What can we learn from the Methodists of two centuries ago? I am staunchly Presbyterian and am not arguing that we should change our standards, but we can surely learn from history. Omitting a number of critiques we might explore, two positive lessons stand out.   Learning from the Methodists What can we learn from... Continue Reading

“Prayer is not overcoming God’s reluctance,” says Martin Luther, “but laying hold of his willingness.” When we pray, we do not change the mind of God as if he might have chosen wrongly. We act out the infinite wisdom of God, in the midst of all the brokenness in front of us, and welcome the... Continue Reading

Some evangelical traditions more or less ignore church history. They are perhaps the most vulnerable to anachronistic stories about the ancient church. Chan’s rhetoric about who held to a “literal” view of the supper and when suggests that he belongs to that group of evangelicals who have not seriously engaged with the past but who... Continue Reading

We can learn through both positive and negative examples. So today, we’ll look at a Bible quotation used out of context. And we won’t just look at any example, we’ll look in the Bible itself at an example of the misuse of Scripture.   Have you ever tried to hammer a nail with a hand saw?... Continue Reading

Come to be known as the “Oxford Movement,” due to its beginnings at Oxford University, theologians such as John Keble (1792–1866), John Henry Newman (1801–1890), John Mason Neale (1818–1866), and Frederich Faber (1814–1863) sought to forge a middle way between Anglicanism and Roman Catholicism.   Over the past month I have been exploring the various... Continue Reading

Geerhardus Vos describes God’s will as “that perfection of God by which in a most simple act and in a rational manner He goes out toward Himself as the highest good and toward creatures outside Him for His own sake.” Stated negatively, God’s will cannot be separated from God Himself. Since God is one is... Continue Reading

“A piece of satire is not going to undermine the values of Christian faith, which has been around for more than 2,000 years,” the court’s president wrote. Netflix nor Porta dos Fundos have commented on the ruling. “Jesus, who’s hitting the big 3-0, brings a surprise guest to meet the family. A Christmas special so... Continue Reading

It is arguable that the Protestant heresy par excellence is Unitarianism, an error on the doctrine of God which can co-exist with a very high view of scripture. Many of the early Unitarians, the Socinians exhibit this. Thus, when John Owen engages with the Socinians, he really doesn’t have much to say about their doctrine of... Continue Reading

When first in Corinth, Paul financially supported himself by making tents with Aquila and Priscilla. Paul later told the Corinthians that though he had the right to receive compensation for his spiritual labors, he did not make “use of this right” in order to keep from putting “an obstacle in the way of the gospel... Continue Reading

“The case of polygyny being tolerated in the Old Testament is the classic illustration of the supposed low type of Old Testament ethics. Yet…Jesus himself interprets this as a pedagogical measure on the part of God in order to lead Israel on to the absolute ideal. It was for the hardness of man’s heart, and... Continue Reading