Articles

Essays & Articles

Camden M. Bucey/January 17, 2018

Blessed Are the Meek

We do not often speak of meekness. We might be hard pressed even to define it. Meekness is not weakness; it’s a measured strength, a control over wrath. It is …

James J. Cassidy/January 15, 2018

The Essential Van Til – What is Dialectical Theology?

In The New Modernism Van Til identifies the Theology of Crisis with “dialectical theology.” But what is dialectical theology? Van Til explains that dialectical theology is …

James J. Cassidy/January 8, 2018

The Essential Van Til – The Beati Possidentes

Moving on from Van Til’s first published criticism of Barth (see the previous six posts entitled In The Beginning ) we now consider his first published monograph …

Camden M. Bucey/January 1, 2018

New Archaeological Finding from Jerusalem’s First-Temple Period

Archaeologists working in Israel’s Western Wall Plaza have unearthed a “docket,” or clay impression of a seal from לשר העיר (“[belonging] to the governor of the city”). The identity of this …

Pierce Taylor Hibbs/December 23, 2017

A Reflection on Anthropomorphic Language

Currently, amidst the Reformed discussion concerning God’s simplicity and immutability, there has been repeated references to the anthropomorphic language of Scripture. It is commonly understood that language attributing human emotions …

Camden M. Bucey/December 19, 2017

Blessed Are the Poor in Spirit

Matthew 5:1–16 are known as the Beatitudes, which stems from the Latin term used in the translation of these verses. A beatitude is a declaration of blessing and a statement …

James J. Cassidy/December 18, 2017

The Essential Van Til – In the Beginning (Part 6)

At long last we have come to the end of the beginning (see parts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 ). We have reviewed Van Til’s opening salvo against Barth’s theology …

Tracey Shannon/December 16, 2017

[Book Review:] Glory in the Ordinary by Courtney Reissig

“We are living in a time when being ordinary is the worst thing that can happen to a person, and nothing screams ordinary like at-home work.” (p.41) Thus says Courtney …

Camden M. Bucey/December 15, 2017

Meeting R. C. Sproul

In 2006, I had been attending a non-denominational evangelical church largely influenced by John MacArthur and the Master’s Seminary. The church placed a heavy emphasis on the inerrancy of the …

Daniel Ragusa/December 14, 2017

Life as the Enjoyment of the Covenant Communion Bond: The Garden of God

The Lord does not breathe into man the breath of life for him to exist in the abstract, nor for him to struggle to find purpose through some existential crisis; …

Camden M. Bucey/December 12, 2017

Living as Citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven

Matthew 5:1–3 begins the Sermon on the Mount. The Bible does not use that title. Augustine (354–430 ad ) seems to have given Matthew 5–7 this name. Jesus went up …

Camden M. Bucey/December 10, 2017

The Ordo Salutis and the Westminster Standards

Each presbytery meeting, we usually have the opportunity to examine candidates for licensure and ordination.As you’d expect, these exams cover important topics pertaining to the doctrine of Scripture, theology proper, …

James J. Cassidy/December 4, 2017

The Essential Van Til – In the Beginning (Part 5)

Van Til now turns to Barth’s doctrine of creation. Barth denies that creation as it came forth from the hand of God was good, and was to have …

Daniel Ragusa/December 2, 2017

Man Shall Not Live by Bread Alone

Life—understood biblically as the enjoyment of the covenant communion bond with God in a holy kingdom—is brought into close association with God’s word from the beginning. It was Adam’s response …

Cornelius Van Til/November 24, 2017

The Essential Van Til — In the Beginning (Part 4)

As we continue to unpack Van Til’s review of Zerbe’s book we come to the second part of the review, which concerns Barth’s epistemology. Van Til opens with an …