Church History

Marcella of Rome – The Woman Who Tamed Jerome’s Temper Marcella became a widow after only seven months of marriage. Being a young and pretty noblewoman, she had no shortage of suitors. Even a consul, Neratius Cerealis (in office from 328 to 358 AD) asked insistently for her hand. He was much older...

Theoretical-Practical Theology One admirer has said that Petrus Van Mastricht’s works were the best thing ever written in any language, short of the Bible itself. That is indeed a high compliment! Jonathan and James have invited Dr. Joel Beeke to talk about the translation of Mastricht’s...

Juan Pérez de Pineda and other Spanish Reformers In Spain, Martin Luther’s message met the immediate and fierce opposition of both the Roman Catholic Church and the Spanish rulers, Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella of Castile. To repress it, they had already a powerful tool at hand: the Tribunal...

I did not grow up reciting the Apostles' Creed. In fact, my first exposure was during my freshman year in college when I visited a PCA church. As a “no creed but the Bible” kind of gal, I didn't quite know what to make of it or the reformed order of worship. I ended up going elsewhere. If I had...

During the ancient Apostles’ Creed’s [1] development over time into one of the Church’s first sanctioned statements of faith some of its phrases were inserted along the way into the completion of its final form; yet the belief of “the forgiveness of sins” was an initial part of this earliest...

Some Influential Preachers Jonathan and James share today about the preachers who have the greatest influence on their personal lives and ministry, and the qualities that make these preachers so remarkable. Whether a Baptist, Presbyterian, or Anglican minister, there is much in common between...

Gregory of Nyssa and His Compassion for the Poor I have written about Basil of Caesarea and Gregory of Nazianzus, two of the famous three men from Cappadocia (in today’s Turkey) who stood for the divinity, unity, and distinction of the three Persons of the Trinity. I have also written about Macrina...

In the late 1990s, my wife and I persuaded a widowed neighbor to join us one Sunday at the faithful Presbyterian church downtown. A standout preacher of the Reformed faith was filling the pulpit. Our neighbor, a serious believer, liked the preaching well enough. It was the recitation of the Apostle...

Walking up to his pulpit before preaching, Charles Spurgeon would often repeat to himself that great line of the Apostle’s Creed, “I believe in the Holy Spirit.” For Spurgeon this was no doubt a reminder that any fruit which would come from his preaching would be fruit attributed only to the...

Elisabeth of the Palatinate and Her Influence on Descartes Princess Elisabeth of the Palatinate (also known as Princess Elisabeth of Bohemia) is remembered as the woman who challenged the French philosopher René Descartes to re-examine his assertions on the separation of mind and body. While she...