7 Oct 2014

Why You Must Be a Calvinist or an Arminian

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A few weeks ago, Mark Snoeberger had a post arguing that in the matter of salvation, especially the issue of regeneration, there are only two possible options, which he labeled as Calvinism and Arminianism. As might be expected, there was some push back to the idea of this two-option-only proposal. Mark also alluded to an...
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4 Oct 2014

New Book—A Conservative Christian Declaration

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Last month a new book was released titled A Conservative Christian Declaration. Co-authored by six men (Kevin Bauder, Scott Aniol, David de Bruyn, Mike Riley, Ryan Martin, and Jason Parker) this fairly short volume (92 pp.) is intended to articulate “a fully orbed conservative Christianity that includes both doctrine and practice” (6). Although six men...
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30 Sep 2014

Jesus and the Promise of the NT Canon

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Among the many promises of John 14–17 are several that anticipate heightened activity by the Holy Spirit in the apostolic era. These have long been a source of both comfort and confusion to NT believers. Assurances that the Spirit would assume new functions of “bringing to remembrance” Christ’s words (14:25–26) and empowering the testimony of...
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24 Sep 2014

Revisiting Common Grace

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It’s mid-September here in Michigan. The much-anticipated, season-changing cold front has gone through, the mornings have become crisp and clear, and the first smells of Autumn have started to fill the air. And this week my son and I are observing a little-celebrated but highly anticipated local holiday: the start of small game season. By...
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22 Sep 2014

John MacArthur Rebukes Joel Osteen

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A few weeks ago there was an event here at Dodger Stadium with Joel Osteen, thirty-five thousand people at Dodger Stadium, something like that. He is now the largest, quote/unquote church…. I’m using the word loosely…in America down in Houston. You need to understand that he is a pagan religionist in every sense. He’s a...
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20 Sep 2014

On the Buying of Seminary Textbooks

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In August 1998, I ordered some of my first seminary textbooks as a student. That particular semester, one item stood out above the rest. Philip Schaff’s 8-volume History of the Christian Church stood out primarily due to its price. At the time Schaff retailed for about $249. Most of us discovered that you could purchase...
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18 Sep 2014

On Being a "Biblicist": Why You Can’t Choose "None of the Above" on the Calvinism/Arminianism Question

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For my whole life I’ve been broadly a part of an ecclesiastical culture/movement that has been disinclined to commit either to Calvinism or Arminianism. A steady stream of articles, essays, and blog posts have kept this delicate balancing act alive for decades (for a recent and more-than-usually scholarly example, see the ongoing series here—I was...
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16 Sep 2014

Gospel Issues and Weighing Doctrines

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One of the issues that still needs clarification in Christianity is how to weigh doctrines. Christians have historically recognized that certain truths are fundamental or essential to Christianity, while others have less importance. But how do we know which doctrines are which? In the last issue of Themelios, D. A. Carson writes an editorial offering...
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