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Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.

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Assurance

The Call of Grace: How the Covenant Illuminates Salvation & Evangelism

Book Review The Call of Grace: How the Covenant Illuminates Salvation & Evangelism by Norman Shepherd The Call of Grace is an excellent manual to put in the hands of laymen to teach them how to rest in God’s grace while taking seriously the prize of the upward call of…

by Mark HorneJune 3, 2002
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Baptism

Why I Did Not Baptize My Daughter

My Role as a Parent in My Children’s Salvation Evangeline Jael Horne is our third child. My two boys were born while we were at seminary and we had the privilege of giving them to Jeff Meyers, our pastor at that time, for baptism. When Evangeline was born, however, I…

by Mark HorneJune 3, 2002
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Eucharist

John Calvin & Paedocommunion

John Calvin writes in the Institutes about the possibility of admitting children to the Lord’s Supper by virtue of their baptism once and only once: At length they object, that there is not greater reason for admitting infants to baptism than to the Lord’s Supper, to which, however, they are…

by Mark HorneJune 1, 2002
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Eucharist

For the Children’s Sake: An Alternative Angle on the Paedocommunion Debate

The debate over paedocommunion does not seem to have made much headway on either side in recent years. Certainly both sides have made a solid effort to argue for their position. But no resolution seems to be forthcoming in the near future. As a convinced paedocommunionist, I find the church’s…

by Rich LuskJune 1, 2002
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Baptism

Can Baptism Do Anything?

Lots of conservative Protestants want to answer “no” to this question. The problem with this position is that conservative Protestants are bound to believe what the Bible teaches. And the Bible says inconvenient things, like “baptism now saves you” (1 Peter 3.21), or “all of you who were baptized into…

by Mark HorneMay 30, 2002
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Baptism

Calvin On Baptism, Penance, and Absolution

This paper is something of a follow-up to my earlier study, “ Baptismal Efficacy and the Reformed Tradition: Past, Present, and Future .” One of the more controversial aspects of that paper was my claim that Calvin held to a very high view of baptismal efficacy. Indeed, he was a…

by Rich LuskMay 30, 2002

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Memory and Imagination

I n her study of digital memory ( When We Are No More ), Abby Smith Rumsey distinguishes between data storage and memory. What makes memory important is not simply its capacity to store fact: Rather, “it is the ability for information to be useful both now and in the…

August 12, 2016

Peace of God, Truce of God

T he late 10th century was a period or feuding, pillaging, and general disorder. In their editorial introduction to The Peace of God , Thomas Head and Richard Landes cite the Peace of God as an effort to reign in in the chaos: “Leading regional bishops convoked councils of their…

August 12, 2016

Religion of Progress

P eter King is an avowed Antimodern, a reactionary with a sensitivity to the unintended consequences of any effort at reform (much less revolution) and skepticism about progress. Reactionaries don't necessarily have to move to be reactionaries. When progress is the reigning creed “anyone can be a reactionary, including trade…

August 12, 2016

Fellowship of Grievance

D ouglas Wilson frequently uses the powerful phrase “fellowship of the grievance” to describe communities formed by disgruntled people. Resentment is a powerful force for joining people together - at least for a time, until they discover they also have grievances with one another. Complaint is one of the most…

August 11, 2016

Who Shall Ascend?

L. Michael Morales's 2015 Who Shall Ascend the Mountain of the Lord? is a “biblical theology of the book of Leviticus,” but Morales doesn't turn his full attention to Leviticus until he is one-third of the way through the book. That's as it should be. Building on his earlier The…

August 11, 2016

Joy in Israel

I Chronicles 12:23-40 describes David's king-making at Hebron. The Chronicler lists the number of mighty men from each tribe, those who constitute a host, a set of constellations, around the king as Yahweh's angels are a host around his throne (vv. 23-38). There's nothing about an anointing or crowning ceremony.…

August 10, 2016

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