What has Silicon Valley to do with Jerusalem? More than you might think, but that question, of course, is a riff on Tertullian’s famous query, “What has Athens to do with Jerusalem?” It was a rhetorical question. By it, Tertullian implied that Christian theology, represented by Jerusalem, should steer clear of Greek philosophy, represented by
As we know from birthdays and holidays, honorary events and public celebrations of service, giving speaks. It's not as banal as the price tag corresponding to the size of the giver's heart, but still, what and why a person gives says much of the giver. What does the practice of Christian giving say about the
We must be realistic about what we can know. Christians above all. In even the most apparently simple affirmation in the Christian faith - I believe in God the Father almighty - we must not pretend that we can grasp the fullness of it. No, we sway in a boat in the middle of the
(The following is a solicited interaction with points raised in a debate between Professors K. Scott Oliphint (Westminster Theological Seminary) and Paul Helm (Regent College) - who blogs at "Helm's Deep" - over Dr. Oliphint’s recent book, God With Us: Divine Condescension and the Attributes of God [Crossway, 2012]. I’ve tried to make sure that
N.B. The PDF of the Fesko review posts has been updated with page numbers and a few minor (only typographical) corrections. The updated version is this one.
Given current interest in the topics of good works, the Reformed tradition, and salvation, I have a linked document for you below, but first, some background. Several months ago, I posted a series of review posts on the first chapters of John Fesko's recent book, Beyond Calvin. Pressing ecclesiastical needs pulled me away from the
Below are the words of Westminster Assembly divine Obadiah Sedgwick, using language strikingly similar to Calvin’s (among many others) about the necessity of good works for eternal life, within a treatise flooded with the controlling importance of union with Christ. Note particularly his sensitivity to the danger that pardon might be equated illegitimately with salvation: The
The following article is a commendation of catechetical nurture as a biblical idea. It forms part of the Introduction to a forthcoming Scripture and catechism memory notebook I am editing with invaluable assistance from the Wince+Sing team and members of the session and congregation of Immanuel Presbyterian, where I serve. The memory notebook is crafted to nurture
I'm presently writing up some reflections on what it means to say "I believe in the holy catholic church, the communion of saints" when the Church earns our distrust. It's a difficult question, and one we render more difficult when we pretend the Church never does such a thing. Yet the answer, if we can
The Apostles’ Creed opens with “I” rather than with “we” which many other creeds use. This first word – I – pinpoints responsibility. It is not “we” which might leave mental room, in public recitation, for the condescension of “we, but really they.” It is “I.” The “I” pins us down, as one has said.[1]