It is hard to overstate the influence of Cornelius Van Til on confessional and conservative Reformed theology since the early 20th century. I’ll use myself as an an example because I think that what I experienced is fairly representative of what others . . . Continue reading →
I’m a little late but somewhere in the welter of links I found this fascinating account of Flew’s relationship with a couple of evangelicals and some young atheists and others.
WSC student Matt Fray explains.
David writes to ask about how to answer a friend who is “struggling with Calvinism” because “he has not heard an explanation of the Fall (and ultimately reprobation) that goes beyond the idea of a ‘blessed fall.’ In other words, he has . . . Continue reading →
When I was a kid, visiting my grandfather’s farm, we used to go stand at the backdoor of the bunkhouse and plink the wasps that hovered above the water tanks in the corral behind the bunkhouse. It wasn’t very challenging but it . . . Continue reading →
Four WSC students have a new blog devoted to “Reformed theology and analytic philosophy for the contemporary church.”
Editor’s Note: Posted originally on the Old HB September 14, 2007 Christopher wrote to discussion list to ask how we know the Bible is true and how our appeal to the internal testimony of the Spirit is different from the Mormon “burning in . . . Continue reading →
Don’t miss the next Heidelcast. Subscibe to the HC in iTunes. Search for “heidelcast” in iTunes. John Muether has written an outstanding book. I hope you enjoy the discussion as much as I did.
Office Hours talks this week with Dr. John Van Til, nephew of Reformed apologist and theologian Cornelius Van Til, about CVT’s life and ministry. Dr John Van Til is a Fellow for Law & Humanities at the Center for Vision and Values, . . . Continue reading →
Edwin Walhout, a retired CRC minister, has published a provocative essay in The Banner, the denominational magazine of the Christian Reformed Church. In this essay he imagines how our orthodoxy will be viewed 1000 years from now. In order to set up the . . . Continue reading →
5:3-32 these verses contain 10 paragraphs, each written in the same form, which one paragraph for each generation in Adam’s line through Seth. There are some similarities, as well as significant differences, between this material and the Sumerian king list (written see. . . . Continue reading →
Evangelism properly is what the minister does in the pulpit when he proclaims the gospel to the world but each of us as Christians is a witness or gives witness to the faith (the objective facts of redemptive history and the basic truths of Scripture summarized in the creeds) and to our faith, i.e., to our personal appropriation of Christ by grace alone, through faith alone. Continue reading →
13Now who is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is good? 14But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, 15but in your hearts honor Christ . . . Continue reading →
Thus, “and in your hearts sanctify Christ the Lord prepared always unto a defense to everyone seeking a word (or reason) for the hope in you….” The scenario that Peter has in mind was not theoretical. About the very same time he was dictating these words (to his secretary) for the churches in Asia Minor (W. Turkey) Christians in Rome were undergoing a violent, horrible persecution at the hands of a madman, Caesar Nero. Peter and the other Christians knew that before the soldiers laid hands upon a Christian and hauled him before the authorities, one must have resolved some truly basic questions. Who am I? What is my only comfort in life and in death? Am I prepared to suffer and, if necessary, to die for Christ, who gave himself for me? Continue reading →
13 Now who is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is good? 14 But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, 15but in your hearts . . . Continue reading →
The pagans have no frame of reference by which to understand what we are saying. The Christian faith is a mystery. We claim that a Jewish rabbi was crucified and raised on the third day, that he was and remain, in fact, God the Son incarnate. There is nothing about paganism that prepares them to understand that. Further. the pagans think about religion as a matter of works, as a matter of a quid pro quo. They think that the gods are powers to be controlled and manipulated. We make offerings and we perform duties and thereby, they think, we have obligated the gods to be good to us. That is not the Christian faith. We say that God has been gracious to us in that while we were sinners (disobedient and judgment deserving), God sent his Son to obey for us, in our place, and to die for us, as our substitute. We say that we are right with God not by anything we have done or can do but merely because God has credited to us who believe all that Jesus did for us. That is a supernatural religion. The pagan has a natural religion. He elevates nature (works) into a religion and seeks to use it to control the gods. Continue reading →
What is the duty of Christian men at such at time? What is the duty, in particular, of Christian officers in the Church? In the first place, they should encourage those who are engaging in the intellectual and spiritual struggle. They should . . . Continue reading →
British comedian Stephen Fry is in a bit of trouble in Ireland because of his answer to a question about what he would say to God at the gates of heaven. He replied, “How dare you create a world in which there . . . Continue reading →
One hears some interesting things on sports-talk radio. I listen for news about my Nebraska Cornhusker (American) football team. Sometimes, however, the hosts venture outside their fields of expertise. An Omaha station, to whose podcasts I listen, interviewed Harriet McFeely yesterday. She’s . . . Continue reading →
Someone once said, “There’s a sucker born every minute.” Who first said it is disputed. It has been attributed to P. T. Barnum, to a banker, and to other possible sources. Whoever said it first, it captures the spirit of skepticism perfectly. . . . Continue reading →