Critical race theory, like other critical theories—postcolonialism or queer theory, for example—is self-certifying. Its basic claims, for example, that racism is systemic or that being non-racist is impossible, are not conclusions drawn from arguments. They are axioms, and they cannot be challenged . . . Continue reading →
They Do Not Have God’s Word In Their Mouths
Christians should not think that the failed New Apostolic Reformation “prophets,” who falsely predicted the presidential race, are unique. They are not. Continue reading
Next To Be Banned?
There would be no end to what could be censored. Trans-sceptical feminists, already victims of Silicon Valley’s woke purges, would be completely wiped out on the basis that some idiot might interpret their intellectual, non-bigoted critiques of genderfluidity as an instruction to . . . Continue reading →
Time To Learn (Or Relearn) How To Communicate Without Big Social Media?
In the wake of the events in Washington, D. C. this week there seems to be a crackdown on social media. It appears that a significant number of users are being removed from Big Social Media platforms. Parler, reports that their app . . . Continue reading →
Ursinus: The Holy Spirit Uses The Word To Create Faith And The Sacraments To Confirm Faith
The Word is that through which the Holy Spirit commences and confirms faith in us, and for this reason, should go before the sacraments. The sacraments are means through which the Holy Spirit confirms faith already called into exercise, and for this . . . Continue reading →
Some Reasons Why Visitors Do Not Stay And What To Do About It
Presbyterian and Reformed congregations occupy an odd space in American Christianity. We do not really belong to American Christianity in significant ways. Our roots are not in the nineteenth-century revivals nor even in the eighteenth-century revivals. We are no part of the . . . Continue reading →
Heidelcast 169: As It Was In The Days Of Noah (15): Living Among The Pagans
The chapter divisions we see in our Bibles were not present originally. Stephen Langton (c. 1150–1228), a Paris theologian and, later, Archbishop of Canterbury, is usually credited with introducing the divisions that we know. This is one place where we see the . . . Continue reading →
A New Calvin Title In English: God Or Baal—Two Letters On The Reformation Of Worship And Pastoral Service
The French “Nicodemites” have long been an interest on the HB. I first wrote about them here in 2009, from which I borrow here to give some background by which to understand the value of a first-ever English translation of two early . . . Continue reading →
Americans Are Going Home. Maybe It Is Time To Think About About Planting Churches There Too?
Some dear friends left their life in the city and moved back home a few years ago. They live in his Mom and Dad’s place in the Sandhills of Nebraska. North Platte (pop. 23,000), a hour to the south, is the nearest . . . Continue reading →
A New Edition Of Two Important Treatises By Calvin (With A Video Series By Bob Godfrey)
To say that John Calvin (1536–64) was a prolific and important author is to say the obvious. What is remarkable, however, is how much of what he wrote remains not only useful for the church but even vitally important. Two of his . . . Continue reading →
Why “Settled Science” Is A Myth (And Why Just A Little History Shows That)
To see how science can change and evolve, look at theory of eugenics, which held sway over much of Western thought from the 1870s through the 1930s and beyond. Eugenics held that good or bad characteristics were passed on through heredity, and . . . Continue reading →
Office Hours: A Conference Preview—The Church In Exile
2 Kings 17:1–23 gives an overview as to why Israel and Judah were exiled. The very short story is that the Old Testament church turned their back on the God who had delivered them out of Egypt. Nevertheless, the same gracious and . . . Continue reading →
Are Confessions Themselves QIRC-Y?
A correspondent to the Heidelblog writes: …I have been living in the Heidelblog lately, and have been challenged to rethink so many previous convictions. Thank you for this resource! I especially have been edified by the QIRC/QIRE idea, but thinking through it . . . Continue reading →
Bringing In 2021 With the Presbycast
New Years Eve was noisy in Escondido but the fireworks really started when I joined Chortles Weakly (Brad Isbell) to help bring in 2021 with the Presbycast. We had fun with sound effects and general goofiness as our dogs both cowered (and . . . Continue reading →
A Little Wisdom Might Help Us Love Our Neighbor
Two Albuquerque, NM megachurches are being fined by the governor for disobeying regulations on gathering for worship. Both held Christmas Eve services with crowded auditoriums. In one video there are few masks evident. KOAT has the story. One congregation claims to have . . . Continue reading →
Top Ten Posts Of 2020: Happy New Year From the Heidelblog
Happy New Year from the Heidelblog. Whether we think about civil politics, Covid-19, or doings in the broader evangelical world, 2020 is not a year we will soon forget. This is the 13th year of the Heidelblog (including its progenitor) and the . . . Continue reading →
Crisp: Edwards Was A Panentheist
…Such a picture of God’s relation to the creation is undoubtedly striking, combining as it does aspects of classical theism, theological aesthetics, panentheism, and the doctrines of continuous creation and occasionalism (about which, more presently). Far from being the product of some . . . Continue reading →
More On Edwards, Affections, Romanticism, And Pantheism
If there is a prevailing commonplace about the Romantics it is to associate them with a close and tender regard for nature. And it is true that the relating of human being to being generally considered was so central in their minds, . . . Continue reading →
Criticizing Edwards On Religious Affections Does Not Lead To Dead Orthodoxy: There Is Another Way
In the wake of my latest essay, which cautions readers regarding Jonathan Edwards, has come questions about the role of affections and emotion in the Christian life. These questions signal how deep the Pietist tradition (see the resources below) runs in American . . . Continue reading →
Three Vital Questions For the PCA In 2021
There are three great questions to be faced by the PCA in 2021: Continue reading