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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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Politics

New Atheism and the Jihad

In his recent book on the West’s war on “Jihadism,” Weigel observes that it is ironic that the “new atheism” has emerged just when religion has become unavoidably dominant in world politics. Dawkins, Hitchens, and Harris would, Weigel suggests, deprive the West of necessary categories for engaging Islamic radicalism: “a…

February 14, 2008
History

Peter the Liberator

In his recently reprinted Family and Civilization , Carle Zimmerman notes that the “domestic family” ideal developed in the 12th century. In this model, marriage is liberated from family power, from patriarchalism. He quotes from a text on Canon law: “The marriage jure canonico ought to be completely free from…

February 13, 2008
Philosophy

Generating meaning

One of the most controversial claims of some postmodern thinkers is that language creates rather than simply reflects meaning. Whatever the truth of that as a global statement about language’s generation of meaning, it is fairly obvious that language generates meaning at a lower level. In his first encounter with…

February 13, 2008

Ten years

Noami sojourned in the fields of Moab for 10 years (Ruth 1:4), which points to the conclusion of the book, where the author traces the descend of Judah for 10 generations, to David. After 10 years, Naomi returned to the land, which by then had become fruitful (1:22). After 10…

February 13, 2008

Husband and King

James Jordan points out in his lectures on Ruth that the book contrasts Boaz with Elimelech as husband. Elimelech is a failure as a husband, leaving the land and then leaving Naomi alone. The contrast of the two men also has a political dimension. Israel’s kings were in a quasi-marital…

February 13, 2008

Odd words

A favorable Publishers Weekly review of Michael Burleigh’s Sacred Causes criticizes his obscure language: “Use of odd words such as ‘erastianism’ and ‘soteriological’ detract from what is otherwise a rewarding example of intellectual history.” It’s a book about religion and politics, mind you.

February 12, 2008

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