What Role Does Natural Theology Have in Reformed Thinking? (A Review of Reforming Apologetics by J.V. Fesko)
Fesko sees apologetics functioning in a threefold manner: to respond to intellectual challenges, to clarify the truth, and to encourage believers.
The Gallican Confession (1559), The Belgic Confession (1561), the Canons of Dort (1618–1619), and the Westminster Confession of Faith (1647) affirm ideas like the book of nature, innate knowledge in terms of common notions, or the light of nature. And in particular, Anthony Burgess, a framer of the WCF, penned a work affirming natural theology... Continue Reading
The Color of Incomplete History: A Review Article
The story of the American church’s struggle with racism is a multi-faceted painful story and it needs to be told in its fullness as much as possible.
A critical part of writing sound history is citing evidence of contrary perspectives from the era under review for an objective telling of the story. A complete history will acknowledge both the evil and the good. Historian Douglas Sweeney offers a balanced appraisal of evangelical history on race relations: “… despite such undeniable moral failure,... Continue Reading
A Censorious Spirit
How can we check our spirits so that we rid them of this censoriousness?
In what is arguably one of the most important books ever written, Charity and Its Fruits, Jonathan Edwards sounded the theological alarm about a censorious spirit being contrary to Christian love. In the course of his sermon on this subject, Edwards set out three ways “wherein a censorious spirit or a disposition uncharitably to judge others... Continue Reading
Classical Theism in the Pastoral Key
These are truly fascinating times in which to be living when the classical, orthodox doctrine of God is gripping the imagination of the church.
Some may still wonder why such things as simplicity, immutability, and impassibility, and distinctions such as that between God’s incommunicable and communicable attributes are so important. Clearly, Barrett’s book will be useful to such, as will Peter Sanlon’s Simply God and James Dolezal’s All That Is In God — very helpful, straightforward guides. And Todd Billings’ Rejoicing in Lament has... Continue Reading
The Logic of God – Ravi Zacharias
How good philosophy contributes to effective apologetics.
The Logic of God is the newest offering by Zacharias. This book contains 52 Christian essentials for the heart and mind. The book is targeted to Christian readers but it would be an excellent resource for skeptics to consider as well. Ask students of apologetics, “Who has wielded the weightiest influence in the 20th... Continue Reading
Turretin’s Treasure
Though Turretin's name is well-known in Reformed theology, his Institutes of Elenctic Theology is not well-read today.
As the title indicates, Turretin’s Institutes is an exercise in “elenctics.” As such, it engages some of the principal heads of controversy that lie between Reformed theology and its rivals (both ancient and modern) in order to refute error and bring every thought captive to the obedience of Christ. The design of the Institutes explains the polemical edge... Continue Reading
Reformed Theology Elevates Human Freedom And God’s Decree (A Review of Divine Will And Human Choice by Richard Muller)
The neat modern categories of libertarianism, determinism, and compatibilism all mis-describe early modern Reformed thought according to Richard Muller.
The Reformers believed in genuine freedom of choice. Yet like their forebears, freedom for them meant that one can freely do according to nature and according to potency. A human cannot fly (nature). And sometimes one person coerces another person to act (since this person has no potency to resist). Some criticize Reformed Theology... Continue Reading
Books I Have Read: God in the Rainforest
Above everything else, God in the Rainforest seeks to tell the story of the Waorani from their own standpoint.
Life in the rain forest is precarious and leaves little space for the development of permanent structures or enduring culture. As a result, the Waorani were entirely pragmatic in their response to outside influences. They adopted western dress and the use of firearms for hunting incredibly quickly – much to the frustration of the anthropologists... Continue Reading
The Future of Everything
The Future of Everything will help deepen your understanding and answer some questions as it overviews the Bible's teachings on the afterlife and end-times.
Boekestein sets out to explain to everyday Christians what theologians refer to as “eschatology”–the study of the end-times as taught in Scripture. That’s an area that can be complicated and is often obscure to us, but the author succeeds in making all the main lines plain. Pastor Boekestein has a gift for clear, accessible writing... Continue Reading
A City upon a Hill: Nationalism, Religion, and the Making of an American Myth
Many Americans would instantly recognize that line and regard it as a vital description of the American character.
One problem with this nationalistic reading of the text is that no single source can be demonstrated to define the American character, American identity, or America’s place in the world. Contra Tocqueville, Perry Miller, and more recently George McKenna, the Puritans did not give birth to any essential American disposition. Neither did any other intellectual source,... Continue Reading
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