Office Hours: With David VanDrunen On Politics After Christendom: Political Theology In A Fractured World

R. Scott Clark

on May 4, 2020

In the introduction to his new volume, Politics After Christendom: Political Theology in a Fractured World (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2020) David VanDrunen defines a term and a concept that we must understand: Christendom. By Christendom I mean the vision of Christian . . . Continue reading →

Heidelcast 151: Christ, Culture, And Covid-19

Heidelcast

on May 10, 2020 | 3 Comments

The Covid-19 Shutdown of 2020 has begun to produce a reaction, at least in the USA. Recently we have seen demonstrations large and small in several states and particularly here in California. The various orders issued by governors, mayors, and county executives . . . Continue reading →

Heidelcast 152: Calls On Church History, Theocracy, Biblical Languages, Final Salvation Through Works, Jesus’ Faith, And Civil Disobedience

Heidelcast

on May 14, 2020 | 3 Comments

It is time for the monthly Heidelcast call-in show and, as always, we have thoughtful and interesting questions on how to learn church history (and what to read), whether I agree with the 1646 edition of the Westminster Confession of Faith or . . . Continue reading →

With Presbycast On Cancel Culture And Calvinist Pirates

R. Scott Clark

on July 22, 2020

As always we had a good time on the old Presbycast Hayride, Jamboree, and Barn Dance. Chortles told us the story of the Huguenot Pirates—real pirates, not “piratical” pretenders hitting defense flower vases with baseball bats or setting harmless grass alight—and the . . . Continue reading →

The New York Times, Sioux Center, And Calvinism

R. Scott Clark

on August 17, 2020 | 21 Comments

I guess that Dutch Calvinists in Orange City and Sioux Center, IA do not often feature prominently in the New York Times but they did in an August 9, 2020 story by Elizabeth Dias. The dateline is Sioux Center, IA, one of . . . Continue reading →

Why Not Stick To History? Short Answer: The Twofold Kingdom (Duplex Regimen)

R. Scott Clark

on October 17, 2020 | 12 Comments

A popular political commentator published a book a few years ago titled Shut Up And Sing, in which she argued that famous athletes and other entertainers should keep their political and cultural opinions to themselves and not seek to use their fame to . . . Continue reading →

Doubts About Political Theology And The Church As A Lever Of Cultural Influence

R. Scott Clark

on November 3, 2020 | 1 Comment

Tish Harrison Warren, a priest in the ACNA (a denomination in the Anglican tradition), writes in Christianity Today, We have an impoverished and inadequate political theology. It took us generations to get here, and this one election, regardless of the results, will . . . Continue reading →

What Christ Expects Of His Church During Times Of Opposition (Updated)

R. Scott Clark

on November 28, 2020 | 6 Comments

This morning I am thinking of younger American Christians, especially of those who have come of age during the Trump administration. A young person who was 16 when the Trump administration began is now approaching 20 and is perhaps becoming more politically . . . Continue reading →

New Resource Page: Christ And Culture

R. Scott Clark

on December 23, 2020 | 6 Comments

Apart from getting the gospel right and getting the gospel out, there is perhaps no problem more pressing upon the church than that of how to relate Christ to culture. H. Richard Niebuhr identified three approaches: Christ against culture (e.g., Tertullian), Christ . . . Continue reading →

Did Abraham Kuyper Become An Anabaptist? Updated With A Postscript

R. Scott Clark

on December 23, 2020 | 12 Comments

Is theocracy, i.e., an state-established religion and the state enforcement of religious orthodoxy essential to Reformed theology, piety, and practice? That is the question asked and answered recently by Craig Carter, a former Anabaptist turned Particular Baptist theologian in response a recent . . . Continue reading →

Heidelcast 171: What American Christians Can Learn From Black History

Heidelcast

on January 18, 2021 | 2 Comments

For much of the history of North America, Christianity has been the dominant religious group and a major culture-shaping force. In the USA it, as I have noted regularly here, until quite recently people spoke of the USA as a “Christian nation” . . . Continue reading →

Heidelcast 172: With D. G. Hart On American Catholic: The Politics Of Faith During The Cold War (Updated)

Heidelcast

on January 25, 2021 | 11 Comments

What can confessional Presbyterian and Reformed folk learn from the history of Roman Catholicism in America? Quite a lot as it turns out. We are continuing our brief hiatus from the series, As It Was In The Days of Noah to talk with . . . Continue reading →

Swim Upstream Or Else

by R. Scott Clark on March 19, 2021 2 Comments

If you are not paddling upstream Continue reading →

The Church Has A Twofold Mission And Three Marks And Ending Payday Lenders Is None Of Them

R. Scott Clark

on April 7, 2021 | 10 Comments

Just before our Lord Jesus ascended to the right hand of the Father, he gave the visible, institutional church as twofold mission: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, . . . Continue reading →

Another Way The Reformed Confessions Can Help Us If We Let Them

by R. Scott Clark on April 19, 2021 2 Comments

I am in the studio today to work on an Office Hours podcast for May so there is just time for a quick thought about another way the Reformed confessions can help the churches be more faithful. Continue reading →

Heidelcast 179: As It Was In The Days Of Noah (22): How Eschatology Helps Us With Christ And Culture

Heidelcast

on April 25, 2021 | 6 Comments

In this series we have been considering Christian eschatology, i.e., what should we think about the last days, about the relations between heaven and earth, and how that informs how we think about and live the Christian life between the ascension and . . . Continue reading →

Calvin A Cousin To Dispensationalism?

by R. Scott Clark on May 14, 2021 5 Comments

This striking passage occurs in an essay published on the Aquila Report today: Continue reading →

Why Do I Let The Insane Catechize Me?

by R. Scott Clark on May 19, 2021 7 Comments

I suppose entertainment has always had some pedagogical intent and I suppose that, at some level, I have long been aware of it but in recent months I have become increasingly aware two things: Continue reading →

Culture Is Important But It Is Not The Most Important Thing

by R. Scott Clark on May 19, 2021 1 Comment

Culture is important but it is not the most important thing. Continue reading →

Suicide By Theocracy

R. Scott Clark

on May 22, 2021 | 1 Comment

If American evangelicalism dies, suicide will be the cause of death listed on the official Coroner’s report. American evangelicalism will likely not die due to external persecution. Historically, persecution tends to strengthen the church. If it dies, it will die because it . . . Continue reading →

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