“The Scriptures are the final and infallible authority in this fallen world, but the carrier of this Word is the church. As we add our witness to his, we are doing what he has called us to do in those Scriptures. As we preach sermons, compose confessions of faith, examine ministerial candidates in terms of …
Foundations for Worship
“The incarnation of the Word leads to the proclamation of the Word, and this proclamation is in the end the establishing of communion, both with God and with the worshiping congregation. To put it succinctly, the apostolic proclamation of the Word is the basis of worship” (Hughes Oliphant Old, The Reading and Preaching of the …
Radical, in a Mainstreamy Kind of Way
I saw a video clip the other day, which I cannot now find, of Andrew Napolitano having a conversation with Sarah Palin. Napolitano is a high octane liberatarian, not to be confused with Janet Napolitano who is . . . um, not. The thing that was striking to me about this conversation was how radical …
The Romance of Orthodoxy
“Another problem that people have with creeds is the problem of ‘stifling orthodoxy,’ what I call orthdusty . . . At the same time, the truths contained in the great creeds can be compared to theological prerequisites. A student is not going to get on very well in fifth grade if he has to restudy …
Most of the Sermon is Unspoken
“Preaching must intimate more than it defines. The power of suggestion is one of preaching’s greatest strengths” (Hughes Oliphant Old, The Reading and Preaching of the Scriptures, Vol. 1, p. 146).
Ultimate Truth Has Hair on His Arms
“Another common objection to the early creeds is their supposed ‘Hellenism.’ The early church was limited by its Greek cultural surroundings, so the argument goes, and so of course it is understandable that they unwittingly imported Hellenistic concepts into the Hebrew world of Scripture. This objection is tiresome because of the ignorance manifested by it, …
From the Start
“Jesus was preeminently a preacher of the Word . . . His three-year ministry was above all a preaching ministry. Those who continued his ministry, the apostles, were preeminently preachers as well, as evidenced by the Acts of the Apostles and the New Testament Epistles. Christianity from its earliest beginnings was a preaching religion” (Hughes …
Populism and Common Sense
Populism is a fascinating political phenomenon. In the conservative intellectual tradition — in which I have been bobbing about for some decades — there is a deep suspicion of populism. Of course, in the populist tradition, there is a deep suspicion of pointy-headed elites, and so I suppose we’re even. The Founders were certainly concerned …
Holy Spirit Blueprints
“At thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore” (Ps. 16: 11) The Basket Case Chronicles #19 “Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual” (1 Cor. 2:13). The difficulty here is that we often rush to assume what …
While Remembering that No Human Authority is Absolute
“But against Rome, classic Protestants have a higher view of authority than the Roman Catholics do. Suppose a woman embraces her duty to be respectful and submissive to her husband. But suppose further that in order to make this painful duty a little easier, she adopted the view that her husband could never make a …