“If you believe as I do that ideas have consequences, what happens on American college campuses will eventually percolate its way down and through the culture as a whole. And if we lose free speech on college campuses, we will eventually lose . . . Continue reading →
Making A Murderer (Spoiler Alert)
Like a few million other people I recently watched the gripping Netflix documentary, Making A Murderer. Without giving away too much (in case you have not seen it), this documentary tells the story of a the criminal prosecution of a Manitowoc County . . . Continue reading →
Confessional Resources For 2016
Thanks to Reuben Settergren for setting up and maintaining these sites. The Daily Confession site takes you through the Westminster Shorter Catechism, the Children’s Catechism, The Heidelberg Catechism, The Westminster Confession, The Canons of Dort, and the Belgic Confession through the year. . . . Continue reading →
Should I Buy It? A Book Review
Frequently I receive the question in my inbox: “Should I buy this book?” What I would like to say is, “Yes, buy every book but don’t buy every book you buy.” I think it is a good idea to own and read . . . Continue reading →
Warfield: What the Perspicuity Of Scripture Does And Does Not Do
The third property of Scripture adduced, is its perspicuity (section 7): and here again the Confession is no less precise and guarded than clear and decided in its assertions. The perspicuity of Scripture is sharply affirmed, in the sense that the saving . . . Continue reading →
Does God Change?
Introduction In Reformed theology, the doctrine of God is at the headwaters. What we say about God touches every locus of theology. It shapes our theology, piety, and practice. When we say that humans are created in the image of God, we . . . Continue reading →
Strangers And Aliens (13a): Living Among The Pagans (1 Peter 3:1–6)
1Likewise, wives, be subject to your own husbands, so that even if some do not obey the word, they may be won without a word by the conduct of their wives, 2when they see your respectful and pure conduct. 3Do not let . . . Continue reading →
Who Are The True Catholics?
Introduction There are truly important works that have simply been forgotten or unjustly ignored. One of those is William Ames’ Fresh Suit Against Human Ceremonies in defense of the Reformed theology and practice of worship. Another is William Perkins’ 1597 treatise, A . . . Continue reading →
Witsius On What “I Will Be Your God” Means
That expression, to be God to any, in its full import, includes life eternal, For, when God becomes the sinner’s God, he then becomes to him what he is to himself. But, what is he to himself? Doubtless, the fountain of eternal . . . Continue reading →
Tocqueville On The Effects Of Socialism On Liberty
A third and final trait, one which, in my eyes, best describes socialists of all schools and shades, is a profound opposition to personal liberty and scorn for individual reason, a complete contempt for the individual. They unceasingly attempt to mutilate, to . . . Continue reading →
EchoZoe Interview On The Trinity
Each new year Andy Olson does an episode of EchoZoe on an essential Christian doctrine and the doctrine of the Trinity certainly fits. The Athanasian Creed begins with these words: “Whosoever will be saved: before all things it is necessary that he . . . Continue reading →
Preaching And Application
Application in preaching is a thorny issue. There is no real question among Reformed folk whether preachers should apply the text of Scripture to the congregation. Most Reformed preachers agree in substance with William Perkins on application. The basic principle in application . . . Continue reading →
She Identified With The Oppressor
In recent years Christian minorities in Syria, Iraq, Iran, and Pakistan have been driven from their homes and seen their businesses burned, young persons raped, and girls turned into sex slaves. Many have been shot and beheaded; some have even been crucified. . . . Continue reading →
Top HB Posts Of 2015
Thank you for reading the HB this year. You were one of over 200,000 people who read the Heidelblog in 2015. There were over 600,000 downloads. Like last year, most readers get here via Twitter, Facebook, The Aquila Report, Feedly, and Monergism.com. . . . Continue reading →
Three Things I Learned In 2015
For me it has been an odd year. I spent a good bit of it on the road between San Diego, where I live and work, and Nebraska, where family lives. That has produced a greater sense of dislocation than usual. Professionally, . . . Continue reading →
Calvin Against Continuing, Extra-Biblical Revelation
Furthermore, those who, having forsaken Scripture, imagine some way or other of reaching God, ought to be thought of as not so much gripped by error as carried away with frenzy. For of late, certain giddy men have arisen who, with great . . . Continue reading →
Office Hours: The Holy Spirit In The First Five Books Of Scripture
The Holy Spirit has sometimes been called the forgotten person of the Trinity. Yet he appears at the very beginning of the Biblical story. Genesis 1:2 says, “The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the . . . Continue reading →
Strangers And Aliens (12d): Servants Imitating The Suffering Savior (1 Peter 2:18–25)
His suffering was an example to us but it was more than that. It was substitutionary. Jesus suffered in the place of those whom he came to save. He paid the debt owed by all his people, a debt they owed but could never pay. Further, because, by grace alone, through faith alone, by the Holy Spirit, we are united to Christ in his death, we have been separated from from sin. Continue reading →
Trueman: Why Churches And Institutions Go Bad
In my experience, churches, institutions and organizations do not go bad because of coups by liberals. They go bad because otherwise orthodox people sit on their hands – hands of whose cleanness they are always so very proud, yet hands which are . . . Continue reading →
The Fluid Line Between Revivalism And The Cults In Nineteenth-Century American Religion
To most Millerites, Ellen’s visions were simply another manifestation of the unfortunate religious drift of the times toward “fanaticism.” Early 19th-century America abounded with”prophets” of every description, from little-known frontier seers in Ellen Harmon’s own Methodist Church to prominent sectarian leaders. Mother . . . Continue reading →