This axiom, of course, explains so much about Bob Godfrey, but I digress before I begin. Don’t worry, somewhere, in a coffee shop in Escondido, Bob is insulting me to some bewildered stranger. Merry Christmas Bob! Kevin Efflandt has an excellent reminder . . . Continue reading →
Christian Education
Five Good Reasons to Memorize the Catechism
Martin explains. Here’s a related essay on “Why We Memorize the Catechism.”
Candychism
Years ago Leonard Coppes wrote an essay in the OPC magazine, New Horizons, on catechizing children. He called it “candychism.” In it he advocated rewarding children who memorize a catechism question and answer. To anticipate a frequent objection: No this isn’t crass . . . Continue reading →
Hart Replies to Kloosterman
From the OLTS: Nelson Kloosterman, professor of Ethics and New Testament Studies at Mid-America Reformed Seminary, is laying it on thick in a series for Christian Renewal, a Dutch-Canadian Reformed news and opinion magazine. The series is entitled, “The Bible, The Church, and . . . Continue reading →
Erskine College Students Petition ARP
Here. (HT: LIg Duncan/Ref21)
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 →
Wes Bredenhof on the WSC EVANGELIUM "Christian School" Issue
At Yinkahdinay
Videos Online Now: Christ, Kingdom, and Culture
Click on the banner above. The videos are online now. They’re free. You can download them in iTunes or watch them on the WSC site.
A Child's History of the Church (Links Corrected)
A colleague once said that when he begins studying a topic from scratch he begins with children’s books because there authors have to be very clear about what they are saying. When ministers speak directly to the children in the congregation the . . . Continue reading →
Trans-Confessional Catechism?
The main concern is that TGC comprises folk who do not confess the same understanding of the church and sacraments. Continue reading →
Children Can Memorize But Are The Adults Willing?
Parents and other catechists have sometimes said or implied to me that children just aren’t able to memorize in the modern age and therefore we shouldn’t insist that they memorize Scripture or catechism. This morning I had reason to doubt that. I . . . Continue reading →
Ursinus On Catechesis
The Greek word κατηχησις (catechesis) is derived from κατηχεω (catecheo), as κατχισμος (catechismos) is from κατχιζω (catechizo). Both words, according to their common signification, mean to sound, to resound, to instruct by word of mouth, and to repeat the sayings of another. . . . Continue reading →
Ursinus On The Instruction Of Covenant Children
Touching the catechesis of children in the Jewish church, the Old Testament abounds in many explicit commands. In the 12th and 13th chapters of Exodus, God commands the Jews to give particular instruction to their children and families in relation to the . . . Continue reading →
Or We Could Catechize Them
I ask nothing of you in the way of a declared position on religion. Your mother may have demanded more of you here,—entreated more; I cannot. I ask but this: that you will give earnest, serious consideration to the fact that we . . . Continue reading →
A Very Brief History Of Schooling For Christians
When most Americans think of education and schools we think of buildings, teachers, board meetings, lunch lines, playgrounds, classrooms, and athletic teams. We might be tempted to assume that education has always been done this way but it has not always been . . . Continue reading →
Catechism And Catechesis In The Early Church
The earliest known example of a Catechetical work is the “Teaching of the Twelve Apostles,” which Athanasius names among the “books not included in the Canon, but appointed by the Fathers to be read by those who are just recently coming to . . . Continue reading →
Office Hours: Stephen Nichols On Christian Education In The Late Modern Age
One might not know it to look at them now but it was orthodox Christians who built some of the greatest educational institutions in the world. The universities in Paris and Oxford were founded by Christians who believed the historic Christian faith. . . . Continue reading →
Trueman On Education And Gulags
I am over fifty. I no longer care what anyone except my wife thinks about me. That particularly applies to anyone under the age of thirty-five. You should therefore feel free to disagree with me on anything I say because it is . . . Continue reading →
Why You Should Not Let Hollywood Catechize Your Children
Had you told me that as a grown man with two adult children that I would, for any reason, write the words My Little Pony (MLP) in an article (or anywhere) I would have advised you to seek psychiatric care. Nevertheless, here we . . . Continue reading →
Homosexual Desire Is Also Sin
In 1973, in “Report 42,” a committee of the Christian Reformed Church wrote: “An important distinction that must be made is the difference between homosexuality as a condition of personal identity and homosexualism as explicit homosexual behavior.” On the basis of this . . . Continue reading →