Occasionally, I see and hear comments about the relationship between Reformed theology and the pagan world. Some are nervous and hesitant to appreciate non-Christian authors whereas others sometimes express deep appreciation and admiration for those who do not profess the…
There’s a new liberalism making its way through our churches and transforming our denominations. No, this liberalism doesn’t deny the virgin birth or the historicity of Jesus’ resurrection. This liberalism is steeped in biblical exegesis and historic-Reformed categories. Today’s liberalism…
In 2016, there was an eruption in conservative Evangelical and Reformed theologians surrounding the doctrine of the Eternal Functional Subordination of the Son (EFS). There’s no need to rehash what has already been said, as that has been summarized helpfully…
In recent years I have heard and read various criticisms of the Puritans and (rather surprisingly) Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress. Bunyan’s “dream” is certainly not a perfect system of theology by any stretch of the imagination, but if it leaves you cold then…
On a recent visit to a bookstore in Gothenburg, I came across an early edition of Bonaventure’s commentary on Lombard’s Sentences. The following week in Copenhagen I bought a 1586 edition of Thomas’s Summa. Re-visiting those works caused me to…
Following the fall of the Cambridge Dictionary, the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary has slipped from the same cultural precipice only to dashed on the blunt rocks of wokeness below. The evidence? A secondary definition has been added to define the word…
Welcome to Ref21! It probably sounds strange to be welcomed to a page that you have read for nearly twenty years! Ref21 has been a staple of daily Christian reading for literally thousands of believers. So, why act as if…
Thanks to Dr. Scott Swain, President of Reformed Theological Seminary Orlando for his recent contribution to the current conversation / debate / fight over the doctrine of man, or biblical anthropology. Given the new controversies surrounding issues like gender and…
Through sophisticated statements on social media, certain prominent voices in the evangelical wing of Christendom have revealed their penchant for pitting Jesus’ ethical teaching against that of the Apostle Paul. To elevate what Jesus taught over against what His apostles…
This is the final part of James Renihan’s essay on the scope of theology. Read part one here, and part two here. Scope as a Theological Tool There is another function of scopus, already alluded to, but which now deserves at least brief…
