Blog Posts by Ligon Duncan

Stephen Prothero, world religion prof at Boston University, not an evangelical Christian, offers an interesting observation on our generation's reluctance to engage in serious, but respectful disagreement about religion. Having said that he works hard to foster "respectful arguments" in his... continue

Some readers of ref21 may know that Derek Thomas, the Editorial Director of the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals, who also serves at the John E. Richards Professor of Systematic and Practical Theology at Reformed Theological Seminary in Jackson and Minister... continue

"In a comparatively sound church life, it is possible to assume that as a rule the children of the covenant will be born again in their youth and come to faith and conversion 'in stages and gracefully.' But when the... continue

What is the preacher to do with hell and eternal punishment? In our day and age these truths strike some as comical and others as cruel. To some, hell is a joke. It's about little devils in red tights (so... continue

I just got an email from my friend Chip Stam, who teaches at Southern Seminary. He says: "December 8 is the day on which Roman Catholics celebrate the Feast of the Immanculate Conception (the notion that Mary was born without... continue

George Barna (he of "there's no future for the local church" fame) has just released his latest survey results pertaining to the much ballyhooed Reformed Awakening, and he calms the faithful by assuring them that there is not in fact... continue

It was a joy to represent the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals and my own congregation, the First Presbyterian Church of Jackson, Mississippi (PCA) at the Inaugural Festivities at Wheaton College. There's a brief description here. As most of the folks... continue

J.C. Ryle, meditating on Luke 10:17-24: "We learn, from this passage, how ready Christians are to be puffed up with success. It is written, that the seventy returned from their first mission with joy, "saying, Lord, even the devils are... continue

Recently, I tweeted my appreciation for T.H.L. Parker's Portrait of Calvin. I have had the little book since the days of my doctoral studies in Britain (my copy is a little hardback, published by SCM and bought second-hand - it... continue

This year the reformed world has seen a number of books and conferences related to the life and work of John Calvin.  For instance, Derek and I will be participating in the "Calvin 500" in Geneva next week.  Of course, many... continue