“Tradition. Without our traditions, our lives would be as shaky as . . . as a fiddler on the roof.” So said Tevye, the father of five daughters, in the 1964 musical Fiddler on the Roof, about his attempts to maintain his Jewish religious and cultural traditions as outside influences encroach upon the family’s lives. What is orthodusty? It is when the vitality of the faith, the […]
In January of 1993 Christians received a wake-up call at best, a death knell for our society at worst. William Jefferson Clinton was sworn in as President of the United States of America. Within days of his inauguration Christians had a very good idea of what they were in for in the years ahead. The […]
THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM: A STUDY GUIDE by Rev. G. L Williamson, 241 pages includes Scripture Index; P & R Publishing, PO Box 817, Phillipsburg, N.J. 08865. Reviewed by Rev. Paul T Murphy. Rev. G.I. Williamson is perhaps best known for writing the Study Guides for the Westminster Shorter Catechism (Vols. 1 & 2) and the […]
“Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women […]
HlSTORY AND PURPOSE Confessing the truth of God’s Word has always been important for those of Reformed persuasion. The Confessions of the Church, be they the Westminster, the Continental, the Second Helvetic others, have functioned to declare God’s truth to the world as witnesses, to preserve it from attackers as soldiers, to pass it on […]
The following article is the beginning of an inspirational message given by the Rev. Paul Murphy at the 2000 Reformed Fellowship Annual Meeting. It is a celebration of the advancement of the Reformed faith. The topic for my lecture this evening is “Like Apples of Gold in Settings of Silver.” That is a citation of […]
[Last month Rev. Murphy looked at the growth and advancements of the Reformed faith in the area of individuals and congregations. This month, Rev. Murphy continues the series by looking at denominations and ministies.] Denominations It used to be said that once a denomination had gone bad, there was no reversing it. As a matter […]
Magazines In our continuing look at the advancements of the Reformed faith in America, we cannot only talk about denominations and ministries. We should also look at magazines, which in addition to The Outlook, have a widespread influence. First, there is Tabletalk Magazine, published by Ligionier Ministries, and edited by R.C. Sproul Jr. I know […]
Seminaries When discussing the advancements of the Reformed faith, we need to mention distinctively reformed seminaries. MidAmerica, with which we are most familiar, just celebrated its 20th anniversary. There are also Whitefield Theological Seminary in Florida; Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary in Greenville, South Carolina, whose president is Dr. Joseph Pipa; Knox Theological Seminary in Florida […]
“Like a city whose walls are broken down is a man who lacks self-control.” Proverbs 25:28, NIV. Originally this statement from Proverbs was a startling and shocking statement. Today it has lost its effect because cities no longer have walls. But until the 15th & 16th centuries they were common. Walls were necessary for security, […]