In the midst of our tangled earthly confusions, God sees all things clearly. As we are pressed with dangers on every hand, God remains unthreatened by them and unperturbed. This is why a right understanding of who God is must be considered the only rational basis of faith. “In the LORD put I my trust: …
Slow Motion Helicopter Crashes
Okay, then. My previous post gave away the fact that I have been reading Not Reformed At All by Robbins and Gerety. Just three comments. First, I have read up through page 63 with that curious sense of fascination that one has while watching slow motion videotape of helicopter crashes. Second, why is it that …
As Reformed As I Wanna Be
In their recent book, Not Reformed At All, John Robbins and Sean Gerety ask the following, somewhat rhetorically. “Is Wilson suggesting that because parents are Christians, their baptized children also are Christians?” No, not at all. Baptism is not necessary. The unbaptized children of Christians are Christians. That’s why we baptize them. But I do …
First One Father, Then Another
Regeneration means becoming the seed of another—ultimately, having one family tree and then acquiring another. My father used to be Adam and now he is the second Adam. My father used to be the devil and now he is Abraham. A creature being summoned into being ex nihilo is being created. We might say he …
Starting With Generation
Before talking about regeneration, we have to remember the importance of generation. Out of the five points of Calvinism, three of them have to do with the decrees of God. “Total depravity” has to do with this morning’s newspaper (the record of man in the past), and is not one of the secret things hidden …
Take, and Grow
We feed our children so that they might grow up. God feeds us for the same reason—we are His children, and He is growing us up into maturity. This Table is therefore one of the central instruments to resist one of the great idols of our age—that of calculated immaturity. In fashion, in music, in …
Foundation of Rest
Our gracious heavenly Father, we thank You for the arrival of yet another Lord’s Day. You are the God of heaven and earth, the God of earth and sea, the God of days and weeks. We honor You as the one who created the entire universe in six literal days, and we honor You as …
Yelling At My Copy of Modern Reformation
Actually I am not yelling at all. This is merely a poetic conceit, kind of like George Herbert yelling at his pulley. I want to raise a question I have asked before, only in different terms. According to our discussion partners, within the Covenant of Grace does the Covenant of Works have any members? Are …
And Another Thing
Along the same lines as the previous post, the latest Modern Reformation has a short article on “American Tragedy: Jonathan Edwards on Justification.” The article maintains that Edwards was, in significant respects, closer to the Thomists than to the Reformers on the question of justification. I waited for the other shoe to drop — e.g. Edwards …
Yelling At My Windshield, Post Script
Okay. Just one more thing on these audio recordings. Robert Godfrey was asked about the full-throated support that Cornelius Van Til gave to Norman Shepherd during the Westminster East controversy. In his response, Godfrey basically said that during this period Van Til was not as sharp as he used to be, that despite this, he …