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Classical Reformed Theology and its Postmodern Critics
This post is an extended review of Paul Helm, Faith, Form and Fashion: Classical Reformed Theology and Its Postmodern Critics (Cambridge: James Clarke and Co, 2014). Read more about 'Classical Reformed Theology and its Postmodern Critics'...
Semper reformanda
The popularity of the phrase semper reformanda seems to be on the up-and-up. Yet two serious questions surround it. Read more about 'Semper reformanda'...
'Christ, not tradition'?
The great Presbyterian buzz-word of the moment seems to be, ‘Christ, not tradition’, and like all buzz-words it has a modicum of truth. No church can be content just to let things remain as they are. At the very least we have to adapt to changing circumstances. When Gaelic ceases to be the language of a community it must cease to be the language of worship. When populations move from the countryside and spill into great industrial centres such as Glasgow and Dundee, the church must move with them. When most church-members have to work nine-to-five, five days a week, Communion Services must be rescheduled accordingly. And when the printing-press and the computer open up great new possibilities the church has to be quick to take advantage.
Read more about ''Christ, not tradition'?'...Joy changes everything
It’s often important to assure despondent Christians that Jesus himself sometimes plumbed the emotional depths. Read more about 'Joy changes everything '...
Why is there religion? and why are there so many of them?
We live in a world where four-fifths of the population worship gods other than the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, and in such a world the Christian… Read more about 'Why is there religion? and why are there so many of them?'...
Subordinationism (out of the blue!)
In the present parlous and precarious state of British theology it’s hard to imagine a controversy suddenly erupting over the question whether within the eternal trinity the Son is subordinate… Read more about 'Subordinationism (out of the blue!)'...
Troubled by the Cross: a meditation on John 14.1 - 6
Few words in the Bible are better known or more often quoted than these, but for all their timelessness they were addressed to a very specific situation. Read more about 'Troubled by the Cross: a meditation on John 14.1 - 6 '...
Is everything foreordained?
Probably the most distinctive tenet of Reformed theology is that ‘God did freely and unchangeably ordain whatsoever comes to pass’ (Westminster Confession, III, I). Read more about 'Is everything foreordained?'...
Can we tell everyone, 'God loves you'?
According to The Marrow of Modern Divinity the Christian evangelist can say to every man, ‘I have good news for you. Read more about 'Can we tell everyone, 'God loves you'?'...
Is Government policy a major contributor to mental illness?
The recent Report to the NHS in England by the Mental Health Taskforce has led to a sudden flurry of interest in mental illness by both the media and politicians, and the interest is to be warmly welcomed. While serious psychotic conditions such as schizophrenia are relatively rare, few of us are exempt from such mental illnesses as anxiety and depression. These obviously vary in seriousness, but for thousands of people they mean being plunged into a dark, bottomless despair from which, no matter how hard they try, no effort of their own can bring deliverance. The mood lies beyond the reach of reason and argument, disables from all activity and in too many cases takes away even the will to live.
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