“Of all things that human beings do,” Mortimer Adler once observed, “conversing with one another is the most characteristically human.” Unfortunately, in our day, we no longer have many opportunities for meaningful conversations. Virtual conversations abound—we watch talking heads on television or . . . Continue reading →
Heidelcast For July 2, 2023: Sin, Salvation, & Service: The Threefold Truth Of Romans (25)–Updated
In this episode Dr Clark picks up with Romans 7:4, where Paul is explaining our new relation, in Christ, to the covenant of works and then turns to the problem of the Christian’s experience in sanctification. For more on these see the . . . Continue reading →
Diary of a Traveling Pastor: London Calling
This summer, my consistory decided to send me to Europe in order to support our URC missionaries. What began as a short trip to Romania, turned into a four-country European tour. My first two stops: England and Scotland. This was my first . . . Continue reading →
How We Can Make Reformed Churches More Welcoming
Hospitality is vital to the life of the church. How we treat someone, whether they’re a visitor or longtime member, may affect their involvement within a church. It may also impact their decision to continue attending a church. Most of us have . . . Continue reading →
The Canons Of Dork #18 For July 1, 2023
Gomer reads the Book of Concord. Continue reading →
Irony and the Presbyterian Church in America (Part 1): The First General Assembly
Every re-telling may choose its focus, phrasing, and pace. Think of the following as a tour guide through a relatively short sliver of ecclesiastical history. Many of the same events, persons, emphases would come across differently depending on the tour guide who . . . Continue reading →
From Science To Sophistry
One way to observe the death of scientific rationality is to watch the triumph of sophistry over empirical science. We see this everywhere these days and a recent article in Scientific American is a particularly egregious example of outright sophistry. This article asserts that “human sex . . . Continue reading →
Heidelminicast: Machen On Christianity & Liberalism (43)
This is part 43 in our series from Machen’s Christianity and Liberalism. Continue reading →
How Bright Students And Professors Are Being Destroyed By “Anti-Racism”
On the sunny first day of seminar, I sat at the end of a pair of picnic tables with nervous, excited 17-year-olds. Twelve high-school students had been chosen by the Telluride Association through a rigorous application process—the acceptance rate is reportedly around . . . Continue reading →
Keep Yourselves in God’s Love––An Exposition of Jude’s Epistle (14): Doxology for the Downtrodden
Now, to the one who has the power to protect you from stumbling and to set you blameless in the presence of his glory with gladness, 25 to the only God, our Savior through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, power, . . . Continue reading →
Heidelminicast: Machen On Christianity & Liberalism (42)
This is part 42 in our series from Machen’s Christianity and Liberalism. Continue reading →
Beza: No Good Works Can Save You
Therefore, this is our thesis: No good works of the regenerate, even which are most excellent before others from themselves or in themselves, can endure the judgment of God, because they are imperfect, impure, and mixed with vice, and therefore they have . . . Continue reading →
Sub-Christian Nationalism? (Part 5)
One of the most important aspects in the debate over so-called Christian Nationalism is the nature of Christ’s Lordship and Kingdom. According to Augustine, there are two cities. According to Luther (and more than a few Reformed writers) there are two kingdoms. . . . Continue reading →
Heidelminicast: Machen On Christianity & Liberalism (41)
This is part 41 in our series from Machen’s Christianity and Liberalism. Continue reading →
Discovering The Reformed Confession (Part 5): Old, Rested, and Reformed
A question I have been asked many times over the past year is, “What was the moment the penny dropped for you regarding becoming confessionally Reformed?” Unfortunately, I am not sure I know the answer. Upon reflecting on my time in ministry . . . Continue reading →
Baptism of the Holy Spirit
The baptism of the Holy Spirit has been a subject of debate and much discussion among Christians over the years. What exactly does it mean to be baptized in the Spirit? Is it a distinct event that occurs after conversion, as some . . . Continue reading →
The Mystery of Sanctification
The intricacy of LEGO products has changed immensely since I was a child. I remember the basics of rectangle and square blocks, thin flat pieces that work as a ceiling or something, and the occasional exciting hinge piece to mount a door. . . . Continue reading →
Top Five Posts For the Week of June 19–25, 2023
These were the top five posts for the week beginning June 19–25, 2023. Continue reading →
The Temptation Of Cultural Christianity
It is a remarkable thing to see Baptists, Muscovite theonomists (aka Christian Nationalists), and Roman Catholics lamenting the death of cultural Christianity, but it is happening. I was reminded of these lamentations this week as I scrolled through my social media feed. . . . Continue reading →
Starkweather: Depravity, Dystopia, And The Death Penalty In The Heart Of America
On this date in 1959 the state of Nebraska executed the death sentence upon Charles Starkweather, an admitted, notorious spree killer and mass murderer. Certainly, when “Charlie” (as he was known) was captured after a shootout in Douglas, Wyoming there was little doubt and by the end of his trial it was certain that he had committed a shocking and brutal series of murders in and around what was then a sleepy college town and state capitol, Lincoln, Nebraska. The only real question that remained through the trial, which persists to this day, is whether Caril Ann Fugate, whose family Charlie murdered, accompanied him willingly during his spree, whether she cooperated in or even committed some of the murders, or whether she was a hostage (as she later claimed) and suffered from Stockholm Syndrome. Continue reading →