Until I read Transfiguration and Transformation by Hywel Jones, just out from the Banner of Truth, I did not realize that our English translations translate the same word as transfigure when applied to our Lord and as transform when it is applied to us. Hywel . . . Continue reading →
In our survey of the rule of faith we have reached the ninth article, “A Holy Catholic Church, the communion of the saints.” Over the years I have received several questions about this phrase, “holy catholic church.” When American Christians, particularly American . . . Continue reading →
During the darkest moments of our lives—when it feels we’re taking more delight in sinstead of Christ—where should we turn for the assurance of our salvation? All believers struggle with this at times. Even John Calvin said he could not “imagine any . . . Continue reading →
Jesus reclines at the feast of Levi, and he is surrounded by more tax-collectors and sinners. He is keeping company with some bad folk. To be labeled a sinner was not to be socially misunderstood; it wasn’t an unfair prejudice against those . . . Continue reading →
On October 28, 2021 The Pew Research Center published another of their fascinating and illuminating polls. This one surveyed the attitudes of Americans on the relations between church and state. For our international readers the USA has a written constitution (other nations . . . Continue reading →
…Yet I dissent from Chalk’s genealogy of modernity. He goes on to argue that this notion of the autonomous, emotivist self can be traced to Martin Luther. In part this is because Chalk depends upon Jacques Maritain’s Three Reformers: Luther, Descartes, Rousseau . . . Continue reading →
In this fifth session of Dr. Godfrey’s Sunday school class at the Escondido URC, he traces the long period of challenges to Christendom within Christendom, and the rise of the Enlightenment, which thought Christianity to be too focused on the world to come, . . . Continue reading →
The Supreme Court of the United States has just finished hearing arguments in Dobbs v Women’s Health. Continue reading
As society is presently ripped apart with divisions on every issue, the church is likewise bombarded with divisive people who are using the current cultural divide to mimic the culture and tear apart the body of Christ. Christians have to be acutely . . . Continue reading →
Caneday’s main argument is to undermine the law-gospel distinction. In his words, “This chapter disavows the notion that all of Scripture consists of two isolatable messages: law, consisting of God’s demands, and gospel, composed of God’s gracious giving. Instead, it argues that the formulation of covenant stipulations remain the same while the content of stipulations changes.” (pg. 103; italics original). Continue reading →
In a very short period of time, social media has become one of the dominant forces in our age. Who does not have a social media account of some kind? Your Grandmother knows how to use Facebook and teens use and switch social media platforms the way they choose fashions, rapidly. Every social media platform, however, is a trade-off. We use them to connect with friends and to communicate but the social media platforms are using us at the same time. They are ostensibly “free” but that is because we, the users, are the content. Continue reading →
Twitter’s new CEO has introduced new rules which would appear to create an opportunity to de-platform certain views out of favor with our BigSocMedia overlords. Continue reading
Incensed parents now make news almost daily, objecting to radical material taught in their children’s public schools. But little insight has been provided into the mindset and tactics of activist teachers themselves. That may now be changing, thanks to leaked audio from . . . Continue reading →
Though the mode of baptism is not the primary argument that moved me away it was the starting point that caused me to re-examine Reformed covenant theology as a whole and Jeremiah 31 in particular. Continue reading →
This is episode 17 in the series, What Must A Christian Believe? In our survey of the rule of faith, i.e., the Apostles’ Creed, we have reached the eighth article, “I believe in the Holy Spirit.” Before the outbreak of neo-Pentecostalism in . . . Continue reading →
A federal appeals court temporarily blocked a COVID-19 vaccine mandate for California prison workers on Friday. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals granted a request for a stay of a lower court order from September pending an appeal, delaying the January . . . Continue reading →
Just pause and think of what it meant for the Lord Jesus to obey for us, in our place. For thirty years he never once said or did anything wrong. More than that, at every single moment he positively said and did . . . Continue reading →
Becoming Self-Consciously Confessional When I was introduced to Reformed theology, piety, and practice I do not think that very many people were talking about being “confessional.” Indeed, the idea of creeds (e.g., the Apostles’ Creed, the Nicene Creed etc) confessions (e.g., the . . . Continue reading →
The Three Forms of Unity are now in Swahili. The third of the forms, the Canons of the Synod of Dort are now translated into Swahili. Continue reading →
In 1562, Jean Ribault, a naval officer under Admiral Gaspard de Coligny and a Huguenot, began a voyage to the land that is now southeastern United States. He established a colony on Parris Island, South Carolina called Charlesfort. The settlement failed in . . . Continue reading →