Crumbs from the Master's Table

In the vein of Ambrose Bierce's The Unabridged Devil's Dictionary : Reformation Day, n. That one day of the year when Protestants ...

The following quotation accurately describes my own experience and understanding both of Edwards and the current state of affairs in modern ...

The Songs of Ascents (120–134) are among my favorite portions of Scripture. And Psalm 128 is one of my favorites among these songs. These so...

"A doctrine develops when the need arises. It was precisely because of the conflict over the locus of authority in the church t...

Vanhoozer: One does not have to be a Protestant, of course, to be a Christian. However, the Reformation Protestants have a vital and endur...

Horton: The Christian faith is, first and foremost, an unfolding  drama . Geerhardus Vos observed, "The Bible is not a dogmatic hand...

"Each of us is conditioned in our hearing and reading of God's Word by our cultural-linguistic location. Nevertheless, the most dec...

"It is possible to hold a high view of biblical authority and sufficiency in theory while yielding a magisterial role in practice to so...

Calvin: The final goal of the blessed life, moreover, rests in the knowledge of God. Lest anyone, then, be excluded from access to happine...

Chesterton: Because children have abounding vitality, because they are in spirit fierce and free, therefore they want things repeated and ...

"It seems rather a waste of time to spend, say, five years working out a position, only to find that it has already been done by a Syri...

Vanhoozer: Prayer is also a way of active participation in the Son's fellowship with the Father. Praying "Our Father" with J...

Vanhoozer: Preaching is a means of grace because it presents, and makes present, Christ and what is in Christ. In so doing, it reminds lis...

Randy Alcorn on  why churches should study systematic theology . I've been saying this sort of thing for years and years. I'm fully ...

Many attempts to explain what a worldview is fall short of doing the phenomenon justice. And part of the problem is that the word itself (w...

"Pastors have to help their congregations read culture so that we know what forces are trying to shape us. I believe tha...

Here are  four fake grammar rules you needn't bother about . And this seems just about right, though I might wish to quibble a little ab...

Here, O my Lord, I see thee face to face; Here would I touch and handle things unseen; Here grasp with firmer hand th'eternal grace, ...

Obama is not a Muslim. Let's get serious. But nor is he a Christian. Do not be deceived. He's a secularist through and through. His ...

Bridges on Owen: For luminous exposition, and powerful defense of Scriptural doctrine—for determined enforcement of practical obligations—...

Spurgeon on Owen: It is unnecessary to say that he is the prince of divines. To master his works is to be a profound theologian. Owen is s...

"The theologian, far from having a faith based on wish fulfillment, is rather employed (at least part-time) in the role of dragon-slaye...

Ferguson on the structure of John Owen's thought about the ministry of the Spirit of Christ to the believer: The Spirit brings us into...

Here's my present attempt at a definition that embraces the whole enterprise of theologizing. It aims at making clear that doing...

"Although theology treats of the same things with metaphysics, physics and ethics, yet the mode of considering is far different. It tre...

I recently finished reading through yet again the Gospel according to John, for something like the thirtieth time since I came first to know...

"If you do not die first, you will have time to do it. If you die before you it is done, you don't need to do it" (Bloom, Begi...

"If Nietzsche had not ended in imbecility, Nietzsheism would end in imbecility. Thinking in isolation and with pride ends in being an i...

How does “for you shall inherit all the nations!” function as a ground for God to arise and judge the earth in Ps. 82:8? The reasoning seems...

What is "doctrine"?  And, specifically, what is Christian doctrine? What follows are some orienting definitions from two of the mo...

If Kevin Vanhoozer is right (and I think he is) in saying—"The church is the place not only where the gospel is heard but also where it...