Tag: christianity
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Notes on Political Theology
Petrus Van Mastricht’s systematic theology text (“Theoretical-Practical Theology”) takes up the office of the civil magistrate in his section on Christology, under the heading “The Mediator as King.” In other words, political theology is treated as a subdivision of Christology. The magistrate represents Christ and is to rule in submission to Christ. He then proceeds…
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Postmillennialism and Missions
On June 23rd 1833, Princeton Seminary graduate James Eckard was about to set sail for Ceylon (Sri Lanka). He took with him a letter written by ten year old Archibald Alexander Hodge and his sister Mary Elizabeth. The letter was addressed to the “heathen.” It said: Dear heathen, The Lord Jesus Christ has promised that…
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Notes on the Necessity of Christian Education
An X post on education from 9/9/24: What is (shockingly?) missing from this article is any acknowledgement of what God has actually commanded parents to do. The most obvious thing is completely ignored. It’s not as if God’s Word is silent in this area, leaving us to our devices when it comes to deciding how…
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Quotebook #6
“No society is healthy which tells its members to take no thought of the morrow because the state underwrites their future.” ― Richard M. Weaver “Your greatest contribution is the ones you leave behind.” — Alan Jackson (from “Small Town Southern Man”) “Poor is the nation that has no heroes, but poorer still is the…
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Notes on Grounds for Divorce
No-fault divorce is a horrific tragedy that has allowed far too many spouses to destroy their families when they should have been pressured to work things out. We should strive to reform civil laws and family courts to more closely approximate God’s design for marriage, including its permanence. Marriage is entered into with vows, “til…
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The Folly of Racial and Ethnic Arrogance
Racial and ethnic arrogance are just as sinful and foolish as personal arrogance. Humility is a virtue in every domain of life. — Some seem to think natural law teaches races should be segregated (a kind of natural law kinism of sorts). Wolfe leaned this direction in his book on Christian nationalism (though how far…
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Encouragement to Pastors for the Weekly Grind
Fellow pastors, it’s the eve of the Lord’s Day. Prepare yourself to lead your people into the presence of the Lord tomorrow. Prepare yourself and your heart for battle so you can lead your congregation in fighting the good fight. Prepare yourself to give the comfort and healing balm of the gospel, as a physician…
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Bring Your Guns to Church
One of the most fun conference talks I ever gave was this one in Monroe in 2020, developing a theology of self-defense and applying it to congregations. Thanks to Aaron Fudge, I now have an AI-generated transcript I can share. I have not edited this, but hopefully it’s pretty accurate. — # Bring Your Guns…
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James 2 and Care for the Poor: Helping Without Hurting
These notes are basically sermon follow-up from sermons I preached 10/6/19 and 10/13/19 — the sermons are available of our website. — In the sermon on James 2:1-13, I mentioned identity politics. I recommend this document on race and privilege to help clarify the issue: https://theecclesialcalvinist.wordpress.com/2017/08/31/critical-theory-and-the-unity-of-the-church/ In James 2:1ff, James is saying that judgment in…
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The Progressive Coalition: What Are We Up Against?
The rise of socialist Muslim pro-LGBTQ Democrat Zohran Mamdani to the place of apparent lock for NYC mayor raises all kinds of interesting questions about what ties together contemporary progressivism. Set aside the oddity of a city that saw firsthand how destructive Islam can be (has 9/11 been forgotten?) now choosing a Muslim to rule…
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