How can we avoid the extremes of monocausal fatalism, on the one hand, and open theism which insists that some events are “pointless” even to God, on the other? As I immersed myself in the Psalms after my cancer diagnosis,…
It’s that time of year again: the ancient tradition of Lent, kick-started by Ash Wednesday. It is also the time of year when us confessional types brace ourselves for the annual onslaught of a more recent tradition: that of evangelical…
No, not Carl’s triumphant return to provide a window into the mind of “Luther” Levy, but rather the celebrity anti-celebrity’s latest offering, considering Luther on the Christian Life (Crossway, arriving later this month). We are promised many good things between…
Returning from labours overseas, especially with limited internet access (and most of that devoted to communication with the family), means returning to Reformation21 with a somewhat fresh perspective. A survey of the material over the past couple of weeks reveals…
In scholastic theological discourse, ‘moral suasion’ and ‘physical influence’ represent two different ways of getting someone to do something. If my goal were, say, getting my four-year-old daughter to the dinner table, I might employ ‘moral suasion’ by promising her…
As I mentioned in the first post under this title (the other posts: no. 2; no. 3; no. 4), this series was a way of breaking up a paper that I gave at a pre-General Assembly conference sponsored by the…
The two kingdoms. Few phrases so short could be lobbed with such devastating effect into a parlor conversation at a Reformed theology conference these days–or a few years ago, at any rate, though perhaps new topics have now succeeded it…
“Come to me all you who are weak and heavy laden and I will give you rest.” (Matt. 11:28) Oh, the beauty of Jesus’ invitation. Who has not known the weariness that Jesus evokes, and the almost palpable relief in…
“Come to me all you who are weak and heavy laden and I will give you rest.” (Matt. 11:28) Oh, the beauty of Jesus’ invitation. Who has not known the weariness that Jesus evokes, and the almost palpable relief in…
[For the explanation of this series and the first post, see here; see here for installments two and three. There will be a final application post tomorrow.] Even as the 1960s came toward a close, Nelson Bell continued to advocate…
