THE PRIMACY OF SECULAR EFFECTS In the current church-state debate regarding education an important doctrine is evolving. It could be called the doctrine of the primacy of secular effects. Much government aid is being given to Christian colleges and universities in the form of scholarships, tuition grants, research grants, and grants for the construction of classrooms, […]

In my previous article, I noted that Kuyper has been a controversial figure within the Reformed community. During his own lifetime and afterward, Kuyper’s articulation of a Calvinistic worldview has provoked considerable debate. Evaluations of Kuyper’s position have ranged from enthusiastic approval to vigorous dissent, with any number of positions between these extremes. The number […]

In Gen. 3:15 we read that God said “I will put enmity between thee (Satan) and the Woman, (God’s people – the church) and between thy seed and her seed. It shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.” This is a most important doctrine pertaining to one’s salvation. Note first that God […]

A staple in international, orthodox Calvinism from the opening days of the Protestant Reformation has been the theological distinction between the “Law” and the “Gospel.” What does this distinction mean, and how important is it? Simply put, it contrasts two divinely ordained ways to the obtainment of life eternal, one by meritorious works (i.e., by […]

The year was 410. Visigoths were plundering and sacking Rome, the great city that was once the seat of the world’s largest and strongest empire. Many Romans saw this destruction as a direct punishment from the gods for the Romans’ departure from pagan religion. Many Christians despaired, wondering why God would send this pestilence into […]