Why is Bonhoeffer stressing justification, imputation, and alien righteousness in his lectures? Because, while it was so central to Luther in the sixteenth century, the Lutheran church of the twentieth century had let the doctrine go by the wayside. The church had sold its birthright. We should not wonder at this. The doctrine of alien... Continue Reading

And, similar to Supreme Court Justice Kennedy’s decision on the DOMA case, the lawsuit alleges that the state law violates the equal protection clause in the Fourteenth Amendment. Later, the suit was amended to include a challenge to the state’s gay marriage ban, too, also citing equal protection and due process. That ban, passed by... Continue Reading

The whining about unequal pay and prestige for women athletes could now be nicely brought to an end: if gender is just an attitude of mind, then when it comes to athletics, let human beings compete on a level — nay, on the same — playing field. Of course, it might just be that gender... Continue Reading

Many Christians talk about sin as if it were merely a relational tiff between God and man, and what is needed is for us simply to apologize and accept God’s forgiveness. That image of sin as lovers’ quarrel, though, distorts the relationship in which we stand to God. In communicates that there is no broken... Continue Reading

Unity in the body of Christ is also important to me. This is something that all Christians long for. We want to be united. I think that we all want to be united in our love for one another, and we would all like to say that we care about the truth. Unfortunately, sometimes these... Continue Reading

I believe that Attachment 4 is an outcropping of problematic subterranean theological commitments, and it is not the only one. Those subterranean commitments include a deficient understanding of common grace, which leads to an endorsement of a form of natural theology, to the extent that it affirms much of the Koran and the Islamic doctrine... Continue Reading

Nearly every state that has passed same-sex marriage legislation has made exceptions claiming that no pastor will be required to perform same-sex marriages. But as Robert George has pointed out, the protections are thin indeed. Tax exemption will be challenged, and so will accreditation for Christian colleges and schools that hold to traditional views of... Continue Reading

In the PCA both the “grace boys” and the “obedience boys” confess justification by faith alone. However, they diverge with pastoral use they make of the doctrine. With regard to the tensions between the “grace boys” and the “obedience boys”, much as I would like to, I cannot bring myself to embrace fully the “grace” view,... Continue Reading

It must be acknowledged that Calvinists have not only robustly encouraged, engaged, and propagated missions, but have led some of the great mission’s and evangelistic movements in the history of the church. Even a cursory glance at the history of missions and missionaries produces a hall of fame filled with Calvinists. It is often asserted... Continue Reading

We are often only concerned about our own little kingdoms rather than the kingdom of God, monuments to our own names rather than glory to the name of our God, glory from men rather than glory to God. When we give, let’s never ask: What will this do for me? What returns will it bring... Continue Reading