observe truths about the way organizations work. Those true observations are what I mean by “common” (not neutral). They are true because they are observations about the nature of God’s general process, even if they . . . Continue reading →
On Middle Knowledge: Classic Reformed Definitions of the Key Terms
Here are definitions of the basic terms of the discussion. The definitions are drawn from Richard A. Muller, Dictionary of Latin and Greek Theological Terms Drawn Principally from Protestant Scholastic Theology (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1985). The English term “middle knowledge” is a . . . Continue reading →
Thoughts on the PCA’s Proposed Strategic Plan
Martin Hedman is a graduate of Westminster Seminary California and he’s a PCA church planter in the LA metro. He’s also had significant training as an “industrial engineer.” These, he says, are the “efficiency experts.” As a pastor, church planter, and a . . . Continue reading →
Headline: Jesus Fired For Hanging Out with Sinners
Mutatis mutandis you’ll see the point (HT: AR).
From Where Does My Help Come?
Every Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday, the community at Westminster Seminary California gathers for devotions, i.e., for singing God’s praises, reading God’s Word, and a brief (20 minute) exposition of God’s Word. We record the faculty chapel messages on Tuesdays and Thursdays and . . . Continue reading →
The Inspiration and Inerrancy of Scripture
The White Horse Inn is a great gift to the churches. If you’re not a regular listener, you’re missing out. The last two programs have demonstrated just why the WHI is so valuable. Mike, Kim, Rod, and Ken have been discussing the . . . Continue reading →
Church Bells and Bible Studies (UPDATED)
Update 26 April 2010 A federal court has ruled that the city ordinance restricting church bells is an unconstitutional abridgment of religious speech. Now that the principle is established, perhaps the congregation will accommodate itself to its neighbors and moderate the number . . . Continue reading →
Podcast
Audio From The Inaugural Lecture
The lecture title is: “‘That We Should Retain the Distinction between Law and Gospel’: Hermeneutical Conservatism in Early Reformed Orthodoxy.” The audio is here.
New iTunes Feed for the Heidelcast
Thanks to Timothy Hopper for showing me how to change the iTunes feed for the Heidelcast. You can find it here. Now, when you look at the Heidelcast in iTunes it will show you the last 10 episodes. If you’re already subscribed . . . Continue reading →
Calvin's Plan for Recovering Psalmody in Our Time
Wes describes the discovery of a very interesting Genevan practice that we might well adopt.
Hart Brings Machen to the Mainline in Omaha (Link Corrected)
It’s been long enough since the fundamentalist-modernist controversy that much of evangelicalism has coalesced or become indistinguishable from the old liberalism. The old lines between “liberals” and “conservatives” are fuzzy. Many in the mainline are unaware of the sideline or of the . . . Continue reading →
Online: "The New Perspective on Calvin"
This is a thoughtful and thought-provoking piece of research by the Rev Tom Wenger (MA, Historical Theology), a graduate of Westminster Seminary California on the way Calvin is being presented in some contemporary Calvin scholarship. This piece grew out of his 2003 . . . Continue reading →
N. T. Wright to Speak at Redeemer NYC (Updated)
UPDATE A PCA Ruling Elder in NYC reviews Wright’s appearance and raises some of the same concerns that I raised about the wisdom of Redeemer inviting NTW to speak at Redeemer NYC. Original Post 25 Mar 2010 He’s appearing under the auspices . . . Continue reading →