This past week the good folks at Crossway sent me a copy of a new book that will likely stir the theological waters a bit. I’m referring to From Heaven He Came and Sought Her: Definite Atonement in Historical, Biblical, Theological, and Pastoral Perspective, edited by...
After using Kindle for PC for several years, this past week I finally bit the bullet and purchased a Kindle Paperwhite. My initial impression of the device is very positive. I think I’m really going to like this thing. Perhaps I’ll write a post reviewing the device...
Recent discussions about the nature of worldliness reminded me of a statement that dates from the late fourth century. In his book On Christian Teaching, Augustine (354–430) discusses what it means to live a holy and just life. He says that a person who lives such a...
A couple of weeks ago, I blogged about six reasons for prayer drawn from John Calvin’s Institutes of the Christian Religion (3.20.3). In addition to these reasons for prayer, and in fact immediately following them, Calvin also put forward four rules or guidelines for...
Most people probably don’t have Detroit near the top of their list of possible vacation destinations, but there actually are quite a few interesting places to visit in and around the city of Detroit. The Detroit Historical Museum is located downtown in the museum...
Although St. Patrick’s Day appears on our calendars each year, most modern celebrations of St. Patrick’s Day have little to do with the person behind the holiday. This coming weekend many people will wear a little extra green, some will celebrate their Irish heritage,...
We’re giving away a copy of Karen Jobes’s book Letters to the Church: A Survey of Hebrews and the General Epistles. In order to be entered in the drawing, just share this post on Facebook, Twitter, or your blog. Once you’ve done one or more of those things, leave a...
One of the benefits of attending the annual meeting of the Evangelical Theological Society is the opportunity to visit the meeting’s exhibition hall. In the hall one can peruse the latest titles from major Christian publishing houses and can purchase such books at...
One of the benefits of attending the Mid-America Conference on Preaching each year is the opportunity it affords for catching up with DBTS alumni. Last fall, I found myself sitting next to alumnus Matt Ortega in a workshop session. Both of our families have grown...
I recently came across an interesting quote from Martin Luther about the prospect of social reform. He wrote, To be sure, the world sees evil acts, nay, it is amazed at them and complains about the great wickedness of people; but it does not know how it happens. It...
On May 30, a group of Southern Baptist leaders issued a document titled “A Statement of the Traditional Southern Baptist Understanding of God’s Plan of Salvation.” I initially ignored this statement as just another anti-Calvinist diatribe published by individuals whom...
Throughout church history professing believers have argued amongst themselves about all kinds of things. In retrospect, some of these debates have been key steps in hammering out the details of important theological issues. Other debates have been less than edifying....
Earlier this month many Americans were saddened to hear of an American soldier who allegedly killed some 16 Afghan civilians in cold blood—most of them women and children. Although this isn’t the first time an American soldier has been accused of murder in a time of...
It’s that time of year when grocery store clerks, kind-hearted relatives, and even complete strangers ask children what they want Santa Claus to bring them. And it’s also a time when Christian parents struggle to help their children answer such people in a way that is...
Giving Tuesday may be over, but there’s another way you can help DBTS financially this Christmas season and all year round. And it won’t even cost you anything. When you shop on Amazon using the link below, the prices won’t be any different, but Amazon will give DBTS...
On this day 499 years ago, a monk named Martin Luther (1483–1546) approached a church door in Wittenberg, Germany and posted a list of topics for academic debate at the local university. With this relatively innocuous act Luther started a movement that developed into...
A little over fifty years ago, Carl Bangs lamented that Jacob Arminius (1559/60–1609) had been consistently misunderstood and misrepresented by both friend and foe alike (Bangs, “Arminius and the Reformation,” Church History 30 [1961]: 155–56). Some thirty years...
In a few days, we’re going to give away a couple of books to one of our readers. The books we are giving away are Five Views on Biblical Inerrancy and Four Views on the Historical Adam, both in the Counterpoints series published by Zondervan. In order to enter the...
In the West, most Protestants are at least somewhat familiar with Roman Catholicism. Many of us have Roman Catholic friends, neighbors, and even family members. And many believers have been saved out of Roman Catholicism. Much less familiar to most westerners is the...
From time to time I’ve met professing Christians who for one reason or another claim that they do not need to be part of a local church. In most cases, they seem to believe that because God has placed them in the universal Church, they can worship God just fine apart...
In honor of Reformation Day, here are a few resources you might want to check out. Ligonier Ministries has made a number of Reformation-related e-books and audio/video resources available to download for free (until 11:59 pm, Oct 31, 2014). Over on Amazon, several...
Last month a new book was released titled A Conservative Christian Declaration. Co-authored by six men (Kevin Bauder, Scott Aniol, David de Bruyn, Mike Riley, Ryan Martin, and Jason Parker) this fairly short volume (92 pp.) is intended to articulate “a fully orbed...
In August 1998, I ordered some of my first seminary textbooks as a student. That particular semester, one item stood out above the rest. Philip Schaff’s 8-volume History of the Christian Church stood out primarily due to its price. At the time Schaff retailed for...
Michigan Cherry Coffee Sure, you can order it online. But only Michigan coffeehouses serve freshly brewed coffee made from cherries grown just a few hours to our north. If you like coffee but haven’t tried Michigan Cherry coffee, you need to. And if you don’t like...
Eusebius of Caesarea (c. 260–c. 340) is generally considered the church’s first real historian. Although he provides invaluable insight into the history and workings of the early church, Eusebius is often criticized for his selective record and especially for his...
Over the past month or two, I’ve put forward a few suggested reading lists in the field of church history. These lists have included surveys of church history, books on the history of Christian doctrine, books that discuss church history in specific areas of the...
In recent weeks, I’ve posted a few suggested reading lists in the field of church history. These lists have included broad overviews of church history, books on the history of Christian doctrine, and books that discuss church history in specific areas of the world. In...
Over the past few weeks, I’ve posted a couple of suggested reading lists. These lists have included broad overviews of church history and books on the history of Christian doctrine. In this post, I’m going to recommend a number of books that focus on the history of...
I recently had a student ask what books pastors and future pastors should read in order to become familiar with the church’s past. I’d like to answer that question by suggesting a short list of books over a couple of blog posts. The nature of church history is such...
I heard it on the radio again the other day—a slick sounding ad depicting happy sounding people talking about how much fun it is to win “the big one.” It was an ad for the Michigan Lottery, and it left one with the impression that most people who play the lottery...
Within American history the names of Benedict Arnold, Aaron Burr, and the Rosenbergs live on in infamy. These are people who rather notoriously tried to undermine the well-being of our nation for some kind of personal profit. We look back on such individuals with a...
Students in my Medieval Church History class recently read Augustine’s book, On Christian Teaching. As I was working my way back through this little volume, I was struck by a statement Augustine (354-430) makes which seems to have application to those who would be...
Along with several million others, I watched the widely publicized debate between Bill Nye and Ken Ham this past Tuesday evening. Since that time, many people on both sides of the origins issue have produced videos, articles, and blog posts discussing the debate. Here...
According to author Kevin Schultz, in 1942 President Franklin D. Roosevelt asserted that the United States is “a Protestant country,” and that “Catholics and Jews are here under sufferance” (Tri-Faith America, 10). In this fascinating book, Schultz argues that between...
In recent weeks the city of Damascus has frequently appeared in our headlines. Although it now appears that a U.S.-led strike against the region is not on the immediate horizon, it also looks as if negotiations over the proposed transfer of chemical weapons will...
Some eight years ago now, Zondervan released the first installment of a two-volume church history set. The initial volume was written by Everett Ferguson, the author or editor of numerous works related to early church history. Ferguson is currently Professor of Church...
I’ve written in the past about a few websites that provide access to a wide range of electronic resources. When looking for academic resources sometimes you know exactly what you are looking for, and the most convenient way to find it is to search for a specific...
John Calvin (1509–1564) is remembered for many things—some good, some bad, some real, some imagined. If Calvin’s legacy is misunderstood today, the reason for that misunderstanding generally cannot be traced to lack of access to his thought. Although the exact...
We ended up with 37 comments on our book giveaway post from earlier this week. This morning my four oldest children each picked a number between 1 and 37. Then my 2 year old daughter drew number 17. This means that Matt Tolosa is the winner of Letters to the Church....
We ended up with 43 comments on our book giveaway post from earlier this week. Here’s how we came up with a winner. Late last night my four oldest kids each chose a number between 1 and 43. We wrote those four numbers down on slips of paper. Then we let our fifth...
We ended up with 59 comments on our giveaway post from last week, and so a little after 9 pm last night my four oldest kids each chose a number between 1 and 59. We wrote those four numbers down on slips of paper. Then we mixed the papers up and let our fifth child...
A number of recent DBTS graduates are currently involved in theological education abroad, and several more alumni are in the process of deputation with the goal of teaching overseas. This kind of ministry represents a great opportunity for our graduates to help equip...
In 1916, the Chicago Tribune published a series of articles about Henry Ford, the famous industrialist. One of those articles included a statement from Ford that, with slight variations, has been repeated many times over, often to the chagrin of history teachers. Ford...
During the summer of 2000, my wife and I travelled through Iowa on the way to visit family. Along the way we stopped in Ankeny to attend church and catch up with some old friends. After the evening service, Myron Houghton took us out for pie at Baker’s Square. It was...
God sometimes uses strange instruments to accomplish his gracious purposes. Such was the case in late 1830 when a young man named Alvah Strong (1809–1875) was converted under the ministry of Charles Finney (1792–1875). For roughly six months during the fall and winter...
Each year I look forward to Al Mohler’s summer reading suggestions. His lists contain just the kind of books I enjoy reading for recreation. Unfortunately, although Mohler has introduced me to a number of new authors, I’ve never made it through one of his summer...
During the past few months, a number of helpful resources related to the Protestant Reformation have hit bookstore shelves. This post will highlight two of the more significant volumes. Whitford, David M., ed. T&T Clark Companion to Reformation Theology. London:...
Most seminary students are involved in teaching children in some venue or another. Many are husbands and fathers, and so are responsible for training their own children on a daily basis. Others are not, but are still involved in teaching children within the context of...