Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
When someone expounds the way of salvation found in the Westminster Confession and Catechisms and in the easily-accessible writings of the Reformed heritage, he often finds him embroiled in a debates about the covenant of works and the Mosaic Covenant. One is “proven” to be aberrant by allegations that one…
The ultimate condemnation of a position in Reformed circles is to show that it “leads back to Rome.” Indeed, one gets the feeling that Rome is a worse destination for a Presbyterian than even hell itself. The accusation of Rome stings deeply, of course, because it means that all the…
One of the odd features of Michael Horton’s version of Covenant theology is his interpretation of the covenant God made with Abraham 1 in Genesis 15. According to Horton, The very way in which God made the covenant with Abraham (putting him to sleep; walking through the torn animals by…
What was I trying to do, when I wrote my book on Mark’s Gospel ? Fundamentally, I wanted a book that would change readers by making them better readers of the Gospel of Mark. My ideal reader is not someone who goes to the book to use as a resource…
Why do we need sacraments? According to the Westminster Confession, sacraments were instituted by Christ “to confirm our interest in him” (27.1), “to strengthen and increase” the “faith” of those within the Covenant of Grace and “to distinguish them from those that are without” that covenant (Westminster Larger Catechism, #162).…
In Isaiah 5:1-7, we have a typical covenant lawsuit, in which the Lord accuses his people of rejecting his grace and mercy. It is not my intention here to exegete the entire passage, or to look at the way the vineyard image used here serves as a metaphor in other…
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In The Historical Austen , William Galperin notes that Austen understood that certain kinds of realistic art or aesthetics could naturalize and “realize” what is really only an ideological construct. And he notes the somewhat surprising political ramifications of such aesthetic theories. He points to the theory of the picturesque,…
Watch that no root of bitterness grow up, Hebrews 12:15 warns. What’s a root of bitterness? Sounds like someone who’s bitter in the church. But Deuteronomy 29:18 uses a similar phrase to describe those who turn aside from Yahweh to serve other gods. This fits the context of Hebrews very…
Yahweh curses Israel for breaking covenant. More specifically, Israel will become a sign and wonder to the nations “because you did not serve Yahweh your God with joy and a glad heart, for the abundance of all things” (Deuteronomy 28:47). What satisfies God is not just obedience, but joyful obedience.
In her history of England, written at 15, Austen declares her favor toward the Stuart dynasty. She writes comically, but beneath the fun she is in earnest. Irene Collins notes that her mother, Cassandra Leigh “liked to remember that her ancestor Thomas Leigh had received a baronetcy for welcoming Charles…
Austen was a life-long Anglican, born to a C of E clergyman, with many C of E ministers in her extended family and ancestry and circle of acquaintances. Irene Collins notes, “Her maternal grandfather and her great uncle had been clergymen; so were her godfather, one of her uncles, two…
Vicesimus Knox (1752 - 1821) - English minister, essayist, and campaigner for the end of war - was educated at St. John’s Oxford, where George Austen (1731-1805), Jane’s father, was a student and tutor in classics, and Knox later became Headmaster of Tonbridge School, which George Austen had attended as…
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