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(revised and re-posted from 7 May ‘07. This post was occasioned by the announcement of the conversion of the now former president of ETS, Francis Beckwith, to Rome).
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…Cornelius Van Til used to write about Mr White (the confessionally Reformed fellow), Mr Black (the Roman Catholic fellow) and Mr Gray (or Grey; the Arminian fellow). His point was that, on some issues, the Arminian is living in a sort of half-way house between what he regarded as genuinely evangelical and Protestant theology and Rome. Read the rest of this entry »
Info here (HT: Alejandro Moreno Morrison)
In light of the current White Horse Inn series on the necessity, importance, and usefulness of doctrine and apologetics for the church and the Christian life, it seemed like a good idea to point you to this golden oldie from MR in 1996.
Or you might find yourself hauled before some bizarre committee and disciplined (HT: Selwyn Duke). This student was disciplined for reading a history of the KKK. What if he had been actually researching archival KKK publications?
Not according to Robert Gagnon and he’s challenging the recent suspension of an administrator at the University of Toledo who dared to challenge the status quo. (HT: Justin Taylor)
Another good post from WSC student and fellow Cornhusker Austin Britton. He is a I think he’s spot on about the nature and effect of Schleiermacher’s radical re-formulation of the Christian faith and the unacknowledged debt the Emergent cats owe to FD.
WSC student Austin blogs about studying with students from Africa and finishing the semester amidst the annual “May Gray” (that’s “grey” for some of you).
(HT: Anthony Carter).
This is a good start. I love it when one of the pastors says, “I’m Presbyterian by choice and I want to inculcate that into the African-American community.” Amen. This video is very encouraging. Criticisms: well, I hesitate because this is such an important work but I hope the pastors will continue to think about their use of the transformationalist model of social engagement. Is the visible, institutional church called to “transform” the culture around it? Or is it perhaps better to say that we hope and pray that the gospel will have a transforming effect in the life of Christ’s people?
Edited by Peter Lillback and David Hall, contributors include Mike Horton, Sinclair Ferguson, Bob Godfrey, and many others.
Do all the evangelicals on the verge of poping really want trade in your flannel boards for this? (HT: John Bugay).
Okay, she’s a WSC student and she’s in my Medieval-Reformation class and she’s required to read it, but Tricia is reading it nonetheless and she she likes it!
From the WHI website: On this edition of the White Horse Inn the hosts take a look at the ways in which consumerism and market values have influenced contemporary Christian thought and practice. This program also features special guest R. Scott Clark, and was recorded before a live audience in Oceanside, CA.
Info here (HT: Alejandro Moreno Morrison).
Do you realize that, for people of a certain age, let’s say those born since 1980, “Shine, Jesus Shine” (published in 1987) is now a “traditional hymn”? Read the rest of this entry »
The URC has a new website. It’s clean and easy to use. It’s a good place to start to find out about the theology, piety, and practice of the URCNA.
It’s about books and discounts. Shane has the details.
It’s been out of print for a while but Baker is re-publishing Richard Muller’s groundbreaking work, Christ and the Decree. We’ll have copies at the WSC Bookstore and you can pre-order it at Amazon. Thanks to WSC student Josh Forrest for point this out. We were just discussing this title yesterday in the Reformed Scholasticism seminar. If the pattern holds (and this is true for many good titles) it won’t stay in print very long. If you don’t have this book you should. If you haven’t read it you should.
By Howard Sloan. He notes that Ed was a bit more tolerant on the 2nd commandment than the Reformed confessions. In view of the constant pressure presented to the Reformed confession of the 2nd commandment by evangelicals and others, it’s well to remember what we confess: Read the rest of this entry »
Their first service was held on January 14, 2007. They are being supervised by Trinity Orthodox Reformed (URC), Church pastored by Rev. Al Bezuyen. They are presently searching for a pastor. They meet St. Columba Presbyterian Church, Hwy. 2, just 2 km past Hwy. 25, Marshfield, Prince Edward Island, Canada. Read the rest of this entry »
Thanks to John for the link
Bob Strimple was President of WSC when I was a student there in the mid-80s. He was the first professor of Systematic Theology and he is now President Emeritus and Professor Emeritus of Systematic Theology. He is the author of The Modern Search for the Real Jesus. You can download his Systematic Theology lectures for $2.00 a pop and trust me, they’re worth infinitely more than that! (the link above is only to the course we knew as “Holy Spirit” i.e. the application of redemption). The rest are here. Recently Bob went to see the documentary, Expelled. Here is his review: Read the rest of this entry »
I am enthused about my recently-received copy of a new edition of the split-leaf psalter. It is published by the Psalmody Committee of the Free Church of Scotland.
As you can see, it is a “split-leaf” psalter because the tunes are on top and the words are on the bottom, but they are separated so it’s possible to mix and match tunes with psalms. Don’t like that tune? Pick another with the same meter. So, for example, Ps 1a may be sung to three different tunes. Ps 23 has two possibilities (neither one is Crimond– the Book of Psalms for Singing [RPCNA] has Crimond as the second tune but the CRCNA 1959 Psalter-Hymnal has about 5 tunes and none of them are Crimond. What gives?) Want more information? Contact the committee at: psalmody@freechurchofscotland.org.uk
Given the present exchange rate these volumes are a little pricey (at least it was for me!) but they’re well-printed and bound and should last.
At Evergreen PCA. Fletcher (left) is the founder of Ministry of Hope, a “community-based response for meeting the physical and spiritual needs of the growing number of children orphaned by the AIDS epidemic.” He is doing amazing work in Malawi, work which some of our students have seen first hand. If you have the opportunity to get to know Fletcher and to hear him you will not regret it. He is a joy to have on campus and in class.
Thanks to Brad for pointing this out/posting it.
You might be interested in this notice from WSC: Read the rest of this entry »
The pietists meant well but they turned “having a relationship with Jesus” into a law. If you’re afraid that you’re relationship with Jesus isn’t good enough, you’re right and you need to hear this program.
Thanks to Michael at Twenty-First Century Tabletalk for alerting us to the publication of Cornel Venema’s dissertation. This is a great work. I did not find it until I had finished my own thesis on Olevianus. We reached very similar conclusions about our subjects. It’s published by an academic publisher and this work isn’t light reading but, for scholars who would understand Calvin’s doctrine of justification, this book is essential.
At the A-Team (HT: Justin @ Ref21)
UPDATE: It was sold out last night in Escondido. Whatever the critics may be saying (and they aren’t being kind; but are they being fair?) that’s pretty impressive for a documentary.
(HT: Anthony Carter)
In their current series, the WHI guys (Mike, Rod, Kim, and Ken) are doing a brilliant job dissecting the various pseudo-Christianities. The last two programs have been on “The Gospel According to Barnes and Noble.” At root what’s being marketed whether via Osteen, Oprah, Thomas Merton, or Sister Angelica is gnosticism and moralism. One of the great gifts given to the Reformed churches in the early 20th century was the renewal of the biblical doctrine of antithesis between Christianity and unbelief. This was at the heart of Machen’s critique of liberalism and at the basis of CVT’s apologetic.
This isn’t about the moral superiority of the Reformed over other traditions but about the difference between law and gospel, between belief and unbelief, between heaven and hell. This is a great expose of what your friends, co-workers, and neighbors are reading. If you want to know what they’re thinking and reading; if you want to talk with them about Christ, you need to hear this series.
UPDATE: I listened to these in reverse order. Part 1 of this series features a terrific interview with Richard Bauckham. Great stuff!
No, I’m not Joan Rivers but let’s not let that get in the way. When this blog began at the OURC website I had no access to site statistics. Since moving the HB to WordPress in December ‘07 I have been able to see every day which posts generate the most unique hits. Read the rest of this entry »
Westminster Seminary California faculty members Steve Baugh and Dennis Johnson are among the contributors to the ESV Study Bible. Steve did the notes on Ephesians and Dennis did the notes on the Revelation. The project is due to appear in October. Thanks to WSC student Tommy Myrick for the heads up.
Apparently the two-kingdoms theology is making more progress than I thought. The NY Sun today quotes the Attorney General of the United States as saying:
So far as focusing investigations, we investigate where the threat is coming from. The threat is coming from Islamist extremism. It’s not coming from Calvinism
Maybe he’s been reading Darryl Hart’s A Secular Faith?
As a postscript to the series on Reformed church members as free agents I note that a recent poll shows that a majority of American Roman Catholics believe that they too can be “good Catholics” even though they do not attend mass (HT: Jon Moersch). Read the rest of this entry »
In the Outlook. Also in this issue: Read the rest of this entry »
It’s also rumored that he eats children…uncooked!
UPDATE: I can’t comment on the YouTube site where the learned Red Beetle posted his penetrating expose but I did see this comment from “ReformedLou.” Read the rest of this entry »
Lig Duncan did his PhD thesis on the covenant theology of the fathers. Justin Taylor has links at Ref21 to interviews with Lig about the significance of the fathers for busy pastors.
In 1918 18,000 men at Ft Dodge (Des Moines) made a living Statue of Liberty (the folks in Lake Woebegon turned green with envy; HT- Daphne J.):
In today’s SD Union-Tribune. As with all medal of honor stories, this one is amazing. Two words come to mind: courage and selflessness.
No. Just ask Shane Lems.
(HT: George W.)
The work of an evil Welsh rugger underground or worse? (HT: Matt Crutchmer)
UPDATE: Thanks to Ken (below) for notifying HB readers that all has been made right at Ref21.
Soon. Check out his site for details. It’s Matt’s voice you hear wrapped around the free, downloadable WSC devotional podcasts.
(HT: Justin)
The Home School Legal Defense Association says (HT: Jon Peters on the PB):
Court of Appeal Grants Petition for Re-hearing
On March 25, the California Court of Appeal granted a motion for rehearing in the In re Rachel L. case—the controversial decision which purported to ban all homeschooling in that state unless the parents held a teaching license qualifying them to teach in public schools.
The automatic effect of granting this motion is that the prior opinion is vacated and is no longer binding on any one, including the parties in the case.
The Court of Appeal has solicited a number of public school establishment organizations to submit amicus briefs including the California Superintendent of Public Instruction, California Department of Education, the Los Angeles Unified School District, and three California teacher unions. The court also granted permission to Sunland Christian School to file an amicus brief. The order also indicates that it will consider amicus applications from other groups.
Home School Legal Defense Association will seek permission to file such an amicus brief and will coordinate efforts with a number of organizations interesting in filing briefs to support the right of parents to homeschool their children in California.
“This is a great first step,” said Michael Farris, chairman of HSLDA. “We are very glad that this case will be reheard and that this opinion has been vacated, but there is no guarantee as to what the ultimate outcome will be. This case remains our top priority,” he added.
A great lot of folk think so. The confessional Lutherans think we are rationalist for our Christology. They and some evangelicals, some liberals, most Amyraldians and most Arminians think we are rationalist for our doctrine of predestination. It has long been held that Reformed theology begins with an a priori (central dogma) doctrine of God from which they, it is claimed, deduced a system theology. In short, it is alleged that Reformed theology is more or less made up out of the human imagination.
Whether it is Pete Enns’ book or the several other volumes that are raising the question, after a 20 year hiatus, it appears that the doctrine of Scripture is back on the table. Andy McGowan has a new volume out on Scripture that suggests that Reformed theology did to the doctrine of Scripture what we’ve often been accused of doing with the doctrine of God.
Becuase folks are just finding the HB I’m re-posting the link to an earlier meditation about how Reformed folk should think about their relations to the dominant form of Christianity in America, “Three Ways of Relating to American Religion.”
It didn’t happen for us this year, but it did for Danny Hyde. In the introduction to his sermon yesterday morning pastor mentioned that he again received a barrage of invitations from local evangelical congregations to their Easter extravaganzas. Read the rest of this entry »
This edition features an excellent exchange between Bill Smith and Eric Landry on the relation to parachurch organizations and the spirituality of the church. Gerry Fox offers an interesting comparison between Calvin and Hastings College. There is reaction to Carl Trueman’s take on “Bog Standard Evangelicalism” on which the HB has also weighed in here and here.
The NTJ is one of the most valuable publications in Reformdom today. You can subscribe by writing to the NTJ at 1167 Kerwood Circle, Oviedo, FL 32765. Subscriptions are $10.00 per year and more for institutions. It’s money and time well spent.
I’ve always done everything on the HB in the open so here’s the deal: the HB has a fair number of readers and we are preparing to send children to college—apparently college profs get paid a LOT more than semnary profs. These two facts seem to create a certain potency. Let me explain. Read the rest of this entry »
Here’s a woman of remarkable courage and clarity. It’s a fascinating dialogue between a secularist critic of Islam, an interviewer, and, I assume, an Islamic teacher.
Update: A friend of a friend writes to say, “Al Jazeera TV station had the program that included Wafa Sultan and the Muslim scholar. Memri took it from there and it has been circulating for the last two years.”
In Touchstone. (HT: Ray Van Neste)