“More and more it has occurred to me that the big issues between the Anabaptists and the Reformers of classical Protestantism are still among the biggest unresolved agonies of modern American Protestantism.” Hughes Oliphant Old, The Shaping of the Reformed Baptismal Rite (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1992), p. x.
Bestminster Best
Once two seminary professors at Bestminster Theological Seminary were walking together, heads bowed as they were deep in theological conversation. Their topic concerned the depths of the wisdom of God in the salvation of sinful man, and it was consequently slow going, as though they were try to paddle a canoe across a lake of …
The Irenic Bombshell
The Auburn Avenue Hubbub (AAH) of course has a number of texts going. But those who are theologically astute have no doubt noticed some subtexts also. One of those subtexts is the question about the covenant of works and the covenant of grace, and the grounding of those covenants. Fundamentally, what is the relationship of …
Effectual Means of Salvation
A young ministerial candidate was asked whether his sacramental views comported with those of the Westminster Standards. This line of questioning was a novelty to him, and so he asked for a copy. One was quickly produced, but when it became apparent that he was not going to swear on it, but on the contrary, …
A Woman Named Faith
A woman named Faith once gave birth to twins, who were boys as it turned out. The firstborn was named Justification and the second was named Sanctification. As word spread in the village and throughout the region, it became impossible to keep this information from the moderator of the presbytery, who lived in a nearby town. …
As Clear As I Can
Many bystanders have been trying to figure out what the whole “Auburn Avenue” controversy is all about. As one of the players in this, I feel it is my duty to try to make this as clear as I can. Some Lutherans are concerned about us because they have heard that somebody might be questioning justification by …
Wu Tang Presbytery
A minister of tender years was once receiving theological bastinado from concerned brethren at Wu Tang Presbytery. He had been working three jobs in order to keep his family fed, and so his time for sermon preparation had fallen woefully short. This was not the direct cause of his problem, for had he received his …
Semper Deformanda
A certain ministerial candidate was being examined by presbytery, and because his children didn’t have any tattoos, smoke cigarettes, and get drunk every now and again, thinking themselves better than other preachers’ kids, the candidate was having a rough go of it. Not that the subject of his children came up in the examination or …
Giving Them What They Want
A Presbyterian minister in the pulpit was laboring mightily in the fifteenth chapter of John, trying hard not to look like a Congressman who had unexpectedly been given a copy of the Constitution. He was unsuccessful in this endeavor, and the congregation left the sanctuary greatly edified and blessed.
John Robbins is a Hoot
The most recent Trinity Review put out by John Robbins is dedicated to extinguishing the heresies of my good friend Peter Leithart. Congratulations to Peter are in order. It has been a long time coming, and he was beginning to worry. Of course for a Robbins to try to deal with a Leithart in this …