Theology

There are a number of requirements to take communion in a Reformed or Presbyterian church. While specifics may vary from church to church, before participating in communion a person must be baptized, must be of sufficient maturity to “examine yourself,” must not be under church discipline, and must be a member of an evangelical (or …

On the Requirement of Being a Member of an Evangelical Church to Take Communion Read More »

Modern bible “scholars” claim that certain Pauline epistles were not written by Paul but were later pseudepigraphal works. The seven letters they “consider genuine” are: First Thessalonians (c. 50 AD) Galatians (c. 53) First Corinthians (c. 53-54) Philippians (c. 55) Philemon (c. 55) Second Corinthians (c. 55-56) Romans (c. 57) (This leaves out Second Thessalonians …

The Pauline Corpus of Modern Scholars and Marcion Read More »

The question of the number of resurrections of man is central to the question of millennial eschatology positions. The chiliast or premillennial position argues for two separate resurrections, one (the first) for the just and another (the second) for the unjust typically said to have an interval between them of a literal 1000 years. The …

How many resurrections will there be? Read More »

[I recently received an email that gave me a chance to write on this subject of Lutheranism and Reformed theology which has been on my mind for many years. I figured I’d share my response here in case it might be of value to others] The email reads in part: “You have mentioned that you …

Mail Bag: Lutheranism and Reformed Theology Read More »

There are no Briggs-ites, no Janssen-ites, no Fosdick-ites, and no DeWulfites. When liberals are removed from the church, it is done so under the category of heresy. Having no ground to stand on, they are unable to produce movements. Error, like a parasite, cannot exist on its own, but requires a large church organization to …

There are no Briggs-ites Read More »

One of Francis Schaeffer’s greatest contributions was to warn Christians about what we now call Postmodernism, that truth-denying relativistic philosophy which in the last fifty years has had considerable and increasing sway over society. Schaeffer did well to warn us of it. For at least two hundred years the rationalistic philosophy of Modernism plagued the …

The Only Truth Read More »

Christian ministers and theologians commonly note that our obligation to obey the magistrate ends whenever morality is concerned. That is, while the Christian is to “be subject to the governing authorities” (Romans 13:1), this is limited by the necessity to “obey God rather than men.” (Acts 5:29) But recently I’ve been considering whether there are …

A Terror to Good Works Read More »

To Think Christianly, A History of L’Abri, Regent College, and the Christian Study Center Movement by Charles E. Cotherman, Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2020, 301 pp. Charles E. Cotherman has provided a valuable study on the “History of L’Abri, Regent College, and the Christian Study Center Movement.” While this might seem like an eclectic …

Review of To Think Christianly by Charles E. Cotherman Read More »

It is critical in theology to consider whether the view one defends is actually derived from Scripture or is only, at best, compatible with Scripture. Consider, for instance, applying the question “compatible or derived?” to the various positions held on the topic of origins. While atheistic evolution is immediately rejected by Christians — and rightly …

Compatible or Derived? Read More »

Despite covering a wide and deep swath of theology in his numerous books and articles a lacuna remains in the writings of Dr. Gordon H. Clark in that he never wrote a piece specifically addressed to the topic of hermeneutics or Biblical interpretation. Though indeed no individual writing of Clark’s was dedicated to this topic—and …

Scripturalist Hermeneutics and Extra-Biblical Information Read More »

There are four terms commonly used in the discussion of the relationship of God and sin. In a sort of continuum from hard to soft (or heavy to light, etc.) these terms are “author,” “cause,” “permit,” and “bare permission.” The Reformed Faith, as exemplified in the Westminster Confession of Faith, strongly opposes using the word …

The Cause and Not-Cause of Sin Read More »

Sinclair Ferguson is perhaps today’s leading proponent of the “well-meant offer of the Gospel,” the teaching that God desires the salvation of all men, elect and reprobate as well. Proponents of the well-meant offer land into particularly difficult quandaries as the inherent unlimitedness of the position presses up against the limitedness of the Calvinist view …

A Quandary for Proponents of the Well-Meant Offer Read More »

Reformed theology has been growing in popularity. More and more churches and pastors are applying the term to themselves. Like Junior says to Pappy, “people like that reform. Maybe we should get us some.” Consequently I’ve noticed that people often come to hear of Reformed theology through some popular preacher or author who has embraced …

What is a Reformed Theologian? Read More »

Calvin on John 7:38 – He who believeth in me. “He now points out the manner of coming, which is, that we must approach, not with the feet, but by faith; or rather, to come is nothing else than to believe, at least if you define accurately the word believe; as we have already said …

Calvin on Faith and Belief Read More »

An article on “Surveying Presbyterian Beliefs” by Michael D. Bush in Theology Matters notes the results of a recent survey of Presbyterian Church (U.S.A) members and ministers. For Bush “This survey makes it clear that while there are many faithful in the church, the PC(USA) remains ecclesia reformanda, a church needing to be reformed.” No …

Apostasy by the numbers in the PCUSA Read More »

First there was J. Gresham Machen’s Christianity and Liberalism. Then there was Cornelius Van Til’s Christianity and Barthianism. And now there is Keith Mathison’s “Christianity and Van Tillianism.” Machen’s contention was that Liberalism is not Christianity but an entirely different religion. Van Til was making the same point regarding Barthianism when he likewise contrasted it …

Not So Fast! – Comments on Keith Mathison’s “Christianity and Van Tillianism” Read More »

My favorite source of historical information is letter collections. I’ve recently found these letters from William Jennings Bryan to Bible Presbyterian minister Roy T. Brumbaugh in the collection of the latter’s papers owned by Brumbaugh’s grandson, David Sinding. Whenever I find letters like these I wonder if there is some scholar, like a William Jennings …

Letters of William Jennings Bryan to Bible Presbyterian minister Roy T. Brumbaugh Read More »

In a previous post (Francis Schaeffer, Pseudo-Calvinist) I criticized Francis Schaeffer’s apparent lack of conformity with Reformed soteriology later in his life. But I also referenced there a 1948 publication of his indicating that he did hold to a Calvinist view early in his career.  Now I’ve found something of his from earlier (1942) and …

Schaeffer the Particularist Read More »

I recently acquired a set of issues of The Christian Observer running from 1987-1989. This paper has a long history reaching back over 200 years and has at times been a prominent publication. I skimmed through these issues and thought it might be interesting to note some of what I found. At this period of …

The Christian Observer in 1987-1989 Read More »

This is a series of 36 lectures given by Ronald H. Nash at Reformed Theological Seminary, Orlando. Though lectures of the same title were given in the Fall of 2001 (and released in 2014 on MP3 CDs), this series on iTunes was given in 1991 (and once sold as a set of 24 audio cassettes). …

Notes on Ronald H. Nash’s lecture series, “History of Philosophy and Christian Thought” Read More »