The Covid crisis has been one of the greater challenges faced by the church in the West in recent years. In the USA and elsewhere it has divided congregations and probed weaknesses in our theology, piety, and practice. It has raised questions . . . Continue reading →
It can be difficult to locate a confessional Reformed congregation in North America since, for most of the continent (outside of the Southeast USA, Grand Rapids, Philadelphia, and Ontario, Canada) they can be difficult to find. Someone has already made a Google . . . Continue reading →
…One of the most helpful things ever written on the question of faithfulness and effectiveness in preaching comes from the “Directory of Public Worship” published and authorized in 1645 by the Assembly of Divines at Westminster and subsequently adopted by the General . . . Continue reading →
“First, among the Gentiles at Antioch, he uses Christian liberty in eating things forbidden by the ceremonial law. Yet after the coming of certain Jews from Jerusalem, he separates himself from the Gentiles and plays the Jew among the Jews. Like to . . . Continue reading →
The name Clark Pinnock (1937–2010) does not appear in Collin Hansen’s Young, Restless, and Reformed (2008) but perhaps it should have? Continue reading
The e-book version of On Being Reformed, which is typically ridiculously expensive, is now discounted to $14.99. The code is STUDY21. Continue reading
IN WHAT DOES THE POWER OF THE KEYS OF THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN DIFFER FROM CIVIL POWER? The points of difference are many, and such as are apparent. 1. Ecclesiastical discipline is exercised by the church; civil power by the judge or . . . Continue reading →
“IN WHAT DOES THE CHURCH DIFFER FROM THE STATE? The chief differences between the church and the state are the following: 1. The state is a society which is bound by certain civil laws for the maintenance of external propriety and order, . . . Continue reading →
One of the goals of Office Hours is to let the listener know about the work of the faculty in the classroom and in the study. For more than a decade I have had the privilege of editing a series of English . . . Continue reading →
“[T]hat we must be reconciled to God, and justified by the remission of our sins, and imputation of righteousness, before any sincere obedience to the law; that we may be enabled for the practice of it. They account, that this doctrine tends . . . Continue reading →
31. Why is He called Christ, that is Anointed? Because He is ordained of God the Father and anointed with the Holy Spirit to be our chief Prophet and Teacher, who has fully revealed to us the secret counsel and will of . . . Continue reading →
The deformity of soul which came upon us in the loss of the image of God, wherein beauty and harmony of all our faculties, in all their actings in order unto their utmost end, did consist; that enmity unto God, even in . . . Continue reading →
The rainbow was popularized as an official symbol of the gay community in the early 1970s. Consider the two authoritative constructions of the rainbow from the LGBTQ community: 1. The first flag had eight colors, consider the number and meaning: 2. The . . . Continue reading →
He then runs to the way of works by the law, and tries what he can do for his own salvation by his reformation, his prayers, years, vows, penances, and the like. When the man has wearied himself in pursuit of salvation . . . Continue reading →
If you use the contact form or otherwise email me and I do not get back to you right away please be patient. This semester Thursday is my day for email. I have the inbox almost down to 3,300.
Introduction Christians regularly ask for book recommendations and of those, “which systematic theology should I read?” is among the more frequent. The assumption of the question, however, should be doubted: that the best place to begin to learn Christian theology is with . . . Continue reading →
when Rodrigo Borgia was 62, after 35 years as Cardinal and Vice Chancellor, his character, habits, principles or lack of them, uses of power, methods of enrichment, mistresses and seven children were well enough known to his colleagues in the College and . . . Continue reading →
One of the formative experiences of the earliest part of my Christian life was my exposure to Bill Gothard and the Institute of Basic Youth Conflicts. Each night for several nights we piled into the church bus (it was a Southern Baptist . . . Continue reading →
My husband and I co-founded a justice-oriented non-profit org 11 years ago. At the time, we knew nothing about Critical Social Justice or Critical Theory. Our motivation was to address disparities in mental health care. We’d learned that lay people (ppl without . . . Continue reading →
