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 has taught church history and historical theology since 1997 at Westminster Seminary California. He has also taught at Wheaton College, Reformed Theological Seminary, and Concordia University. He has hosted the Heidelblog since 2007.
One of the creepier aspects of both Romanist and Pentecostalist piety is their virtually indistinguishable credulity about alleged “miracles.” I use the pejorative adjective intentionally because, at bottom, despite the formal differences between them, both are peddling magic and superstition—and that is . . . Continue reading →
In this part of the series, we are considering the art of persuasion—that is, convincing our neighbors of views and policies that are for the improvement of the body politic. In order to persuade our neighbors, Christians need to make three distinctions: . . . Continue reading →
74. ¿Deben los niños también ser bautizados? “Sí, ya que pertenecen al Pacto y al pueblo de Dios, al igual que sus padres, y dado que la redención del pecado a través de la sangre de Cristo y el Espíritu Santo que . . . Continue reading →
The distinction between broad and narrow is very helpful here. Broadly considered, all of life may be said to be worship, but not narrowly considered. Continue reading →
Hay alrededor de 60 millones de evangélicos en Norteamérica. La mayoría de ellos asumen o mantienen una interpretación Bautista de la historia redentora, una hermenéutica Bautista (manera de leer las Escrituras), y por consiguiente, una posición Bautista de los sacramentos o signos . . . Continue reading →
Editor’s note: Since this essay was first published, the Crystal Cathedral really isn’t what it used to be. In 2019 it became Christ Cathedral, the seat of the bishop of Orange. § Christianity Today reports that the Crystal Cathedral is experiencing a . . . Continue reading →
On this date, on the old calendar, Augustine of Hippo was born. Hippo is not his last name. It is the city where he served as bishop. The name of the town is funny in English, but it makes sense in Greek. . . . Continue reading →
Who counts as a Puritan and what does that adjective mean? These are important questions that need to be investigated. Like the adjective evangelical it is widely used both in academic and popular literature but there is no consensus as to what it means or who belongs to that category. Continue reading →
The question not infrequently comes to me: “What about cremation?” This is an inherently difficult question because it touches a very personal and private decision: what to do with the remains of a loved one, or what should be done with one’s . . . Continue reading →
I can understand why evangelicals and others who do not have a covenantal theology would exile their children during public worship, but I do not understand why so many ostensibly Reformed congregations have adopted the practice of dismissing their covenant children from . . . Continue reading →
Who can join Christ’s church and under what conditions? This is a question that has sometimes roiled the church. In the modern period most churches, including confessional Presbyterian and Reformed (P&R) churches, have tended to take a rather different position than churches . . . Continue reading →
Trick or treat! Continue reading →
As an ex-pietist, one of the most vicious laws under which I was placed early on in my Christian life was the “quiet time.” I was taught to carry a “verse pack” and to keep a “quiet time” journal. The younger Christians . . . Continue reading →
There are five points to the citizenship program for which I have been arguing. The third point is persuasion. Last time we looked at some of the challenges we face in persuading our neighbors to support policies and politics that, “under the . . . Continue reading →
Lo que sigue es tomado de un ensayo más grande, “Una Defensa Contemporánea Reformada del Bautismo Infantil”: ¿Cuál es la conexión entre la Circuncisión y el Bautismo? La conexión entre el bautismo y la circuncisión es muy clara en Colosenses 2:11-12. La . . . Continue reading →
One of the earliest and most rhetorically powerful charges made by the proponents of the eighteenth-century (colonial) revivals was that their critics were either unregenerate or impious. Religious experience is usually defined by proponents of revival as being composed of certain religious . . . Continue reading →
The Heidelberg Catechism (1563) is naturally suited for devotional use. Its devotional qualities have been recognized almost from the instant it was first published. How many people who know virtually nothing else about the catechism know all or part of the first . . . Continue reading →
Not everything that Christians do belongs to the visible, institutional church. Christians are free to organize in a variety of ways to accomplish social ends but Christ, the Lord of the Church, has given the visible, institutional church a very specific mandate and becoming a political action committee is not part of the church’s portfolio. Continue reading →
One of the many criticisms John Frame makes of Recovering the Reformed Confession is that it advocates a closed, isolationist, elitist view of the Reformed faith in order to exclude others unnecessarily and wrongly.1 Jerry Owen, a commentator on Frame’s review, asks, . . . Continue reading →
The third and central act of active citizenship is persuasion, i.e., leading (inducing) our neighbors to agree with us about temporal life. Just as we organize for the well being of society, so also we seek, through convincing evidence, clear logic, and . . . Continue reading →