“Loving well those facing the great trials of life requires Christians to develop both pastoral sensitivity and theological instincts. Empathy and orthodoxy both matter. Benevolence and truth are meant to nourish one another, not to serve as two distinct options. When tenderheartedness and conviction are together, they bring life, but separated they can be disastrous. Discovering a perfect... Continue Reading

This is a really important book. Although the text is less than 150 pages, the content is sharp, dense, and bound to generate some controversy. Dolezal, a Reformed Baptist who teaches theology in the School of Divinity at Cairn University (Langhorne, PA), has done the church a favor in raising such crucial issues in such... Continue Reading

“As the renunciation of all dependence upon our own merit, of all purpose, desire, or effort to make satisfaction for ourselves, and trusting exclusively to the satisfaction rendered by Jesus Christ, is of the very essence of Christian experience, it will be seen that the doctrine of purgatory is in conflict not only with the... Continue Reading

If Frame is indeed going to make a convincing case against Classical Theism in Dolezal’s model, this is most certainly not it. There must first be a clear demonstration that Frame has a groundwork in Patristic and scholastic thought on these issues before his critiques can be taken seriously by proponents of Classical Theism. Perhaps... Continue Reading

Bethell concludes that “the science of Darwinism amounts to little more than the ‘wedding’ of materialism and Progress. We have seen that if materialism is true, then Darwinism—or something very much like it—must also be true. But materialism is highly implausible and has been widely challenged.   Darwin’s House of Cards (Discovery) by Tom Bethell is not... Continue Reading

Why were the Puritans so interested in natural theology? What motivated them. Marshall answers: “Puritans did not simply embrace these rational arguments on a theological level but employed them in a surprising variety of pastoral, evangelical, and polemical contexts.”   One of the privileges of working at a place like Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary is getting to... Continue Reading

Without God and a thick sense of community and an objective ethical framework, the expectations for romantic love are so high—and our moral foundation so malleable by individual desire—that we end up asking too little of marriage. Even escape valves that erode the commitment necessary for sustaining love, such as living apart and consensual nonmonogamy, receive consideration.... Continue Reading

There was an old expression, particularly among the Scottish Presbyterians, who would say, “I own the Confession.” By that, they meant that they had made its doctrine their own; they had taken the content to heart, and saw that indeed it was an accurate reflection of the teaching of Scripture. So, too, the Catechism, though... Continue Reading

He allows no leniency in his critique of Presbyterian theological giants of the South, including men like Dabney, Thornwell, Palmer, and Girardeau.  These theological icons, because of their views on slavery, are dealt with severely.  As the monuments of men like Lee and Jackson are being dismantled today, in this book, these theological icons fall... Continue Reading

“The grounds of assurance are not so much within, as without us. They are, according to Scripture, (1.) The universal and unconditional promise of God that those who come to Him in Christ, He will in no wise cast out; that whosoever will, may take of the water of life without money and without price.... Continue Reading