Many of us have probably been led to think of the Reformed (and Presbyterian) tradition as being separate and parallel tradition to the Lutheran tradition. There have been those within the modern Reformed tradition and within the Lutheran tradition since…
We all have some memories that burn into us like a branding. It may seem random, but some moments leave an impression that will always imprint our minds. One of those for me happened at a slumber party one of…
Over at Marginalia, a channel of the Los Angeles Review of Books, my old pal Bruce Gordon of Yale Divinity School has put together a panel of scholars to offer reflections on the Reformation. Bruce's Introduction and Joseph Koerner's Art…
In its theological response to the teachings of the Reformation, the Council of Trent (1545-1563) maintained that a “believer’s assurance of the pardon of his sins is a vain and ungodly confidence”. More pointedly the Council declared in Canon 16…
Last Friday morning I shuddered to see Scott Swain wasting of his brilliance in a tweet thread. I’m sure it was beneficial for the many who saw it, but I wanted more. And I was hoping for a format that…
Such is the technological and moral temper of our times that a serious report with the bizarre title Our Sexual Future with Robots might scarcely raise an eyebrow in a world where the scientifically possible is fast becoming the only…
When Calvin speaks of sharing the Lord’s Supper with Christ, covenantal concepts naturally arise, most notable when Calvin is discussing 1 Corinthians 10-11. Throughout his commentaries, Calvin frequently emphasizes that in the Supper we enjoy both the presence and the…
I am a conservative law and order sort of guy. I like the idea of giving police officers the benefit of the doubt. I like it when NFL…
The recent NFL controversy–which has spread to other venues too–concerning the appropriate posture during the national anthem has had my mind running in so many directions. First, my mind went down the liturgical path. We are liturgical beings; and, therefore,…
“I am more afraid of my own heart than of the pope and all his cardinals. I have within me the great pope, self.” Martin Luther almost certainly never made this statement (though many have falsely attributed it to him).…
