We speak often about the old and new covenants or Old and New Testaments but what are they and especially what is the Old Testament or the old covenant? What is the relationship between the Old and New Testaments and what is . . . Continue reading →
There is a Modernist creed. It is a short creed but it is highly influential and it is the default view of many Americans who think of themselves as Christians. That creed says 1) Humans are basically good and getting better; 2) . . . Continue reading →
Prolegomena To Christian Theology “XV. Therefore, their [Scripture] translation into the common language of every nation is necessary. XVI. No translation is authentic except in so far as it agrees with the Hebrew and Greek originals.” Johannes Wollebius | Compendium of Christian . . . Continue reading →
In an age when being nice is the highest virtue, publicly confronting error from a well-known Christian is perhaps the last taboo in contemporary evangelicalism. I am a pastor. I write things that a very small number of people here and there . . . Continue reading →
In his Histoire de la Sexualité, Michel Foucault argues that homosexuality is a social construct, and one constructed terribly recently at that. “As defined by the ancient civil or canonical codes,” he writes, “sodomy was a category of forbidden acts; their perpetrator . . . Continue reading →
Originally Published October 8, 2013. Updates below. The University of South Florida is at the center of another debate about religious freedom (HT: David Murray). This time it involves a planned event at which Dr. Rosaria Butterfield, a former Lesbian, is to . . . Continue reading →
These two sets of words present two different problems. The first, affect and effect, is that two words sound alike and are formally distinguished by vowels that can be easily confused for one another. Nevertheless, affect and effect do mean different things. . . . Continue reading →
Mark well how many parsonages or vicarages are there in the realm, which at the least have a plow-land a-piece. Then note the lands of bishops, abbots, priors, nuns, knights of St John’s, cathedral churches, colleges, chauntries, and free-chapels. For though the . . . Continue reading →
If you’ve been thinking about ordering CJPM but have been waiting, the window of opportunity to get your copy is closing. The WSC Bookstore is out and they were told by P&R that the book is out of print. Amazon still has . . . Continue reading →
Constantine lived his entire life within the imperial court, which he saw as the central institution of Roman life. He believed that the emperor’s job was to defend the empire from external foes while creating a more just and ordered society for . . . Continue reading →
IX. Moreover, I do not only acknowledge, that private masses were never used amongst the fathers of the primitive church, I mean, public ministration and receiving of the sacrament by the priest alone, without a just number of communicants, according to Christ’s . . . Continue reading →
The doctrine of sanctification is a hot topic right now in evangelical and Reformed circles but the church had a doctrine (or doctrines) of sanctification for centuries before the current discussion. Indeed, one way to understand the Reformation is as a response . . . Continue reading →
Denial is the refusal to believe what our senses are telling us, of seeking an alternate explanation. Thomas wanted didn’t trust his eyes. One of the earliest heresies faced by the apostolic church was the claim that Jesus humanity was only apparent . . . Continue reading →
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A pastor writing a Q&A column in a small Canadian religious newspaper answered a question about republication recently by writing “as a general rule, Reformed Christians agree that the Covenant of Works was established at the start with Adam, and with all . . . Continue reading →
THE SECTS. We therefore condemn all who deny a real resurrection of the flesh (II Tim. 2:18), or who with John of Jerusalem, against whom Jerome wrote, do not have a correct view of the glorification of bodies. We also condemn those . . . Continue reading →
CHAPTER I Of The Holy Scripture Being The True Word of God CANONICAL SCRIPTURE. We believe and confess the canonical Scriptures of the holy prophets and apostles of both Testaments to be the true Word of God, and to have sufficient authority . . . Continue reading →
Recently I’ve been stressing to my students the importance of believing their senses. Maybe it’s because each autumn I re-read the Apostolic Fathers (and other patristic writers) and walk the students through the threats posed by Basilides, Valentinus, and Marcion (pre-Gnostic, Gnostic, . . . Continue reading →
A faithful HB reader wrote to ask about a good problem. His confessional Reformed congregation is growing. The question is how to proceed? Should the congregation expand the building or seek to establish new daughter congregations? Below is my reply. § It . . . Continue reading →
The fawning, spineless adoration of Israel and of all things Jewish is decidedly sub-Christian; it runs against the grain of biblical revelation; it lacks the courage of its most fundamental convictions; it disenfranchises the Palestinians by assuming that the negation of their . . . Continue reading →