In recent years there was a move to focus Reformed and evangelical piety on “The Idols of the Heart.” Of course as one of those who agrees entirely with Calvin’s dictum that after the fall the “perpetual disposition” of human beings is . . . Continue reading →
idolatry
Idolatry and the Supper
The WHI guys are taking a quick tour of 1 Corinthinans as part their series on “Christianity in a post-Christian world.” Last week’s show was on “idolatry and other bad habits.” This week’s show focused on the abuse of the Supper in . . . Continue reading →
High Place #3: Youth
This is helpful and important.
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 →
Nice Idolatry (1)
Dave forwards to the HB a comment from a friend, who shall remain anonymous: I have a personal relationship with Christ but my Christ is not an ass and He wants everyone to do what makes them happy including gays being allowed . . . Continue reading →
Nice Idolatry (2)
In part 1 we looked at some comments forwarded to the HB by Dave. His correspondent wrote, “I have a personal relationship with Christ but my Christ is not an ass and He wants everyone to do what makes them happy including . . . 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
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 →
Heidelcast 52: Images Of Christ Don’t Affirm His Humanity, They Deny It
In some Reformed quarters to it is considered clever to argue that to reject images is to deny the humanity of Christ. That Reformed writers should make such an argument would shock our Reformed forefathers, who were convinced that images of Christ . . . Continue reading →
Heidelcast 79: The Holy Law of God (3)—You Shall Have No Other Gods
The first commandment says: “You shalt have no other gods before me.” The Hebrew text says literally, “You shall not have any other Elohim before my face.” Elohim is the generic word for God in the Hebrew Bible. When Genesis 1:1 says, . . . Continue reading →
Heidelcast 80: God’s Holy Law (4)—The Second Commandment
All the commandments are challenging to us sinners. In the first commandment we saw that God will not share his glory with another. In the 2nd commandment we read and hear that we must worship the true God truly. We do not . . . 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 →
Why Reformed Christians Reject Images Of Christ
Heidelberg Catechism 97: May we not make any image at all?
God may not and cannot be imaged in any way; as for creatures, though they may indeed be imaged, yet God forbids the making or keeping any likeness of them, either to worship them, or to serve God by them. Continue reading →