The Calvinist International
In Homiletics and Pastoral Theology, WGT Shedd puts a plug in for catechising in addition to other types of Sunday school (he, in keeping with the conventions of his day, calls it “Sabbath-School”) instruction. Indeed, he favors a combination of the two–“lay” instruction in Sunday school and pastoral catechesis. Thus he says: The pastor should, therefore, […]
Here is the Collect for the fourth Sunday in Advent: O Lord, raise up (we pray thee) thy power, and come among us, and with great might succour us; that whereas, through our sins and wickedness, we are sore let and hindered in running the race that is set before us, thy bountiful grace and […]
Last week we looked at Samuel Best’s catechism on the Collect for the first Sunday in Advent from the Book of Common Prayer. In this post, we turn to the second. First, the prayer: “Blessed Lord, who hast caused all holy Scriptures to be written for our learning; Grant that we may in such wise […]
The Collect for the First Sunday in Advent in the Book of Common Prayer reads as follows: Almighty God, give us grace that we may cast away the works of darkness, and put upon us the armour of light, now in the time of this mortal life, in which Thy Son Jesus Christ came to […]
I suppose that, while I was at it, I should have cited Chytraeus’ general definition of a sacramentum as well, in order to indicate how he construes such rites in broader terms. So here it is (it has the advantage of being brief): Quid est sacramentum? SACRAMENTUM, est actio sacra, a Deo instituta, constans verbo et […]
In the next set of questions, Chytraeus lists some Scriptural testmonia regarding the divinity of the Second and Third Persons of the Trinity (the testmonia concerning the Holy Spirit are not included in this post). The witness of Scripture undergirds Nicene trinitarianism. In the case of the Son, he also includes a question in which he explains why […]
We carry on with the next two questions in Chytraeus’ first locus. His answer to the question “What is God?” was already Trinitarian and creedal, and he now expands upon God’s tri-unity. In the second question below he gives a definition of the term persona as it is used in reference to the Godhead. He calls it a substantia, […]
The Westminster Larger Catechism has a comprehensive treatment of the moral law, and its treatment of the eighth commandment is particularly interesting. With certain small modifications, these statements are representative of the older universal Christian tradition. Q. 140. Which is the eighth commandment? A. The eighth commandment is, Thou shalt not steal. Q. 141. What are the […]