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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Bailey makes a perceptive comment at one point, drawing on the experience of a Jesuit psychologist of his acquaintance. This psychologist found that he could fairly quickly get his patients to talk openly about their sexual histories and sins, but that when he began to ask them about their finances,…
Kenneth Bailey’s recent monograph on the prodigal son, Jacob and the Prodigal (IVP), is full of stimulating insights. A long-time Christian teacher in Arabic and Syriac-speaking countries, Bailey always brings to his interpretations a wealth of knowledge of the cultural background and attitudes of men of the Near East. Also,…
Communion meditation, January 11: If you want to have a calm meal, don’t invite Jesus. Over and over in Luke’s gospel, Jesus uses mealtime to confront the Pharisees, to challenge their unforgiving Spirit, to castigate them for neglecting the weightier matters of the law, to charge them with killing prophets.…
Exhortation for January 11: In the sermon text this morning, we see that Jesus is establishing and organizing His kingdom by changing practices at the table. This seems to be an odd way to establish a kingdom. We think of kingdoms being established through conquest, war, palace coups, or popular…
Green denies that the parable of the banquet in Luke 14:16ff is about the Messianic banquet. It suggests that God at one time did NOT want the poor to His banquet, but included them as a kind of afterthought; this not only is unflattering to God, but goes contrary to…
Green points out too the grammatical shift between Luke 14:23 and v 24: He moves from narrating a story in third person to a direct address. This is still the master speaking to the slave, but it is also the master speaking over the head of the slave to the…
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