Reformation21

The recent execution of 21 Coptic Christians in Libya by the murderous Islamic group ISIS has prompted appropriate and helpful Christian reflections (see here and here ). But one question I have yet to see asked is, "Is it time now to pray the imprecatory Psalms?" I hear a frequent refrain in...

The credits roll. The hero and/or heroine (fling in a plural or two as appropriate) mount their horses, or link their arms, or climb aboard, or do something else redolent of completion, and disappear into the sunset. Some measure of victory lies behind them, even if more battles might lie ahead. It...

Have you ever wondered what it must have been like when Christ entered heaven after having ascended? This was a unique moment in redemptive history, and one that we should probably meditate upon a lot more than we do. At the risk of being occasionally speculative , here are some thoughts on Christ'...

No, not Carl's triumphant return to provide a window into the mind of "Luther" Levy, but rather the celebrity anti-celebrity's latest offering, considering Luther on the Christian Life (Crossway, arriving later this month). We are promised many good things between the covers of this volume, which...

Returning from labours overseas, especially with limited internet access (and most of that devoted to communication with the family), means returning to Reformation21 with a somewhat fresh perspective. A survey of the material over the past couple of weeks reveals some interesting themes, and makes...

In scholastic theological discourse, 'moral suasion' and 'physical influence' represent two different ways of getting someone to do something. If my goal were, say, getting my four-year-old daughter to the dinner table, I might employ 'moral suasion' by promising her that she'd find her favorite...

As I mentioned in the first post under this title (the other posts: no. 2 ; no. 3 ; no. 4 ), this series was a way of breaking up a paper that I gave at a pre-General Assembly conference sponsored by the PCA Historical Center. The paper was entitled, "Race, Civil Rights, and the Southern (...

[For the explanation of this series and the first post, see here ; see here for installments two and three . There will be a final application post tomorrow.] Even as the 1960s came toward a close, Nelson Bell continued to advocate what he took to be racial moderation. " Forced segregation was...

[For an explanation of the series and the first post, see here ; for the second post, see here ] Other churches were not as interested in dialogue. Second Presbyterian Church, Memphis, Tennessee, drew national attention for its refusal to admit mixed-race groups to corporate worship services. One...

[For an explanation of this series and the first post, see here .] Even with Taylor and Bell's moderation on racial issues, there were those in conservative ranks who were determined to maintain racial integrity. W. A. Gamble, stated clerk of Central Mississippi Presbytery and sometime contributor...