The Black Rubric And The Creator-Creature Distinction

The “Black Rubric” was so-called because it was set in black print in the 1661–1662 edition of the Book of Common Prayer. It was first inserted into the Second Edwardian Prayer Book in 1552. It was intended to explain that when communicants . . . Continue reading →

The Real Question is Whether There is An Objective Definition of Reformed

Part of Saturday was spent trading tweets with Matthew Milliner, who teaches Art History at Wheaton College. We had a good, genial conversation from two different confessional traditions. I’m not sure but judging by his arguments I inferred that Matthew may identify . . . Continue reading →

The Killer Bs: Idols of the Minister’s Heart

An HB Classic

There are three great idols that all ministers must tear down daily cast into the fire for scrap: buildings, bodies, and budgets. These are the three things that almost invariably come up in conversation with pastors and, I must confess, I’ve too . . . Continue reading →

Idolatry Isn’t Just An Ancient Superstition

The evolutionary tendency in modern thought has inclined the church to think of idolatry as a superstitious habit of primitive peoples which has no place in the scientifically sophisticated modern mind. A lack of technological development is often mistakenly equated with a . . . Continue reading →

Could Instruments Be Idols?

Friday, in the Medieval-Reformation course I gave a lecture on Calvin’s doctrine of worship during which a student asked about instruments. I replied that Calvin (and most of the Reformed) would have viewed the introduction of instruments into the service the same . . . Continue reading →

Heidelcast 34: Jesus On A Pizza

Heidelcast

Alleged manifestations of our Lord have been claimed for a long time since the close of the apostolic period. It is even more common for artists to represent what they imagine his likeness to have been in paintings. So widely accepted are . . . Continue reading →

Economics, Trust, Imputation, and Worth (Updated)

Shocking as it may be, courses in medieval history and theology do not always have immediate relevance to late modern society. There is a theme in medieval history and theology, however, that does illumine what is happening to the global economy. Since . . . Continue reading →

Deuteronomy 6:4-9: Our God Is One

“Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be . . . Continue reading →

Heidelberg 80: We Don’t Need Any Footnotes

In one of Humphrey Bogart’s (1899–1957) most famous scenes, from Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948), he asks some bandits, who claimed to be Mexican Federal Police, to show their badges. Their famous reply, which has been oft misquoted, was: Badges, we . . . Continue reading →

Heidelberg 94 and 95: What Does God Require In The First Commandment?

On one level it’s easy to tell the difference between idols and the God who is. We did not fabricate him and we cannot change or kill him. He just is (Gen 1:1; Exodus 3:14). Idols, on the other hand, are not necessarily. An idol might exist or it might not exist. Its existence, as such, is contingent upon the will of its human creator. Of course, we confess with the Apostle Paul that “an idol has no real existence” (1 Cor 8:4). Whether we fabricate them with our hands, in our minds, or in our hearts, idols change. They come and go. When they disappoint us, we chuck them and make another hoping for a better outcome. Continue reading →

Relics Remain

It is a general, if unstated, assumption among moderns that whatever the causes of the Reformation might have been, they must be long past. Often, however, that assumption is ill-founded. In fact, the fundamental causes for the Reformation (e.g., the Roman denial . . . Continue reading →