Private Property, Public Accommodation, And Religious Freedom

There are such things as unintended consequences and Americans are impatient with injustice. There were real, gross injustices being committed against an entire class of Americans that led to the 1964 Civil Rights Act that forbids restricting access to “public accommodations” on . . . Continue reading →

Freedom Or Tax Exemption?

Former Arkansas Governor, Presidential candidate, and current Fox News host, Mike Huckabee has raised this question to Southern Baptists (HT: Billy Hallowell). It’s a fair question. I’m not sure I agree with him and I don’t claim to know the answer to the . . . Continue reading →

Surrounded By Constantinians

There is some excitement in some quarters over the question of whether the United Reformed Churches confess the revised or unrevised version of the Belgic Confession. There is no evidence from the minutes of the URCs, of which I’m aware, that speaks . . . Continue reading →

We Are Not Polishing Brass On A Sinking Ship

More than 30 years ago, when I first came into contact with Reformed theology, piety, and practice (the Reformed confession broadly defined), I also came into contact with a movement within the Reformed world known as “Christian Reconstructionism” and its child “theonomy.” . . . Continue reading →

If It’s News Is it Still A Slippery Slope?

Given that, under the American constitution, we do not have a state religion, the types of arguments Christians can realistically expect to make in the civil sphere as it actually exists are limited. We have American history, our Constitution, the Declaration, Supreme Court . . . Continue reading →

Must We Change Our Theology to Vote for Mitt?

Veteran readers of the HB may remember that I expressed concern in 2009 over a comment by William Evans, The Younts Professor of Bible and Religion at Erskine College, about what he called the need for a “decisive break with the ordo . . . Continue reading →

Newman’s Unquiet Grave and Non-Confessional Evangelicals

After reading (devouring) Carl Trueman’s excellent book on historiography I took his advice and got (I had to drive to La Jolla during rush hour) and quite enjoyed John Cornwell’s, Newman’s Unquiet Grave: The Reluctant Saint. I knew the outlines of Newman’s . . . Continue reading →

QIRE, Syncretism, Kingdom Confusion, and Evangelical Niceness

Andrée Seu of WORLD Magazine made a boo boo. She’s supposed to say that, as an evangelical, she disapproves of Mormonism but the temperature of Glen Beck’s religious fervor is so high that it wins the day. She writes:

We're Talking About Practice; Not a Game, Not A Game, Not a Game

CNN has the story (HT: RNS).  The ban still must pass the French Senate before it becomes law. This is a complicated issue. On the one hand the burqa (full body covering) and the niqab (partial face covering) are religious and political . . . Continue reading →

On Precision and Latitude

Over the last year or so there seems to have been a concerted effort to discredit any sort of “two-kingdoms” (or two-spheres) approach to Reformed ethics and this despite the long-history and pedigree in Reformed theology of distinguishing between the kingdom of . . . Continue reading →

CT Reports on Shifts within Inter-Varsity

When I was in college the BSU (Baptist Student Union) was the place to meet nice Christian girls, Crusade was for evangelistic-minded types, Navigators was for spiritual discipline, and Inter-Varsity (IV) was for intellectuals. IV was clearly associated with the historic, confessional . . . Continue reading →

The Program-Driven Church

One link led to another and I happened recently upon the website of a large NAPARC congregation. As I often do I looked to see who the pastor was. That link led me to a list of “pastoral staff” who coordinate a breathtaking . . . Continue reading →