The Calvinist InternationalThe Reformation doctrine in right perspective
Treated nearly exclusively from the literary point of view these days, John Donne was actually a capable theologian and clergyman of the Church of England under James I, and his sermons reveal his theological skill as much as his rhetorical prowess. His sermon on Psalm 63, preached at St. Paul’s in 1625, is a great […]
John Calvin’s position on the 4th Commandment has been perplexing to many for the last 300 years, at least. As Richard Gaffin explains, Calvin seems to be a non-Sabbatarian in conviction but a Sabbatarian in practice. Calvin states that the meaning of the Sabbath has been fulfilled in Christ, that we are now to “rest” […]
S.L. Greenslade, in his delightful little book Church and State from Constantine to Theodosius (Greenwood Press, 1981 [repr. of 1954 ed. by SCM Press]), which unfortunately suffers from the defect, significant especially given the book’s title, of providing readers a definition of neither “church” nor “state,” has some thought-provoking paragraphs about how the differences between […]
Giving a mixed review of Bavinck on natural law and the two kingdoms, David VanDrunen recently wrote, Though a complete account is more complex, a good general argument can be made, I believe, that his defense of the natural law and the two kingdoms categories belongs to the orthodox Bavinck and his advocacy of themes […]
In a sequel to the recent controversy regarding natural law discussions at First Things, which we addressed here, Dr Thaddeus Kozinski took Dr Feser to task for, supposedly, positing natural reason as an ahistorical and areligious power of self-direction. If Hart, Dreher, and Leithart grant too little natural law, then Dr Feser grants too much, […]
The investigation and application of classical evangelical political doctrine is one of our main commitments, and it is therefore important to us to ensure that Calvin is correctly read in his proper context of common Reformation principles. Anyone familiar with the American Reformed world knows that a peculiar school of political theology, associated with California’s […]
This is a continuation of our previous essay. Now we move to our own consideration of John Calvin. We will first treat his theoretical principles and then examine his particular application of those principles, noting his unique political application, but also showing the way in which it does not break from the more basic principles […]
At last Darryl Hart admits that we’re the consistent Protestants, but with the proviso that in this case consistency is not a virtue. It is nevertheless quite a concession from the redoubtable Dr Hart, first, because it is an admission regarding our position which he’s never before granted, and second, because it’s very odd to find […]
In a 2009 edition of the Mid-America Journal of Theology, Ryan McIlhenny points to an interesting dilemma for the particular variant of two kingdoms theology expounded by David VanDrunen (MAJT 20 ((2009)): 75−94). He asks if the Seminary would have to be considered “secular” and therefore a member of the temporal kingdom (87). This is a […]