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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One would not think Rosemary Reuther would have much in common with the John Birch Society. During an SBL seminar, though, she said “One of the first things we have to recognize is that we have been taken over.” I’m going to send the JBS her address, since she seems…
In the course of saying some interesting and true things about Rome and Roman empire, Richard Horsely raised this revealing question: What is it, he wondered, that made so many diaspora Jews join the church so quickly? What was driving them? Why were they looking for something new? The way…
John Milbank claims that Reformed theology has allowed Pelagianism to come in under the guise of a covenant theology that includes the covenant of works (especially when the Mosaic covenant is treated as a covenant of works). The problem with Reformed theology, Milbank argues, is its insufficient emphasis on the…
Brad Green of Union University gave a talk on Gunton’s Augustine, in which he got everything exactly right. He was respectful toward Gunton, but finally concluded that Gunton had not read Augustine correctly, that Augustine said all the things that Gunton denies he said and none of the things Gunton…
George Hunsinger used his lecture at the Bonhoeffer seminar to launch into the Iraqi war. It was truly dreadful. In the name of Bonhoefferian “truth-telling,” he said that 10,000 Iraqi civilians had been killed (an estimate that has been discredited); that 30,000 Iraqi soldiers died (which sounds preposterously high); that…
Interacting with NT Wright’s book on resurrection, Dominic Crossan says that what’s important for him is not whether the claims of the resurrection are literal or metaphorical. Either way, the claims forced a clash with imperial Rome, and that’s what really matters. He wants to say that we should read…
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