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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Athanasius summed up a patristic truism when he said, "God became man so man might become God." All the Church Fathers believed this. So, in different ways, did medieval Christians and Zwingli and Bucer and Calvin and Jonathan Edwards and John Wesley. As Carl Moser has argued, deification is a…
A promise is given to Rebekah and Isaac, “the older will serve the younger,” and a child is born. Isaac, the son of laughter, brings both a beast and a deceiver into the world. He was not only a cause for laughter at his conception; he also delivered a punchline…
When I read Christian Nationalists, Catholic post-liberals, communitarians, and others, I feel like the elderly woman in the old Wendy's commercial. She bit into a burger, got a mouthful of bun, and shouted, "Where's the beef?" I nibble on essays, and books, and tweets, get a mouthful of ethnicity, and…
When I was a boy, my mother hung a framed copy of Rudyard Kipling's "If" at the foot of my bed. I'm sure it was the first poem I memorized. Kipling's opening lines come to mind a lot lately: If you can keep your head when all about you Are…
Does Bible study matter - I mean, in the real world? Who cares what anyone thinks of Adam or Abraham, whether you're pre-, a-, or post-mil, when missiles are flying from Israel to Iran and back? Yes, Bible study matters, especially in the midst of today's war in the Middle…
We’ve said it before at Theopolis: young men are in trouble. Our boys are increasingly addicted to tech and pornography, trading tangible, earthly pleasures for gnostic, disembodied simulations. And even those who aren’t enslaved to explicit pornography often live in a near-constant stream of cheap stimulation: swipes, clips, memes and…
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