Machen on tolerance and liberty

Machen deeply understood and valued freedom of association. Voluntary associations, such as confessional churches, must be free to set their own boundaries and definitions. This basic point is widely misunderstood.

God and Michigan’s Dutch Reformed

Early settler doctrine, piety, and practice should certainly humble our hearts and minds.

On Republicans and Presbyterians

One of the byproducts of the Reformation is that the Founding Fathers had an organizational system that was already republican in form: the Presbyterian Church. The anti-Rome and anti-Anabaptist impulses of the Presbyterians ran parallel with the anti-monarch and anti-mob impulses of most of the Founding Fathers.

Christianity in one blog post

I wrote this short summary for my church youth group. I found the exercise to be extremely helpful, and I want to share it broadly. This is just one attempt to work on the blocking and tackling of my faith.

Luther and Calvinist movie trailers

Last year, I enthusiastically backed two film projects on Kickstarter: Luther and Calvinist. The trailers for both films were released over the weekend, and I’m excited! Interestingly, both trailers feature the one and only R.C. Sproul.

The crux of the matter: bondage of the will

In his treatise, On the Bondage of the Will, Martin Luther stated that the dispute over “free choice” was the ultimate issue for the church.

Preparing for Reformation 500

Reformation Day 2016 will mark the 499th anniversary of the unofficial start of the Reformation. This upcoming year is sure to be filled with excellent scholarship, writing, and reflection. I hope that all Christians, but especially Reformed Christians, use this milestone as an impetus to assess the health of our churches and denominations.

“We Don’t Know”

How does one cope with the haunting truth of “We Don’t Know”? In the song, hope provides the antidote. This point is reinforced in the music video when the protagonist “Hope” defeats “Lord Doom.”

But, hope in itself is vacuous. Is it just a cheerful emotion? No, it must be connected to some objective reality or being. In what do we hope?

Christians can’t hedge

I’m not tempted to jettison my faith and replace it with the latest flavor of the month or total despair. That’s simply not an option. What tempts me, and I suspect you as well, is a nagging and persistent desire to hedge my bets.

More than flies of a summer: Connecting Smith and Kirk

Smith’s broad point about human nature—that we are what we love, not what we think—is related in part to Russell Kirk’s rejection of ideology. Both men assert that individuals and communities are shaped by our practices, habits, and loves.