The Church in the World
If we’re awake, we will have a keen sense of the powerful undertow of a culture that has discarded almost every reference to, or value of, Jesus Christ. To the world, the church is too often considered an obsolete community…
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Cyril of Jerusalem, Ron Swanson, and the catholicity of the church
In the Nicene Creed we confess that the church is “one, holy, catholic, and apostolic.” Of these four marks, the third mark–the catholicity of the church–is probably the most susceptible to misunderstanding among evangelical Protestants. The catholicity of the church,…
Katherine Sonderegger and the Divine Oneness of God
I’ve been slowly working my way through Katherine Sonderegger’s Systematic Theology Volume 1: The Doctrine of God. Released this year, it is the sort of book that pastor-theologians or theological students could make the focus of a reading group. It…
Christological Confusion & China’s Reforming Churches (part 6)
This is the sixth post in a twelve-part series on the current Christological confusion taking root in China’s emerging Reformed community (see part 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5). Second Statement: Platonic Dualism As noted at the end of the previous post (see part…
The World in the Church 2: Ordinary World, Ordinary Church?
My first article began with the observation that Satan ambitiously aims to attack the church at the very points that are intended by God for its defence. He seeks to bring the world into the church through its elders, and…
The World in the Church 2: Ordinary World, Ordinary Church?
My first article began with the observation that Satan ambitiously aims to attack the church at the very points that are intended by God for its defence. He seeks to bring the world into the church through its elders, and…
Proleptic Meals
In light of our MoS episode on the Lord's Supper this week, I thought this article would be fun to share. This is a fascinating book which prompted me to write a lot of reflections on it while reading. I…
Spousal Catechesis
Christian catechisms of the question and answer variety came into their own in the sixteenth century. The German Reformer Johannes Brenz developed a Q. & A. catechism for propagating the (revised) Christian faith as early as 1527. Luther followed suit…
The Need for Pastor Theologians
Authors and pastors Gerald Hiestand and Todd Wilson are “resurrecting an ancient vision,” that of The Pastor Theologian. In their book, they lament that with the rise of the academy, theologians and intellectuals tend to find their home in that…
Can justification be lost?
I have a work in progress, defending the Reformed doctrine of justification by faith alone. In this work I am trying to make it as pastoral as possible for the average layman in the church to benefit from in his…