07 Oct 2017
Posted by Mark Jones 
John Piper John Piper wrote a post some time ago on justification, good works, and salvation. Most Reformed folks agree with his basic position, but there is a vocal minority who accuse him of compromising the doctrine of justification. The man who took on N.T. Wright to defend justification is himself...
Read more → 03 Oct 2017
Posted by Mark Jones 
Paul Zahl and Tullian Tchividjian are busy writing love letters (See here and here) to one another on Tullian's personal website. Zahl's article makes the following contention: "I would go so far as to say that Tullian’s personal experience, as bad as you want to make it out, has qualified him (and...
Read more → 11 Sep 2017
Posted by Mark Jones 
So I do want to point out the virtual impossibility of talking about these things without “sounding like” we might be drifting toward a problem. If the Son is the one who made the actual decision, where did the unified divine will (that which makes decisions) go? If Jesus made this as a voluntary...
Read more → 08 Aug 2017
Posted by Mark Jones 
A Theological Swear Word Few words in Christian circles conjure up as much misunderstanding as “scholasticism.” Rigid, rationalistic Aristotelian philosophizing, also known as “scholasticism,” entered the church at various point in church history (i.e., the Medievals and Post-Reformation Reformed),...
Read more → 07 Aug 2017
Posted by Mark Jones 
For Reformed Catholics, appreciation extends well beyond our Reformed heritage. It has to. For our appreciation of the Christian tradition to cease to move beyond our Reformed borders is in fact to cease to be Reformed. But just how far can appreciation extend? Even to pagan sources? Yes, indeed. After...
Read more → 27 Jul 2017
Posted by Mark Jones 
A few days ago, Pastor Tim Keller posted the following devotional line to facebook: Now, we can assume that this was meant as a sort of "pastoral" exhortation, something intended to encourage and inspire rather than to serve as truly provocative or revisionist theology. It is also possible that someone...
Read more → 20 Jun 2017
Posted by Mark Jones 
I want to put forth an argument against Arminianism based upon an internal flaw within the Arminian scheme of predestination. My argument, simply stated: “The Arminian position on predestination is inescapably Calvinistic (of sorts). Because this is so, the only option is to embrace open theism...
Read more → 05 Jun 2017
Posted by Mark Jones 
Writing here at the Calvinist International gives me the opportunity to argue that the name of the website should be changed. Why? Because Calvinism is an unfortunate word. Scholars should try to avoid it in most instances. Churchmen and laypeople need to be aware of the pitfalls of the word. Nonetheless,...
Read more → 01 Jun 2017
Posted by Mark Jones 
Why should we sing hymns? Singing hymns in corporate worship has many excellent advantages for the catholic church. In this article I want to give a positive case for why we should take hymn-singing seriously as something vital for the ongoing life and health of the visible church of Christ. First,...
Read more → 31 May 2017
Posted by Mark Jones 
So, what do you know of Puritan hymnody? Did the Puritans sing hymns? If so, what was the nature of the hymns they sang? Earlier Reformed theologians debated this question and the evidence shows that no firm consensus existed on exclusive Psalmody in corporate worship. For example, the influential...
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