No, no, not that kind of pride. The good kind. The kind that nobody objects to, like when you are proud of your kid’s performance in the school play. Don’t think of this as a long sustained argument. Think of it more as a coherent rant. But I do not rant with beads of sweat …
7 Theses on Historical Loyalties
Grounded loyalty is an inescapable part of historical studies, and attempts at academic detachment are simply attempts that reveal misplaced loyalty to a guild of historians (say) instead of to (say) your nation. What I want to do here is offer seven theses that might help us approach this most helpful truth from various angles. 1. …
Good Arm, Jenny Geddes!
Once or twice a year, I put together a band and we play down at Bucers, a local pub named after the Reformer Martin Bucer. One of the names we have used for this motley collection of a band has been the Jenny Geddes band, named after the stalwart woman at St. Giles in Edinburgh, …
In the American Church
So then, how has American Christianity come to this spot. To answer the question, we have to remember what R.L. Dabney once said, “. . . it is essential to your own future that you shall learn the history of the past truly.” As we seek to pass on a legacy to our children, we …
Consolidation, Expansion & Revival (1600-1800)
Recovering truth is one thing. Preserving it is quite another. In the Reformation, the great truths of justification by faith and a gospel of sovereign grace were wonderfully recovered. In the centuries that followed, these truths were consolidated, expanded, and, in many cases, set on fire. In other instances, unfortunately, they were dried like pressed …
The Reformation Was Personal
Last post on this topic we looked at the central doctrines of the Reformation. Here I hope to identify some of the central characters of the Reformation, and to fix some of the key dates in this great period of the church’s history. Because of the Incarnation, all doctrinal issues are ultimately personal in an …
One of the Church’s Great Resurrections
As we remember the resurrection of our Lord from the dead every Lord’s Day, we must also remember that this great power was not exhibited in the world so that we might simply watch it — He rose from the dead as the firstborn from the dead, and so that we might understand His great …
A Millennium of Decline and Hope
Many moderns like to speak of this period in history as the Dark Ages. This terminology, unfortunately, is almost completely misleading, and was popularized by those who hated the Christian faith. Such terms are never neutral. For a counterexample, the Enlightenment was thoroughly humanistic, and must consequently be considered by us as the Endarkenment. From …
The First Five Centuries
Most Christians today do not have a good grasp of the history of what they believe. They have no real idea of the “old paths,” and this is the source of many errors among us. When you don’t know where you have been, and where you are going, any road will get you there. “Thus …