14 Oct 2015
Posted by Joseph Minich 
In this recent post, Roger Olson has attempted a deflationary argument against any argument presented in favor of a Reformed doctrine of election. His argument seems to be that (a) we can only trust the Bible if God is trustworthy, (b) we can only be confident that God is trustworthy if He does not violate...
Read more → 11 Aug 2015
Posted by Joseph Minich 
It is not surprising that the conservative reaction to the recent Planned Parenthood scandal has been varied. Some are hopeful that these videos will have substantive effects. Others are more cynical. In either case, the footage is iconic-- making plain what technocratic medical-speak really sounds like...
Read more → 22 Apr 2015
Posted by Joseph Minich 
Following up on Pastor Wedgeworth’s post regarding “Reformed Irenicism,” I thought it important to explain a few points regarding the relationship of this term to the idea of “Reformed Catholicism,” as it is often called. As it turns out, different people mean very different things by the label...
Read more → 08 Dec 2014
Posted by Joseph Minich 
It is almost historical orthodoxy in some circles that Luther fundamentally revised the Medieval doctrine of God, particularly with respect to God's "impassibility." Luther, it is argued, anticipates Jurgen Moltmann's claim that, in Christ, suffering enters into the divine nature itself. Significantly...
Read more → 03 Sep 2014
Posted by Joseph Minich 
Introduction Like many who consider themselves Reformed (of the “young and restless,” confessionalist, or whatever varieties), I was introduced to the world of Reformation theology through the doctrine of election. And like many within this camp (especially the “young and restless”), the doctrine...
Read more → 19 May 2014
Posted by Joseph Minich 
Alastair Roberts has posted some very helpful reflections on The Future of Protestantism conversation here. In particular, he has some very helpful reflections in relation to Leithart's seeming collapse of redemptive and ecclesiastical history. If we do not reckon with the uniquely redemptive-historical...
Read more → 05 Mar 2014
Posted by Joseph Minich 
Justin Taylor quotes C.S. Lewis on the psychology of scathing book reviews: Reviews filled with venom have often been condemned socially for their bad manners, or ethically for their spite. I am not prepared to defend them from either charge; but I prefer to stress their inutility. . . . Automatically,...
Read more → 28 Feb 2014
Posted by Joseph Minich 
The most common complaint I've seen regarding John Frame's recent Systematic Theology is that it does not contain enough historical theology. It approximates "biblicism" (cue scary music) in its approach to the Reformed faith. And while I might attribute a greater degree of significance to historical...
Read more → 17 Feb 2014
Posted by Joseph Minich 
Judging from its endorsements, K. Scott Oliphint’s recent Covenantal Apologetics: Principles & Practice in Defense of Our Faith, is set to become a standard introduction and update to Cornelius Van Til’s “presuppositional” approach to Christian apologetics. The substance remains the same,...
Read more → 06 Dec 2013
Posted by Joseph Minich 
Mark Garcia, author of a mammoth volume on Calvin’s view of union with Christ, has finally started to respond to J.V. Fesko’s several year long interaction with his work. These posts will be worth following. Much of Fesko’s criticism exists in seminal form in a review article he wrote of Garcia’s...
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