The Calvinist InternationalRational exposition of the things of the faith
In today’s post, we move on to Zanchi’s discussion of festivals instituted by men with the consent of the church, of which he gives several that he approves of. The list echoes to a large extent what is found in the Litany: By the mystery of Thy holy Incarnation; by Thy holy Nativity and Circumcision; […]
Zanchi now proceeds to discuss festivals as applied to the Christian church in particular, by analogy with what he has already set out in relation to the Old Testament. The Christian church, too, has festivals of both kinds: those instituted by direct divine warrant and those instituted by men with the consent of the people […]
In today’s post, Zanchi deals with the second type of licit festivals: those instituted by men with the consent of the church. As examples, he points to Purim (Esther), as well as to Hanukkah, the origin of which is recounted in 1 Maccabees. Zanchi notes that these festivals, although not instituted by direct divine command, […]
Today we move onto the second quaestio, now that Zanchi has established that festivals, as a matter of natural law, are appropriate not only for the church of the Old Testament, but also of the New Testament. That second question is: which ones? In answering the question, Zanchi makes a very important distinction, viz., that […]
Earlier this week, Pastor Tim Keller restarted a minor controversy when he tweeted, “If you see Jesus losing the infinite love of the Father out of His infinite love for you, it will infinitely melt your hardness.” Traditional Christian orthodoxy has maintained that Jesus never lost the love of the Father, and Keller’s rhetoric also […]
Zanchi continues his comparison of gentile, Christian, and Jewish festivals, drawing on Festus for what he has to say about the gentiles. Christians festivals are like those of the gentiles in some respects, but not in others. For instance, Zanchi does not believe that “games” (ludi, a term that included all kinds of spectacle in […]
In today’s post, Zanchi continues his response to the objection that Christians should not have festivals through an analysis of the Fourth Commandment. Zanchi here makes the important distinction between substance and accident in the commandment; notes an important parallel with gentile festivals that helps to demonstrate the naturalness of festivals or feast days; and engages […]
(This is the final essay in a series on the Federal Vision. The first installment, a general introduction to the state of the conversation, can be found here. The second installment identifies the various personalities and their history. The next three essays explained the FV theology in more detail: essay three is here, essay four is […]
(This essay continues a series on the Federal Vision that I have been writing since November, 2019. The first installment can be found here. The second is here. The third is here, and the fourth is here. Though I earlier stated that this essay would be my final one, I see the need for one […]
Douglas Wilson is the embodiment of “RIP my mentions.” His controversies range from politics to theology to literature. People laud him as a visionary leader, and people deride him as a cult leader. To some he is too conservative. To others, he has departed from the true Reformed tradition. Wilson has copycat followers, deranged former […]