Sometime back Howard wrote to ask, “How and when did Arminianism become the predominate view?” That’s a good question. First, we should distinguish between Jacob Arminius (James Hermanzoon) and the Arminians (or the Remonstrants). Relative to the conclusions Arminian/Remonstrant theology later reached, Arminius . . . Continue reading →
There is a Modernist creed. It is a short creed but it is highly influential and it is the default view of many Americans who think of themselves as Christians. That creed says 1) Humans are basically good and getting better; 2) . . . Continue reading →
All this is true. But it really does not apply to the situation in the Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. The point is that that Church is very largely dominated by unbelief. It does not merely harbor unbelief here and there. No, . . . Continue reading →
Note: This post first appeared 5 years ago. The links to the original posts at Emergent Village and Daily Scroll are gone. I searched for the original post on the EV sub-site on Patheos.com but did not find it. What I did . . . Continue reading →
By Richard A. Muller Reformed Journal 37 (1987): 16–18. During the past year numerous celebrations were held, testimonials given, and articles written—all for the sake of celebrating the 100th anniversary of the birth of Karl Barth and recognizing his contribution to theology . . . Continue reading →
It is October 2017. 500 years ago this month Martin Luther wrote 95 theses against the abuse of indulgences in the Western church. We have traced the Reformation to this date for a long time but as you and I have discussed . . . Continue reading →
…But in showing that the liberal attempt at rescuing Christianity is false we are not showing that there is no way of rescuing Christianity at all; on the contrary, it may appear incidentally, even in the present little book, that it is . . . Continue reading →
Audio and articles on the history and theology of the social gospel and on the problem of the confusion of the law and gospel as Christians seek to bring the faith to bear on contemporary social issues. Continue reading →
A God without wrath bought men without sin into a Kingdom without judgment through the ministrations of a Christ without a cross. H. Richard Niebuhr, The Kingdom of God in America (New York: Harper, 1937), 193. (HT: David Chin)
A God without wrath brought men without sin into a Kingdom without judgment through the ministrations of a Christ without a Cross. H. Richard Niebuhr, The Kingdom of God in America (New York: Harper & Row, 1959 [1937]) 193. (HT: Dustin Burge) . . . Continue reading →
The final authority for Christian doctrine and the Christian life, as the Westminster Divines wrote, the Word of God in the original languages. This is why it is so important that our pastors and teachers receive a genuine education in the original languages and why we should expect them to continue learn and progress in their knowledge and use of the original languages in pastoral ministry. For centuries before the Renaissance and Reformation, most the ministers in the Western church lost the ability to read the Scriptures in the original languages. Indeed, to find an illiterate priest (one who could not read at all) was not unknown. In the Greek church, of course, they could at least read the New Testament but it was not until the Renaissance that the knowledge of Hebrew and Greek began to return more widely and to be taught again in the universities, where pastors were educated. The Reformed churches understood and appreciated the value of the knowledge of the original languages and expected the pastors to learn and use them. Continue reading →