Why sweet defiance? In Psalm 119:23, we are told, “How sweet are Your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth.” Now these are wonderful words in every believing ear. We could do some nice graphics work with it, no doubt — along with a picture of a beautiful sunset and beach, have …
She Never Hears the Click
“At thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore” (Ps. 16: 11) “For among them are those who creep into households and capture weak women, burdened with sins and led astray by various passions, always learning and never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth. Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so …
Future Repentance
Book 4/Chapter 16 Men and women (section 16) 1. What does Calvin do with the argument that women ought not to be baptized if they were not circumcised? Old enough to be born again (section 17) 1. What do Calvin’s opponents conclude about the parentage of children? 2. Does Calvin agree that they are in …
Calvin the Immersionist
Book 4/Chapter 15 Alien hodgepodge (section 19) 1. What does Calvin think of baptismal “extras” like chrism, exsufflation, and the like? 2. What should we omit from baptismal ceremonies? 3. What does Calvin say about the mode of baptism? 4. Nevertheless, what does he say the word “baptize” means? Baptism by laymen (section 20) 1. …
And Hearing By the Word of God/Romans 39
INTRODUCTION: In this portion of Romans, we start to see the intersection of two realities—decretal realities and covenantal realities. This will come to full flower in the next chapter, but we see it begin here. God is utterly sovereign, and rightly understood, this means that when He chooses to use created instruments to accomplish His …
The Spiritual Drive Train
This might be the medieval equivalent of an urban legend, I don’t know. I read it somewhere, but can’t recall the source, but here goes anyhow. Somebody, Thomas Aquinas maybe, was being shown around some opulent palace by the pope. “You see, Thomas, no longer can Peter say ‘silver and gold have I none.'” To …
A Pleasant and Instructive Afternoon
It has been a while since I have said anything much about Girard, but this is not because I haven’t been thinking about it. Once you see the mechanism (of mimetic envy) that Girard outlines, it is difficult not to see it everywhere. Now there are some Girardian fan boys out there who do to …
Bottle Blondisity
Modern evangelicalism is a day-old doughnut, but this may require further explanation. We flatter ourselves by saying that evangelicalism is over here doing its thing, and American culture is over there marching to a different drummer entirely. If we are convicted by our sins and inconsistencies, we like to think that they are self-contained sins …
Looking Forward to the 17th Dimension
Chapter 9 of Dual Citizens is on the unworthiness of this world when compared with the glories to come. And of course this is quite right, but we still have to sort out the implications. There are a few things that Jason asserts in this chapter that rub my fur the wrong way, but he …
Putting the Trash Out
My response to chapter 6 won’t be that long because I agreed with a great deal of it. Jason does a good job nailing those who have jumbled up their Christian faith with their heartland, red state patriotism. When that particular jumble gets knocked, we should just let matters unfold. The United States does not …