During the early seventeenth century the group known as the Puritans left England and settled the area of New England, there setting up their colony. They would do this due to a combination of wishing to escape religious persecution in England and the desire to create for themselves a sanctuary where they could develop their … Continue reading The Puritans: Church and State
In his book The Everlasting Man G.K. Chesterton asserts that “the whole world once very nearly died of broadmindedness and the brotherhood of all religions.” Chesterton is here referencing the way the early church had to deal with their contemporary culture attempting to bring all religions into one accord; the solution as Chesterton presents it was … Continue reading Rereading the Faith for Today – Gnostic Tendencies and Defending Against Them
Within the realm of Christian theology there are many fiercely debated topics. One such topic is the question of the how the Law is to be understood in the Christian faith, especially in the light of the gospel and in the life of the Christian. Taking on this task, Reformation thinkers Martin Luther and John Calvin … Continue reading Two or Three Uses? – The Law in Luther & Calvin
In telling the story of the Presbyterian Church in America there are a number of different places one can start. One could begin with the Reformation. Presbyterianism places itself in the Reformed tradition and thereby traces its roots back to the Reformation in the 16th Century, where the Reformers broke off from the Catholic church in order to work towards a purer theology.
In his book The Great Heresies, Hilaire Belloc defines a heresy a sort of thing which takes a system of thought and - rather than depart wholesale from the previously established tradition – picks out one part of that system and through either overemphasis or removal leaves the structure marred, yet in-tact enough to still … Continue reading Gnosticism: Heresy or Paganism?
For those who hold the Bible to be the authoritative Word of God, one of the more relevant questions of the day is "What does the Bible really teach about homosexuality?" As his title clearly displays, this is the question that pastor - and newly appointed Professor of Systematic and Historical Theology at RTS - … Continue reading What Does the Bible Really Teach about Homosexuality?
When the average Christian take up their Bible and reads, the assumption is generally made that what is being read is the inspired word of God. Yet in popular contemporary scholarship there is a rising tendency to re-interpret the history of the early church in such a way that the average Christian would no longer … Continue reading “All of this, of course, is rank speculation” – or, 3 Main Problems with Modern Scholarship’s Account of the Early Church
Presbyformed 