UPDATE March 16, 2010 If you’re subscribed to Office Hours in iTunes the latest episode should now be available. We had a (Microsoft induced) technical glitch but that has been repaired. If you’re not seeing the latest episode refresh Office Hours in . . . Continue reading →
authority
Why Did the Geneva Consistory Insist on Biblical Names at Baptism?
Matt Tuininga, a friend and former student, has an interesting post at Christian in America in which he tells about the conflict between the consistory and some of the people in Geneva over the question of how the people should name their children. . . . Continue reading →
Protestants Looking For Authority Convert to Rome
As part of trend, which has been observed here since October 2009, a retired Episcopal minister, Larry Gipson, has become a Roman priest. Gipson was formerly the rector of the USA’s largest Episcopal church. He’s in process of becoming a Roman priest . . . Continue reading →
A Romanist Responds to the Reformation
I’ve had a fair bit of response to the HB over the years. Some of it comes over the transom from anonymous writers (anonymous comments are generally forbidden on the HB) and it usually goes where anonymous correspondence should go. This one, . . . Continue reading →
Heidelcast 13: Why the Focus on the Confessions?
An HB Classic
Both Nancy and William Twisse (and the latter is particularly remarkable since, as the first prolocutor of the Westminster Assembly, he’s been dead for centuries) both wrote to the HB sometime back to ask how Reformed confessionalists relate the doctrine of sola . . . Continue reading →
Heidelcast 65: Science!
We’re talking a break from the series on nomism and antinomianism to talk about science. Not long ago there was a debate between Bill Nye the Science Guy and Ken Ham the Creationist Guy that garnered a considerable amount of attention. Why did . . . Continue reading →
Calvin: The Fifth Commandment Applies Narrowly And Broadly
Since, therefore, the name of Father is a sacred one, and is transferred to men by the peculiar goodness of God, the dishonoring of parents redounds to the dishonor of God Himself, nor can any one despise his father without being guilty . . . Continue reading →
Heidelcast 83: The Holy Law Of God (7)—The Fifth Commandment (pt 1)
In this episode we consider the fifth commandment: “Honor your father and your mother that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God gives you.” In Heidelberg Catechism 104 we interpret this commandment to require “that I . . . Continue reading →
Sometimes The QIRC Leads To Rome
As I was running errands this past Saturday I listened to a podcast in the Ricochet network hosted by Mark Bauerlein, himself a convert to Rome from atheism, in which he interviewed a convert to Rome (from evangelicalism) about the impending canonization . . . Continue reading →
The Heart Of The Romanist Appeal To Protestants: Skepticism
Protestants are told that they cannot trust their own interpretations of Scripture, church history, the church fathers, or anything else for that matter. They cannot trust their own evaluations of the evidence. They cannot trust themselves to tell the difference between black and white. Their sensory and rational faculties are attacked at every point. Those who buy into this way of thinking start to doubt everything, and they start to wonder where they can find stable ground. The Roman apologist is waiting to tell them that the only ground of certainty is Rome. Rome will tell you what is black and what is white. Continue reading →
Review: Bully Pulpit: Confronting the Problem of Spiritual Abuse in the Church by Michael J. Kruger
Michael Kruger has written a gem of a book, addressing one of the most prominent issues troubling the church today. Increasingly, we are faced with stories about pastors who misuse their position of authority to achieve their own selfish ends to the . . . Continue reading →
Weaponizing Scriptural “Authority” In Marriage
We all know the passages. We’ve heard at least a portion of them read at nearly every wedding: “wives submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord” (Eph 5), “For the wife does not have authority over her own body, but . . . Continue reading →