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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When Christians warn that the adoption of same-sex marriage laws will lead to persecution of traditional Christians, secularists think we’re being hysterical. But then the mayor of Houston subpoenas sermons from pastors who have addressed homosexuality from the pulpit. And the Idaho couple that runs a wedding chapel in beautiful…
Tamara Jacoby reports at the Atlantic on the important role that apprenticeship or “dual training” (classroom and on-the-job) programs play in equipping European workers. She acknowledges that the US has its own tradition of apprenticeship, but adds: “like most kinds of vocational education, it fell out of fashion in recent…
The incarnation without the cross and exaltation doesn’t accomplish salvation. But the incarnation ain’t nothing. As Adam Kotsko says in his treatment of Irenaeus ( The Politics of Redemption , 78), “the Incarnation of Christ simply taken in itself brings God into a much more intimate relationship with humanity, accustoming…
Matthew Levering has a delightful summary of Thomas’s delightful description of the resurrection body as subtle, agile, and full of “clarity” ( Christ’s Fulfillment of Torah and Temple , 133-4). Subtlety, Levering explains, is “the ability of the body to penetrate.” Bodies will remain bodies, but “the penetration of glorified…
For Thomas, the Torah was not simply another secular constitution. It was divine law, aimed at establishing not merely order or even justice but at encouraging charity. Thomas was echoing Jesus in his stress on the weightier things of the law - justice, mercy, truth. As Matthew Levering ( Christ’s…
Discussing Christ as the end of the law in his preface to Pierre-Robert Olivetan’s translation of the New Testament, Calvin writes: “Therefore, when you hear that the gospel presents you Jesus Christ in whom all the promises and gifts of God have been accomplished; and when it declares that he…
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