The Calvinist International
The Battle Flag of the Army of Northern Virginia flies no more on the lawn of the South Carolina capitol grounds. In the rush of emotion that followed Dylan Roof’s killings, the debate among Christians shifted from the subject of race and Christianity to a debate—though it wasn’t really a debate, more of a en-masse […]
On the One Hand… Let’s take a statement out of context, shall we? Irenaeus, in Against Heresies 3.2, writes: But, again, when we refer [the heretics] to that tradition which originates from the apostles, [and] which is preserved by means of the succession of presbyters in the Churches, they object to tradition, saying that they themselves are wiser not merely than the presbyters, but […]
In the first Theological Oration, Gregory of Nazianzus remarks that we often have our priorities misplaced. We consider “rivalry of speech and endless talking” to be more important than all else. Where we should have a definite and decided concern for Christian character, we instead grant a pass for all kinds of vice as long […]
In the “Demonstration of the First Table [of the Decalogue]” in his De lege naturae (“On the Law of Nature”), Niels Hemmingsen gives the following explanation of the ordering of the first four of the Ten Commandments (the first three according to the Lutheran numbering). First, the commandments: “You shall have no other gods before1 me. 4 d“You […]
In the Enchiridion Theologicum (“Theological Handbook”), Niels Hemmingsen, in discussing man in the fallen state and the consequent necessity he has of faith in Christ for regeneration (which he identifies with the restoration of the image of God), quotes Augustine (De libero arbitrio 2.20.54) to strengthen his point: we must lay hold in faith of Jesus […]
I’ve been on a bit of a Hemmingsen kick lately. Look for that to continue indefinitely. In the first section of the “first class” of topics in his Enchiridion Theologicum, that dealing with the doctrine of God, he discusses the different ways in which we talk about God. One of these is to apply anthropomorphic language […]
Niels Hemmingsen begins his Enchiridion Theologicum (1557) with the claim that there exists a twofold knowledge of God, the universal (known to everyone) and the peculiar, or special (known only to the sons of God). For the knowledge of God that is universal, he cites Romans 1:18-20, and then comments that all the world’s a school […]
There have been a couple of posts here over the last year or so on issues related to concreated holiness and the donum superadditum (e.g., here, here, here, here). A.A. Hodge finds that the idea of created holiness necessary to a full understanding of the image of God. He lists three “elements” of the image: “(1.) […]
Though he uses neither of the terms in my title in the excerpt below, A.W. Tozer in The Pursuit of God seems to combine the ideas signified by those terms in his (admittedly personal) explanation for how to account for “all that is best out of Christ,” e.g., works of philosophical penetration and subtlety, works of sublimity […]
“Apocalypse,” or “revelation,” is a thread that runs through the first several chapters of the Apostle Paul’s Letter to the Romans. There are three particular instances I’d like to examine in this post. Two of them come in adjacent verses in the first chapter: 16 Οὐ γὰρ ἐπαισχύνομαι τὸ εὐαγγέλιον, δύναμις γὰρ θεοῦ ἐστιν εἰς σωτηρίαν παντὶ […]