Blog 14: 1.8.2 – 1.8.9
We noted earlier the distinction Calvin draws between certainty and opinion. The Holy Spirit brings about the certain conviction that Scripture is the Word of God, whereas the testimony of…
Paul Helm
Blog 13: 1.7.3 – 1.8.1
The Christian church is subordinate to the Word of God. She does not grant the Bible its authority. Divine authority exercised through Scripture comes before the church, it is not…
Blog 12: 1.6.2 – 1.7.2
What is the knowledge of God that Scripture makes sense of? Calvin insists that, before it is the knowledge of God the redeemer, Scripture gives us the true knowledge of…
Blog 11: 1.5.12 – 1.6.1
Whether or not Calvin patterns the Institutes after the Letter to the Romans it is pretty clear that at this point he has Romans 1-2 in mind. God manifests his…
Arminian Theology
Election, grace, predestination, bondage of the will – these will be taken by many who read this review to be concepts whose meaning is drawn exclusively from Reformed theology, from…
The Derailing of Apologetics
I remember the first time I was asked whether I was a presuppositionalist or an evidentialist in apologetics. That was on my first visit to the USA, more years ago…
Sermons on the Beatitudes
Calvin’s sermons were delivered extempore, taken down by the remarkable Denis Raguenier, published by the diaconate of Geneva, and the proceeds used to support refugees. Initially, Calvin was not keen…
Helm Responds to Vanhoozer
I thank Kevin for his kind personal references, and for his lengthy response to my piece. But it doesn’t get to the point, does it? Of course Kevin is not…
Sex, Marriage, and Family in John Calvin’s Geneva, Volume 1: Courtship, Engagement, and Marriage
‘Calvin had no taste or stomach for things outside his particular calling. For him social pleasures were nonexistent. He never mentions domestic joys or woes in his letters. The beauties…
Charles Hodge and the Method of Systematic Theology: a Corrective
In recent times Charles Hodge has come in for a drubbing in connection with his remarks on the nature of what he calls theological science, as these are set out…