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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Henri Bergson attempted to solve the paradox of Zeno’s arrow (which can never cover the infinite points between the bow and the target, and yet does) by calling attention to the implicit spatialization of time within the paradox. The space in which movement takes place is divisible, but the duration…
Henri Bergson attempted to solve the paradox of Zeno’s arrow (which can never cover the infinite points between the bow and the target, and yet does) by calling attention to the implicit spatialization of time within the paradox. The space in which movement takes place is divisible, but the duration…
INTRODUCTION Paul is talking about the liberation of creation from bondage to decay and corruption into freedom. This raises the question of the time frame for the fulfillment of this prophecy. It is normally taken as a reference to the end of the world. The ?redemption of the body?E(v. 23)…
Julie Canlis has a helpful article on Calvin’s response to Osiander in the International Journal of Systematic Theology (6:2 [2004]). A few points are worth highlighting: 1) She sees the response to Osiander as part of the reason why Reformed theologians tend to be skittish about talk of “participation.” Calvin,…
In two older articles, Alister McGrath examines the sources for the Reformation doctrine of justification, covering ground also covered in his 2-volume Iustitia Dei. The first article, published in the Harvard Theological Review in 1982 (75:2, pp. 219-242) examines the evidence for claiming that the Reformation doctrine of justification was…
Covenant of Light. This section concludes Part I of The Beauty of the Infinite , entitled ?Dionysus Against the Crucified.?E With this section, Hart concludes his critique of classical, modern and postmodern thought, and the outlines of the Christian ontology that interrupted the history of metaphysics and that he develops…
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