On October 31, 2021, we will commemorate the 504th anniversary of the Reformation. What really is the Reformation all about? A good case can be made for asserting that it was primarily about the cardinal doctrine of justification by faith alone. Others would argue that its primary emphasis was on soteriology (the doctrine of salvation) […]
It seems like the west has descended into rage. Newspapers, mid-day talk shows, social-media feeds, “prove me wrong” videos on YouTube, White House press conferences—no matter where one turns, one is treated to the strained sounds of rage against opponents of the (perceived) good and righteous and true. […]
We are approaching the time of year when many American families will rewatch the 1946 holiday classic It’s a Wonderful Life. The movie tells the story of George Bailey, a self-sacrificing father and husband whose life begins to unravel on a fateful Christmas Eve. Viewers who persist through some fast-and-loose Hollywood theology about how people […]
Last time, I began to look at James’s prophetic declamation against the rich. On its face and outside of biblical context, it may be seen to support the notion that God doesn’t like rich people. But as I tried to show last time, we’re the ones interested in the outward man, whereas God is interested […]
Creation was and is through words. In the beginning God spoke and it came into being. In John 1 Jesus is called the Word and all creation was through him. No wonder that language is another area where the adversary of God is waging war against God and his people. Humans are made […]
“Be true to yourself.” “Be creative, be unique, be you.” “True love will love me for who I really am.” These and countless other platitudes have become so normal in twenty-first-century America that we seldom question the worldview behind them and seldom understand why that worldview is so dangerous and deadly to our lives as […]
In a previous article, I observed that the length of pastorates has increased markedly in Reformed churches during the last century. In denominations like the Christian Reformed Church and the United Reformed Churches in North America, the average length of pastorates today is nearly double what it was in the mid-twentieth century. Whereas pastorates averaged […]
Through Many Dangers P. M. Kuiper. Jenison, MI: Reformed Free Publishing Association, 2021. Book 1: 208 pages. Book 2: 216 pages. Set: $23.95. The book Through Many Dangers by P. M. Kuiper is written for boys and girls of middle- and high-school age, but my two sons, who are in their twenties, and I, their […]
The Night before Christmas W. G. Vande Hulst. Nederlandia, AB: Inheritance Publications, 2016. 48 pages. Paperback. $8.95. Many children love to hear Vande Hulst’s stories. His works are very popular. Originally written in Dutch, many are now available in English. Your young children and grandchildren will love them. This story is about a little boy […]
The Heidelberg Catechism was so named after the city of its birth. From 1231–1720 it was the capital of the Palatinate, one of Germany’s finest provinces, located on both sides of the upper Rhine. The University of Heidelberg, founded in 1386, was the center of varied Protestant theological activity, Lutheran, Zwinglian, Calvinistic. It was the […]