POPLL: An Alternative To Christian Nationalism (And Theonomy, Christian Reconstruction, Theocracy, And Christendom) (Pt 1)

As part of an essay on the attempt by the U. S. Postal Service to compel a man to violate his religious convictions by forcing him to work on the Christian Sabbath, I offered an alternative to a variety of popular but . . . Continue reading →

Circumcision And Baptism

In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith . . . Continue reading →

Review: Concise Systematic Theology: An Introduction To Christian Belief. A Revised and Enhanced Edition of Salvation Belongs To The Lord By John M. Frame (Part 3)

There are other, perhaps related questions that arise under this heading. For example, is the logical order of the application of redemption by the Holy Spirit (the ordo salutis) merely a “pedagogical device”? (229) Such a conclusion would surprise all the Protestant . . . Continue reading →

The Covenant Before The Covenants

Those not well read in sixteenth- and seventeenth-century Reformed theology might be forgiven their ignorance of the covenant of redemption or for concluding that it is an arcane doctrine long abandoned. Continue reading →

Sacramentos divinamente instituídos

Às vezes, os defensores do catolicismo romano, inquiridores e até mesmo docentes nas catedrais britânicas e europeias deixam a impressão de que a Reforma se infiltrou na igreja e roubou cinco sacramentos antigos quando ninguém estava vendo. Isso é completamente falso. Não . . . Continue reading →

Sempre abusando de semper reformanda

As igrejas reformadas têm alguns slogans maravilhosos que são repletos de verdades importantes. Às vezes, no entanto, esses slogans podem ser mal interpretados, mal comunicados e mal compreendidos. Com a possível exceção de Sola Scriptura (a Escritura somente), nenhum desses slogans foi mais frequentemente deturpado com maior prejuízo do que ecclesia . . . Continue reading →

Review: Concise Systematic Theology: An Introduction To Christian Belief. A Revised and Enhanced Edition of Salvation Belongs To The Lord By John M. Frame (Part 2)

We have considered his method, but what about Frame’s theological conclusions? Where the classic Reformed theologians typically defined theology as something that exists in God and which is accommodated to us creatures and revealed in analogues to us, for Frame, theology is . . . Continue reading →

Os Cânones de Dordt

Todo mundo conhece o acróstico TULIP, mas nem todos sabem de onde vem essa sigla. Os Cânones de Dordt estão entre os mais famosos, mas não lidos, veredito de qualquer Sínodo Reformado. Os cânones são mais de cinco letras. Os cânones ensinam . . . Continue reading →

Review: Concise Systematic Theology: An Introduction To Christian Belief. A Revised and Enhanced Edition of Salvation Belongs To The Lord By John M. Frame (Part 1)

This volume was originally published under another title in 2006. It began as a series of lectures given in 2004, and it carries a number of strong endorsements from Reformed and evangelical luminaries, not the least of which is the foreword by . . . Continue reading →

Ping-Pong Evangelicals And Middle Knowledge

Paul Helm blogs monthly and substantively. A certain entry concerns the question of God’s so-called “middle knowledge” (media scientia). He writes, I’ve heard it said that many Calvinist writers currently favor some form of the doctrine of middle knowledge. I’ve also heard . . . Continue reading →

As It Was In The Days Of Noah (31): 2 Peter 1:16–21 (Part 2)

In considering the origins of idolatry, Calvin considers some theories by some pagan writers (profanos scriptores—unhappily translated in the Battles edition as “secular writers”) and the pervasiveness of idolatry even among the covenant people under the types and shadows and he concludes, “hence we may gather that human nature is a perpetual workshop of idols.” Continue reading →