Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
One striking aspect of the recent “Federal Vision” conflict in the various conservative micro-Reformed groups is a debate over what older theologians really meant and said. Examining the credentials of various people who speak with great assurance on these matters one sees repeatedly degrees in church/theology history studies. In fact,…
The Worship of the English Puritans by Horton Davies really valuable book for gaining historical perspective on the American Presbyterian scene. (I will note for the record that I don’t believe there is an objective definition for “puritan” and I wish historians would stop using it and instead speak of…
This is the conclusion to Frame’s discussion about historical/covenantal election in his The Doctrine of God (pp. 329-30): Historical election and eternal election are distinct, but they cannot be entirely separated. Note the following: 1. Both historical and eternal election are aspects of God’s saving purpose. The election of Israel…
From John Frame’s The Doctrine of God : So although the election of Israel is by grace, there is an important place for continued faithfulness. Individuals can belong to the chosen people, yet lose their elect status by faithlessness and disobedience. Branches can be broken off “because of unbelief” (Rom.…
I’ve recently re-discovered an awesome theological resource, The Westminster Shorter Catechism Project . It is excellent, not least because it demonstrates the healthy diversity that has always been allowable in the Reformed Tradition until recently. For example, consider the sources attached to Question and Answer #94: Q: What is baptism?…
A friend recently asked if the frequent saying of the Pledge of Allegiance was a sign of American jingoism, or an attempt to inculcate “nationalism” of a bad sort. It seemed to him as a Canadian that that might be the case. That seemed to me to be probably backwards,…
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If you have read a number of books by the same author, or a number of books in the same genre, you have developed a feel for how the plot is developing. When Inspector Poirot begins to suspect the maid early in the book, you know it?s going to turn…
Psalm 104:14-15 Wine, Scripture says, is one of God?s great gifts to man. Yahweh is the true God of the vine, the true Dionysus. And wine is one of the great gifts of the New Covenant. One of the signs of Israel?s immaturity in the OT was the prohibition of…
Scripture says, ?You shall not bear the name of Yahweh your God in vain, for Yahweh will not leave him unpunished who takes His name in vain.?E And Jesus said, ?Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the Name of the Father, and of the Son,…
According to Jacob Viner ‘s Religious Thought and Economic Society , Protestants were more apt to advocate mercantilism than Catholics, and the differences were rooted in their different attitudes toward the nation-state: “Mercantilism penetrated much less into Catholic than into Protestan theology. Catholic doctrine as such as universalist by tradition,…
According to a web article by J. Paul Rajashekar, “Luther wrote six different pieces of literature on the subject between 1528 through 1542: On War Against Turk (1529); A Sermon Against the Turks (1529); A Book on Life and Customs of the Turks (1530, originally compiled by one George von…
Prophetic Insight, 1 Kings 22:1-40 INTRODUCTION The stages of Israel?s history overlap a great deal. Priests served in the sanctuaries of Israel throughout her history, and Abraham was a prophet (Genesis 20:7). Yet, different offices come to prominence at different stages of that history. And prophets become especially prominent during…
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