Peale distilled the optimism and self-sufficiency of the American character into a simple creed. The first article of his faith was a warm patriotism. He called the U.S. “the greatest country in the world” and addressed his writing to “everyday people of . . . Continue reading →
Voetius Contra Middle Knowledge
From the points which have been so far upheld against middle knowledge it is clear that the whole difficulty in the present controversy reduces to this one point: Could free conditioned things, from eternity indifferent by nature to futurition or nonfuturition, have . . . Continue reading →
Turretin Contra Middle Knowledge
I. Although the knowledge of God is one and simple intrinsically no less than his essence, yet it can be considered in different ways extrinsically as to the objects. But it is commonly distinguished by theologians into the knowledge of simple intelligence . . . Continue reading →
Confessions Of A Former Charismatic
Dr. Clark, A few weeks ago you posted a warning against the desire for ongoing prophecy. [See also this—Ed.] In it you told a story of what happens when people look to words from God beyond Scripture. I wanted to stand as . . . Continue reading →
Heidelcast 112: I Will Be A God To You And To Your Children (8)
This is episode 8 of our series: I will be a God to You and to Your Children. Last time we looked at circumcision, about which we saw that, just as with the bloodshed of the sacrifice of pigeons, bulls, goats, and . . . Continue reading →
With Theocast On Spiritual Disciplines
It is widely held among evangelicals (of various stripes) that the private reading of Scripture and prayer (“the quiet time” or devotions), Bible memorization, and meditation is the very essence of Christian spirituality and piety. The emphasis is on activity (one prominent . . . Continue reading →
When The Room Is The Elephant
How can the church assert the truth of the gospel—an exclusive truth which makes demands in the present because of promises which will be fulfilled only in the future—in a world predicated on consumer options, entertainment, and instant gratification? Just a brief . . . Continue reading →
Berkhof Contra Kenosis
The Kenotic Theories. A remarkable attempt was made in the so-called Kenosis doctrine to improve on theological construction of the doctrine of the Person of Christ. The term Kenosis is derived from Philippians 2:7, which says that Christ “emptied Himself, taking the . . . Continue reading →
The Muslim Brotherhood In America (Ikhwan): A Present Threat To Religious Liberty
Office Hours: German Influences On Charles Hodge’s Theology
Princeton Theological Seminary was founded in 1812 in order to train men for pastoral ministry in the Presbyterian Church. Within a century of her founding, however, those features that had helped to make old Princeton a bulwark of Reformed orthodoxy had been . . . Continue reading →
All Welcome. No Exceptions.
Yesterday we were motoring through Poway, a leafy suburb of San Diego, and we drove past a large Episcopal church with a large, temporary banner proclaiming, “All Welcome. No Exceptions.” That message was striking as it was brief. It struck me as . . . Continue reading →
Vos Contra Kenosis
b)…On the contrary, however, modern kenosis doctrine, itself pantheistic in origin, has explained the incarnation itself as a extinction or emptying of deity. —Geerhardus Vos, Reformed Dogmatics, ed. Richard B. Gaffin, trans. Annemie Godbehere et al., vol. 3 (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, . . . Continue reading →
The Zeitgeist
They’ll tell you it’s wrong in private, but in public they felt they had to go along…. —Bill Kristol
Machen Contra Kenosis
Finally, there is no trace in Paul of any doctrine of “kenosis,” by which the higher nature of Christ might have been regarded as so relinquished while He was on earth that the words and deeds of the historic person would become . . . Continue reading →
A Brief History Of The Kenosis Theory
KENOTICISM, from the Gk. kenōsis, meaning (self-) ‘emptying’ (used in Phil. 2:6–7), refers to a number of related Christological theories concerning the status of the divine in the incarnate Christ. While the term is found in a number of patristic writers and . . . Continue reading →
The Power And Influence Of The Evangelical Top Men
The economy of evangelical power is complicated but I want to highlight just two aspects today, aspects which have been critical in the recent discussion and which have a profound doctrinal significance. First, there is the fact that the same narrow gene . . . Continue reading →
On Self-Defense
A correspondent asked the other day for a brief account of the biblical doctrine of self-defense. Let us establish some fundamental truths. First, God is sovereign over all things. He is Creator and Redeemer but he administers creation under the sphere of . . . Continue reading →
Gregory I (c.540–604 AD) Epistles 5.18 To The Bishop Of Constantinople
Gregory to John, Bishop of Constantinople. At the time when your Fraternity was advanced to Sacerdotal dignity, you remember what peace and concord of the churches you found. But, with what daring or with what swelling of pride I know not, you . . . Continue reading →
Strangers And Aliens (22a): Serving The Chief Shepherd (1 Peter 5:1–5)
One of the most remarkable aspects of the Roman claims about an alleged Petrine papacy, apart from the utter lack of historical evidence for any such thing, is that Peter did use two different nouns to characterize his offices and ministry, apostle (ἀπόστολος) and presbyter (πρεσβύτερος). As a matter of fact, the papacy per se did not really come to exist until well the 4th century and even then its occasional claims to authority were rebuffed. As late as the 7th century Gregory I (c. 540–604), who was arguably the first Roman bishop to begin to exercise anything like the authority attributed to later popes, rejected the idea of a universal episcopal see. Continue reading →
Gregory I Against An Earthly Universal Bishop
Consider, I pray thee, that in this rash presumption the peace of the whole Church is disturbed, and that it is in contradiction to the grace that is poured out on all in common; in which grace doubtless thou thyself wilt have . . . Continue reading →