During the first half of the twentieth century J. Gresham Machen was widely regarded as conservative Protestantism’s most articulate and forceful defender. When he died suddenly on January 1, 1937 at the age of 55, Presbyterians and Reformed mourned the loss of a man who had almost single-handedly kept Calvinism alive even if not entirely […]
J. Gresham Machen—honored in this issue of The Outlook on the sixtieth anniversary of his death—was the leading scholarly critic of liberalism in America in the 1920s and 1930s. He stood with others before and after him, such as Abraham Kuyper and Cornelius Van Til, in defense of historic Christianity against the rising liberal doctrine […]
The Apostles’ Creed says it simply and succinctly, “I believe in the Holy Spirit.” The Nicene Creed, identifies the Holy Spirit as “the Lord and Giver of life; who proceedeth from the Father and the Son; who with the Father and the Son together is worshiped and glorified; who spake by the prophets.” Pentecost is […]
INTRODUCTION Before His ascension into heaven, Jesus mandated His church to make disciples of all nations. In order to equip her for that task, He promised the Holy Spirit. “You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and […]
The admission by a prominent abortion advocate that he lied about the number of babies killed during the called “partial-birth abortion” is surprising only in its candor. Ron Fitzsimmons, executive director of the National Coalition of Abortion Providers, said he misled the public because he feared the truth would damage the abortion rights cause. Recalling […]
If and when spiritual Christian revival occurs, what will it look like? Scriptures gives us a sure answer. The inspired Psalmist writes: “Revive us, oh Lord, according to your Word” (Ps. 119:107). Revival will be an awesome and unexpected fulfillment of the holy teachings and gracious promises of God as contained in the Scriptures. The […]
Much attention has been given in recent years to the increasing number of conservative Protestants who are converting to Roman Catholicism. What is less well documented is that during this time a significant number of conservative Protestants—including some from Reformed backgrounds—have instead converted to Eastern Orthodoxy. The best known is perhaps Frank Schaeffer, son of […]
Occasionally the comedy series “Car 54 Where Are You?” is rerun on cable television. The show’s premise involves two police officers, Gunther Toody and Francis Muldoon, who seldom answer their squad car’s two-way radio because they are either asleep, want to end their duty day quietly so they can go bowling, or, alternatively, more often […]
(Continued from the April issue, 1997) PROPHECY, PROMISE AND FULFILLMENT The first problem area in the application of a literal hermeneutic relates to dispensationalism’s treatment of biblical prophecies or promises and their fulfillment. Here the dispensationalist insistence upon a “literal” reading of the biblical texts, especially the prophecies, actually masks the more basic claim that […]