Most people today probably regard Calvinism as safely committed to those theological museums which one of our correspondents referred to last month. It can still be seen in the Confessions of the 16th and 17th centuries and in its residual influence on many aspects of our culture. But it no longer exists as a living […]
Reprobation – off hand one would hardly call this a pleasant or a delightful subject. There is something so awesome about this that we may shrink from any contemplation of it! Election – yes, we glory in that. But reprobation? By nature we may say, perish the thought! But here too, as so often, we err […]
Friendship has sometimes been described as the master passion, and most of us will undoubtedly agree that the enjoyment of a “bosom companion” plays a crucial part in our lives. The German word “seelenfreund” (soul-friend) is a beautiful, self-explanatory word for friend, for it adequately expresses the basic, intimate and spiritual nature of friendship. Poor indeed […]
The Proposed Change My attention was recently called to continuing efforts being made in some of our communities to remove from our Christian schools any commitment to the Reformed creeds and to transform them from being specifically Reformed into more broadly “Christian” institutions, and I was asked to write a reaction to this policy. The pressure […]
An Old Question The apostle Jude began writing a letter. He knew what he would write. But something happened to change his mind. A report came in which deeply disturbed him regarding what was going on in the churches. Therefore, he wrote a letter concerning the need for believers to contend for the faith. From […]
And what is the immeasurable greatness of his power in us who believe, according to the working of his great might which he accomplished in Christ when he raised him from the dead and made him sit at his right hand in the heavenly places. Ephesians 1:19,20 Paul is overwhelmed! So much so that he […]
Old and New Books I was recently asked to make a critical comparison of an older and a newer series of textbooks to be used for teaching Bible in the Christian schools. Some of the observations in that study may interest many Christian parents as well as a few board members who must decide which […]
HISTORICAL DIRECTORY OF THE REFORMED CHURCH IN AMERICA, by Peter N. Vanden Berge, 1978. 385 pages, 1978. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., Grand Rapids, Michigan, $15.00. Reviewed by John Vander Ploeg. Even though the majority who read these lines are probably CRC in their denominational affiliation, nevertheless the volume under review can be of interest […]