In his essay in Martin Bucer: Reforming Church and Community , David Wright observes that the early Bucer sharply separated the baptism of the Spirit from water baptism. During the mid-1520s, he “accommodated infant baptism by minimizing it” (97). By the late 1530s, though, the . . . . Continue Reading »
Dan Glover writes from Canada: “You argue about giving up stretchy jeans as we dont want any of that spandex getting into the bills. I dont know. It seems to me that now-a-days it would be beneficial to make our dollars go further. And what better season than Christmas for trying to stretch . . . . Continue Reading »
In his commentary on Psalm 72 , Calvin gives this convincing explanation for the Psalm’s focus on the king’s duty to protect of the poor: “As God had promised to extend his care to the poor and afflicted among his people, David, as an argument to enforce the prayer which he . . . . Continue Reading »
As the song says, “A very perichoretic Christmas to you, and to all a good night.” . . . . Continue Reading »
As if there aren’t enough reasons to avoid stretchy jeans, here’s another: They contaminate the money supply . US currency is made from cotton, much of it from denim. During the 1990s, though, spandex was added to jeans, and the denim scraps used for money were tainted: “Even a . . . . Continue Reading »
At the conclusion of an intriguing overview of the haphazard form of the church’s mission in Acts, John Howard Yoder concludes ( Theology of Mission: A Believers Church Perspective ) that “the church is not simply a vehicle” of mission. Rather, in Acts, “the events of the . . . . Continue Reading »
A few days ago, I suggested in passing that N.T. Wright misses the connection of the Spirit and the Abrahamic promise in Galatians 3. I was wrong. I just hadn’t gotten far enough in his book, and he addresses that very point in his exegesis of Galatians 3 ( Paul and the Faithfulness of God , . . . . Continue Reading »
According to Thomas in his treatise de Regno ( Aquinas: Political Writings , 23-4), “dangerous evils arise from the desire for glory.” It is dangerous because it causes rulers to over-extend: “For manyhave brought the liberty of their fatherland under the power of an enemywhen . . . . Continue Reading »
“It was a celebrated thesis of the Reformation,” writes Oliver O’Donovan in his Brampton Lectures, The Ways of Judgement , “that the political judgment we enact are Mosaic and not evangelical .” Earlier Christian legal theory “from Gratian to Grotius” . . . . Continue Reading »
Over at the Trinity House site, you’ll find an online annual report about our activities during our first year of operation, our plans for the future, and our funding needs for next year. Please take a moment to look it over, and please consider supporting our work financially. . . . . Continue Reading »
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