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Writing

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

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Prayer

Drown Your Mind

Minister: What is the true and right knowledge of God? Child: When we know Him in order that we may honor Him. 1 Recently, a friend confessed to me a serious intellectual issue he was having that was blocking his ability to believe and trust in Christ. We talked about…

by Joseph WhitentonJune 4, 2024
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Theopolis Partners & Theopolitan Churches

We exist to renew the church for the sake of the world. We are scaffolding to help Christians rebuild God’s heavenly city that renews the cities of men. To faithfully carry out this task, we need your help . Theopolis eats, drinks, breathes donations. A trickle of money comes in…

by Brian MoatsJune 4, 2024
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Ecclesiology

The State of the CREC

In March of 2022, Uri Brito, Presiding Minister of the CREC, asked Peter Leithart to address the pastors of Athanasius Presbytery. Here is what he said to these good men. Thank you, Pastor Brito. I’m honored to speak to the Athanasius Presbytery this morning. And I want to take the…

by Peter LeithartMay 31, 2024
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Ecclesiology

Heads of Household Membership & Male-Only Voting in the Church

Increasingly, I have been made aware of an idea and practice floating around in Reformed circles of the need for heads of household membership in a church, with its sometimes attendant practice of “male-heads-of-household voting.” What follows are my thoughts on the practice. The Nature of Church Membership For an…

by Mark HorneMay 28, 2024
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Galatians

The Future of Jesus (Part 1): Discipling the Nations before the Second Advent

What kind of future should we expect before the return of Christ and the general Resurrection and Final Judgment? In Daniel chapters 2 and 7, we have two visions representing future history from the time that Daniel lived. Both visions give us a timeline of four successive empires that are…

by Mark HorneMay 21, 2024
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Prayer

The Reputation of God

In the ninth chapter of Deuteronomy, Moses recalls the journey the Israelites took across the wilderness. He reminds them of all their sins and rebellion and of God’s faithfulness to them despite their sins. When he recounts the time when Aaron led the people in the worshiping of the golden…

by Lindsey TollefsonMay 14, 2024

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Wasted love

Richard of St. Victor presents an argument for the Trinity that starts with human love. Self-love is not the highest form of love; perfected love is self-transcending love, and ultimately the love of two directed toward a third, who returns love. A God who is love must therefore be Triune.…

October 6, 2007

Essentialist and personalist

Western Trinitarian theology develops from Augustine, but because Augustine is complex the Western tradition develops along different - equally Augustinian - pathways. That is the argument of Dennis Ngien’s 2005 study of the filioque in medieval theology. Anselm, he says, develops the “essentialist” aspect of Augustine’s doctrine, starting with the…

October 6, 2007

Paul as Job

Richard Hays has pointed to Job allusions in various writings of Paul. One of these occurs in 2 Timothy 1:12: “I also suffer these things, but I am not ashamed; for I know whom I have believed and I am convinced that He is able to guard what I have…

October 6, 2007

Notes on Isaiah 61

A number of these thoughts were suggested by students during exams during the last week. I can’t remember now who said what, but thanks to them all. 1) Isaiah 61 begins with a declaration of the Spirit, and ends with a reference to a garden. That suggests the possibility that…

October 5, 2007
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Baptism in the CRC, again

John Barach writes concerning the prayer for infant baptism I posted earlier today: “that is the standard Reformed baptismal form which was probably written by Petrus Dathenus in the 16th century and adopted by the Synod of Dort. That’s also the same form that’s used for baptism in the Canadian…

October 4, 2007

Baptism in the CRC

CRC Pastor Raymond Coffey responded to my post on the 1959 baptismal rite with this comment: “Your notes were right on from the 1959 hymnal. Apart from updating and compressing some language, there are several significant differences between the 1959 Edition and the current one. The most significant is the…

October 3, 2007

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