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.
For a few months I have been thinking about a phrase I first encountered in 1995 when I was teaching an introductory course in theology at Wheaton. We were using Alister McGrath’s reader as the primary text for the class and he quoted Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906–45) as saying that, in Modernity, we must learn to live “etsi Deus non daretur” (as if God is not a given). Continue reading →
Even as we were recording this episode last night a new round of controversy (on social media) arose over the orthodoxy of the doctrine of the so-called “eternal subordination of the Son” or the “eternal functional subordination of the Son” AKA “eternal . . . Continue reading →
I am in the throes of trying to finish the third draft of the commentary on the Heidelberg Catechism (Guilt, Grace, and Gratitude), so I have not been listening to a lot of my podcasts. Mostly these days I hear myself say, . . . Continue reading →
The widespread use of woke, the past tense of wake, as an adjective is ungrammatical but there are other issues with the use of forms of wake. The conjugation of wake is: wake (present): It is time to wake up and smell . . . Continue reading →
It was good to talk with Nick, of the Guilt, Grace, Gratitude podcast about the Mosaic covenant generally and the question of the republication of the covenant of works specifically. This might seem like an impossible topic but it is not if . . . Continue reading →
Much of modern evangelical theology, piety, and practice, is not driven by Scripture as much as it is driven by history. Many evangelicals assume, as I once did, that the altar call is a biblical practice. They do not know, as I . . . Continue reading →
This morning I read an account of a NAPARC pastor who confessed to violating his vows, of abusing his congregation, of violating the sixth and ninth commandments. Continue reading
When I was preaching week by week to the same congregation, one of my fundamental convictions was that I needed to keep politics out of the pulpit. Perhaps I should express that more precisely: I needed to keep party politics out of . . . Continue reading →
…In replying to DeYoung, Kwon and Thompson could have replied in kind, foregrounding theological questions raised by DeYoung. Indeed, they could easily have made the case that on the merits of DeYoung’s own theology he should be far more concerned about justice . . . Continue reading →
The lede in the Lincoln Journal-Star says it all (and perhaps more than the writer intended): “A planned drag queen story hour started like a normal event for the Lincoln group, said organizer Waylon Werner-Bassen.” He was talking about a private event . . . Continue reading →
Everyone likes to be alone; no one likes to be lonely. Being alone is fine. We need time by ourselves. Being lonely is not fine. We are made to be social. Large portions of Americans are disconnected from normal connecting institutions. And . . . Continue reading →
…A new megachurch in Lynden was drawing out the boomers from classic Reformed churches by the thousands. This church purchased the local shopping mall and created the closest thing as they could achieve, in appearance and message, to Rick Warren’s Saddleback church, . . . Continue reading →
Theology, piety, and practice— regular Heidelblog readers and Heidelcast listeners will be familiar with that formula. In classic and confessional Reformed Christianity these three things have always been understood to be intimately, organically related to each other. Our piety flows from our . . . Continue reading →
Tending to the means of grace in public worship every Lord’s Day should be at the top of the list for anyone who wants to improve his personal and family piety. Further, people who are committed to spending more time in Bible . . . Continue reading →
This is Penn State sociology prof, Sam Richards teaching Sociology 119. It is fine for a prof to call out a student for being unprepared but it is fundamentally wrong and un-American to humiliate a student for an immutable characteristic. Continue reading →
In a stunning ruling yesterday in 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis, a divided panel of the Tenth Circuit held that Colorado’s Anti-Discrimination Act “permissibly compels” a graphic and website design company to offer wedding websites that “celebrate same-sex marriages” if it is . . . Continue reading →
Kate Shellnut posted a story yesterday at Christianity Today revealing that 39 elders from the former Mars Hill church, from which Mark Driscoll was removed because he abused the staff and members, have published a letter calling for him to resign from . . . Continue reading →
I have been warning students for some years about the impending collapse of Western civilization. It used to be a joke. Now, the warnings are rueful. Another evidence that the end is closer than it might seem is the apparent loss of . . . Continue reading →
Someone from my part of town just reported that her gray cockatiel, “Nube,” just out the door toward the local high school. Continue reading
I am in the throes of trying to make real progress on the commentary on the Heidelberg Catechism. Today, I hope to finish the section on Heidelberg Catechism 92. Continue reading