What the Fathers called the “rule of faith” (which included both doctrine and practice) and what Calvin called the “rule of worship” Christians in the Presbyterian and Reformed tradition have called the “regulative principle of worship” since the mid-20th century. That rule, . . . Continue reading →
If the doctrine of purgatory is untenable, all offerings and prayers for the dead automatically fall with it. Veneration of the dead by sacrifices and prayers was common among pagans. Intercession for the dead became a practice among the Jews later (2 . . . Continue reading →
O Jehovah! God of my salvation! Let me call upon you particularly to notice what I have just now stated, That although the prophet simply, and without hyperbole, recites the agony which he suffered from the greatness of his sorrows, yet his . . . Continue reading →
I have been thinking some lately about Karl Marx (1818–83). Now, it has been a few decades since I have read Marx but I did read him a fair bit in University as an undergraduate. I think my various Political Science professors . . . Continue reading →
The late-modern period is a a time of disillusionment in the West and perhaps nowhere else is that disillusionment more acute than in America where, since at the least the early 20th century, the false promises of Modernity (human perfectibility, the universal . . . Continue reading →
I am asked to speak to you on the religious life of the student of theology. I approach the subject with some trepidation. I think it the most important subject which can engage our thought. You will not suspect me, in saying . . . Continue reading →
Prayer consists in calling upon the true God, and arises from an acknowledgment and sense of our want, and from a desire of sharing in the divine bounty, in true conversion of heart and confidence in the promise of grace for the . . . Continue reading →
Objection. 1. But the wicked receive many of the gifts of the Holy Spirit, who nevertheless do not ask or desire them. Therefore these things are not merely given to such as desire them. Answer. The wicked do indeed receive many gifts; . . . Continue reading →
Now sanitized for your listening safety, the Heidelcast is back with episode 149 in which we take questions from Lancaster, PA, Houston, TX, Cork, Ireland, and Belfast, UK. The Heidelcast is a global podcast. As always we had some good and challenging . . . Continue reading →
In the wake of my latest essay, which cautions readers regarding Jonathan Edwards, has come questions about the role of affections and emotion in the Christian life. These questions signal how deep the Pietist tradition (see the resources below) runs in American . . . Continue reading →
The HB receives email and comments from across the globe on a regular basis. Two comments came in yesterday that were particularly poignant. Continue reading
Theology, piety, and practice— regular Heidelblog readers and Heidelcast listeners will be familiar with that formula. In classic and confessional Reformed Christianity these three things have always been understood to be intimately, organically related to each other. Our piety flows from our . . . Continue reading →
With this episode we begin a new series, Our Father. What is prayer? How should we pray? Why is it hard to pray? How often should we pray? What good is prayer? In this series we will tackle these questions and more. . . . Continue reading →
Be Thou My Vision: A Liturgy for Daily Worship (Wheaton: Crossway, 2021) is a delightful surprise. Edited by Jonathan Gibson it is arranged in a cycle of 31 days and on each day it includes: A call to worship, Words of adoration, A reading . . . Continue reading →
This is part two in our series on prayer, Our Father. In part 1 we considered what prayer is. In this episode we are answering the question why pray? Heidelblog readers, students, and others regularly ask “Since God is sovereign why pray?” . . . Continue reading →
This is part three in our series on prayer, Our Father. So far we have looked at what prayer is and why we should pray. In this episode we are considering that for which we pray. It is not always easy to . . . Continue reading →
In this episode we answer two Heidelcalls, one asking about the “threatenings” in Canons of Dort 5.14 and another asking about whether the Holy Spirit “communicates” with us beyond Scripture. We also read some Heideltexts, and a touching email from Hana. This . . . Continue reading →
In this episode Dr Clark answers eight emails from listeners on where the New Testament repeats the promise, “I will be their God and they will be my people;” Luther’s view of the book of James; what books to use to learn . . . Continue reading →
In this episode Dr Clark answers Heidelmail and Heideltexts from Chris, about how we should think about the Lutheran doctrine of salvation, is it a middle way between the Reformed and the Lutherans? By the way, the title of which he was . . . Continue reading →
In this episode Dr Clark answers Heidelmail from Kwan about what Acts 2:42 and signs and wonders, from Exile1986 about how to answer a child’s question about why we cannot see Jesus right now, and from Jerome about an expression in Dane . . . Continue reading →