The reason behind the overture is that the current paragraph in the Book of Order “implies that Scripture is merely equal to the confessions and has no binding authority in the life of an ordained person or in a council of the church. The new language clearly recognizes the authority of Scripture and conforms to the language... Continue Reading

The statement ends with a warning that, although “the C of E has a long tradition of tolerating conscientious dissent and of seeking to avoid drawing lines too firmly”, the Bishops expected their clergy to honour the vow of obedience made at ordination.   AS THE first same-sex marriages loom, the C of E House... Continue Reading

Pastors’ wives have shared a common plight: they are very lonely. Indeed the transparency of these pastors’ wives is amazing. Many have shared with each other on this blog about their battles with depression. My desire to offer help to pastors’ wives has increased greatly. My respect and admiration of them has also grown significantly.... Continue Reading

Special revelation is indeed special. God has spoken, clearly revealing Himself to us through His inerrant word. Through His special revelation, we can know God, His creation, our fall, and our redemption that came from the Father through the Son and by the Holy Spirit. Everything we do, say, and display when we preach must serve... Continue Reading

By comparing some of the above dates, it becomes clear that as soon as RTS opened up [Fall of 1966], students soon began going there instead of to Columbia. Some appear to have finished at Columbia rather than transfer, while others did transfer mid-program. It may also be noteworthy that the entire group of RTS... Continue Reading

“There is great fear among some, here and round the world, that that will lead to the betrayal of our traditions, to the denial of the authority of scripture, to apostasy, not to use too strong a word,” he said. “And there is also a great fear that our decisions will lead us to the... Continue Reading

Arius’ unorthodox position can be summed up very simply as “there was when he was not.” In other words, he held that God the Son is not co-eternal with God the Father. Instead, he believed that the Son was God’s first creation and that through him everything else was made (Colossians 1:15). This made the... Continue Reading

In short, by the mid-20th century, some version of Arminianism became the default theology of evangelicalism and fundamentalism because, in my view, they posed relatively little threat to the fundamental assumptions of human autonomy and rationalism (or subjectivism) that shaped the modern mind. Early Arminianism anticipated modernity and over the centuries forms of Arminianism adapted... Continue Reading

He makes a number of interesting observations along the way. One of the most important of these is that ‘contemporary evangelicalism is increasingly becoming aligned by shared conferences, courses and choruses, rather than confessions, creeds or catechisms.’   Andrew Wilson has a fascinating post on his blog on the subject of the ‘new centre of British evangelicalism.’... Continue Reading

With the membership of ECO surpassing 100 congregations at the turn of the year, the time was right to form additional presbyteries. “Growth of the denomination made this move necessary,” said Allin, who indicated that ECO’s polity allows the Synod Executive Council to authorize the formation of and give final approval of the new presbyteries... Continue Reading