The title is Latin for “Now is superior to then.”1 It’s a shorthand way of getting at an attitude that is widespread among American Christians that whatever we think and do now is necessarily superior to anything that was thought and done . . . Continue reading →
history
Video: Selderhuis on Calvin
Last month Herman Selderhuis was in Orlando giving lectures on Calvin at RTS. You can see the video here. Thanks to LO for the video.
Scholars' Book Talk
Here
Eat Like a 16th-Century King
Wes explains.
R. C. Says, "WSC is My Favorite Seminary…"
R. C. Sproul says, “”Westminster Seminary California is my favorite seminary in the world. You have served faithfully for 30 years and I pray you will continue in your steadfast dedication to the gospel of Christ for at least 300 years more.” . . . Continue reading →
Nunc Super Tunc
Originally posted 5 March 2009 The title is Latin for “Now is superior to then.”1 It’s a shorthand way of getting at an attitude that is widespread among American Christians that whatever we think and do now is necessarily superior to anything . . . Continue reading →
On Calvin’s Birthday: The Biography Channel Is Wrong (Updated)
Today is John Calvin’s birthday. He was born in 1509, in Noyon. In his honor let us watch a video and discuss it. [Editor’s Note: In 2013 someone posted a video featuring the American church historian Martin Marty discussing John Calvin. That . . . Continue reading →
How Reza Aslan’s Jesus Gives History A Bad Name
Aslan repeatedly calls revolutionary leaders of the first century “claimed messiahs,” when this crucial term hardly ever appears in our sources and certainly not in the contexts he is claiming. Aslan pontificates on questions such as Jesus’s literacy (or illiteracy, in his . . . Continue reading →
A Bibliography of Historical Theology and Historiography
Note: This bibliography is intended to alert HT students to the existence of some important and/or useful works for students of historical theology. I have omitted standard and older works in church history (e.g., Schaff) and reference works, since they are available . . . Continue reading →
Missed It By That Much
That depiction in the new Cosmos matches the standard textbook story of Bruno, but it is misleading and in some ways downright wrong. For starters, Bruno was not the first to link the idea of infinite space with the infinite glory of . . . Continue reading →
Fifteen (Mostly 19th-Century) Myths About The Middle Ages
There are a number of myths about the so-called middle ages: they thought that earth was flat etc. Most of these myths were fabricated in the 19th century. Why? Because that was the apex, in the West, of “Modernity,” the Enlightenment, when . . . Continue reading →
Between Hagiography And Cynicism
Telling the truth about the past is more difficult than it might seem but we can appreciate the difficulties by reflecting for just a moment on the controversy in Ferguson, Missouri. It’s a contemporary event of which there are at least two . . . Continue reading →
On Memorial Day: All Christians Are Historians
In the United States, Memorial Day is day for remembering those who died in the service of the US military. It began as Decoration Day in 1868, on which day 5,000 people decorated the graves of Union and Confederate soldiers at Arlington . . . Continue reading →
Princeton Historian Rebukes 1619 Project: The Facts Still Matter
No effort to educate the public in order to advance social justice can afford to dispense with a respect for basic facts. In the long and continuing battle against oppression of every kind, an insistence on plain and accurate facts has been . . . Continue reading →
Stephens On The 1619 Project
The 1619 Project is a thesis in search of evidence Continue reading →
In Defense Of Labels
Imagine going to a supermarket where none of the groceries was labeled and where none of the aisles was marked. For that matter, imagine trying to figure out which of the buildings in the strip mall is the grocery or telling one . . . Continue reading →
Why I Am A Christian
The State Of Christianity In America The religious landscape of the United States continues to change at a rapid clip. In Pew Research Center telephone surveys conducted in 2018 and 2019, 65% of American adults describe themselves as Christians when asked about . . . Continue reading →
What Tradition Is And Does
(1) Central to the task of transmitting the faith from one generation to the next is the requirement of transmitting it as a whole, without addition or subtraction. In my judgment, the modern project of “mediating theology” often failed precisely in this . . . Continue reading →
Words And Things (Part 3)
When working with foreign words, we should be aware of a very important distinction: the distinction between meaning and gloss. For our purposes, a gloss is an English word substitute for a Greek word. In simple cases, a gloss is perfectly satisfactory . . . Continue reading →
Stop Saying That Amillennialism Is “Pessimistic” But Postmillennialism Is “Optimistic”
This is a classic case of begging the question, i.e., assuming what has to be proved. People regularly say that amillennialism is “pessimistic” but postmillennialism is “optimistic.” Who is pessimistic about what? Define pessimism. Who says? By what standard? I say that amillennialism . . . Continue reading →