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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In the aforementioned article, Rosendale points to Philip Sidney as one who “translated the logic of sacramental representation to the worldly sphere of the literary. His Defense of Poesy posits a particularly close relationship between figurality and truth, and positions poetic representation as a peculiarly sensitive site of synthetic access…
There is a continuity between sacramental and political theology in the medieval world. Alternatively, we might go so far as to say that political theology is a subset of sacramental theology. As Timothy Rosendale says in a magnificent recent article (in Shakespeare and the Culture of Christianity), for medieval kings…
Those who search for alternative authors for the plays of Shakespeare invariably offer alternative interpretations of the plays. Oxfordians scour the plays and sonnets for veiled allusions to the life of Edward de Vere. Well, as they say, two can play this game: John Freeman, in the aforementioned article, claims…
There has been recent discussion concerning the possibility that Shakespeare was a recusant Catholic. The evidence is circumstantial, but intriguing. John Freeman’s contribution to Shakespeare and the Culture of Christianity in Early Modern England (Fordham, 2003), summarizes the evidence. One piece of evidence concerns his father’s “spiritual will and testament,”…
INTRODUCTION Prayer is not a monologue, but always a response to God’s prior word, the second leg of a conversation. Faithful prayer speaks back to God as He has spoken to us; faithful prayer prays according to God’s will. THE TEXT “I am the true vine, and My Father is…
John tells his readers in his first epistle, “Children, do not love verbally nor by tongue, but in work and truth” (1 Jn 3:18). Truth here is not only not a quality of words and speech, but is being opposed to words and speech. To love in truth is not…
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