Twofold Kingdom

A Reminder Of Why We Should Not Long For A State Church

by on January 17, 2017 | 5 Comments

The United States of America, for all her greatness, is not the “my people” of 2 Chronicles 7:14. That people was God’s temporary, national people Israel. That national covenant expired at the cross. Since that time God has had no national people, though many have thought and apparently still think that they must be God’s special, national people. God made that promise to national Israel not the USA or to any other civil people. The USA has no more standing before God, as a national people, than pagan Rome or the “Holy Roman Empire,” neither of which exist any longer. Continue reading →

Senator Sanders And The Twofold Kingdom

by on June 28, 2017 | 10 Comments

In early June (2017) Russell Vought appeared before a committee of the United States Senate as the president’s nominee to serve as the Deputy Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). During the hearing, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) questioned Vought . . . Continue reading →

Not A Question Of Taste But Of Principle

by on June 30, 2017 | 9 Comments

Mark Tooley, of the Institute on Religion and Democracy, weighs in on the June 25 patriotic worship service held by First Baptist Church in Dallas. First Baptist is the home of Robert Jeffress, whom you might know from his frequent appearances on . . . Continue reading →

The Limits Of Cultural Liturgies

by on January 5, 2018

The deeper problem here is hermeneutical. O’Donovan—and following him, Smith—fail to give sufficient attention to the Bible’s covenantal storyline, and how that storyline affects the authority of church and state. Specifically, the lessons of the kingdom of Israel transmit directly to Christ . . . Continue reading →

Paul’s Twofold Citizenship And Ours

by on June 29, 2018 | 6 Comments

Our older Reformed writers regularly mentioned “two kingdoms” in different ways. E.g., in the opening line to his 1576 Exposition of the Apostles’ Creed (translated into English and available in the Classic Reformed Theology series) Caspar Olevianus (1536-87) employed the distinction in . . . Continue reading →

Does Christianity Need Christendom To Thrive?

by on December 3, 2018 | 2 Comments

John Millbank is a theologian and the leader of an influential school of thought known as Radical Orthodoxy. Radical Orthodoxy: A New Theology was published 20 years ago by Millbank, Catherine Pickstock, and Graham Ward. According to R. R. Reno, the Radical . . . Continue reading →

The Tyranny Of The New State-Religion: Incoherence

by on December 8, 2018 | 3 Comments

James Anderson is among many calling attention to the case of a teacher who has been fired by the West Point, Virginia school board for refusing to submit to their demand that he refer to students who belong biologically to one sex . . . Continue reading →

The Reformation Of Vocation

by on April 27, 2019

In the period between the early post-apostolic church (e.g., the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD) and the Reformation (beginning in the early 16th century AD) the church came to develop some unbiblical and therefore unhelpful and unhealthy ways of relating creation and . . . Continue reading →

When The Culture War Trumps The Gospel

by on November 13, 2019 | 16 Comments

The German expression, Der Kulturkampf (The Culture War), originally referred to the attempt by Otto von Bismarck (1815–98), the German politician who created the modern, unified Germany, to suppress the Roman Catholic Church in Germany because he feared that Romanism in Germany . . . Continue reading →

Is It Sin To Vote For Trump Or How Understanding The Twofold Government Helps

by on December 23, 2019 | 17 Comments

Mark Galli, editor of Christianity Today has published an editorial calling for the removal from office of Donald Trump either by the Senate or at the ballot box. Of course this has provoked considerable reaction, not the least of which has been . . . Continue reading →

What The Reformed Can Learn From A 1532 Synod

by on March 9, 2020 | 3 Comments

Introduction In researching the essay on sola scriptura I found myself reading the 44 articles of the Synod of Bern, which was held January 9–14, 1532. In attendance were 230 delegates, including Wolfgang Capito (c. 1478–1541) and William Farel (1489–1565). Two things . . . Continue reading →

New Resource Page On The Twofold Kingdom

by on March 9, 2020 | 5 Comments

Arguably the one of the greatest challenges that the church has faced has been how to relate to the prevailing culture. This was true before Christendom, when Christians were mostly ignored. It was true when we were being actively persecuted and martyred . . . Continue reading →

On Cancelling Services And Holding Devotions At Home On The Christian Sabbath

by on March 14, 2020 | 18 Comments

Preface I have received a number of telephone calls and had a number discussions by text, direct message etc about this topic. Here, in general, is what I am telling those who ask. There are variables. It may be that, in your . . . Continue reading →