Edith Cavell: A Brave Guide
At a time in history when examples of godly women are few and far between, much needed strength and encouragement can be drawn from the life of this lady who put all her trust in Jesus Christ, her Savior.
Throughout the fifty years of Edith Cavell’s life, she was content to work hard and live humbly. She was a godly woman and, therefore, a godly historical example. The Bible instructs us to teach our children about such historical examples. Psalm 78:4 reads: “We will not hide them from their children, but tell to the coming... Continue Reading
Laughing at the Days to Come
Thompson has already been where she calls her readers to go, and serves as a trusted guide.
Laughing at the Days to Come is a book about embracing and enduring life’s trials with divine joy. It is about gaining the kind of vision of that Proverbs 31 woman who can look into an unknown future and a long path of suffering and still rejoice. I think it’s fair to say that it’s... Continue Reading
A Review: ‘A New Approach to Textual Criticism’
With the development of computer technology, a new approach to evaluating textual witnesses has been developed: The Coherence-Based Genealogical Method [CBGM].
Several “canons” (i.e., rules) were established by the first architects of this textual restoration project, but with the development of computer technology, a new approach to evaluating textual witnesses has been developed: The Coherence-Based Genealogical Method [CBGM]. In short, the CBGM is a computer-assisted model that enables text critics to observe and assess relationships between... Continue Reading
He Took Up Arms Against Liberalism
J. Gresham Machen (1881–1937)
Machen was cut off in the midst of a great work — the establishment of Westminster Seminary and the Orthodox Presbyterian Church. He hadn’t set out to found a seminary or a new church. But given who he was and what he stood for and what was happening at Princeton, where he had taught for... Continue Reading
Reformed Ethics Could Save Your Life
Ron Gleason traces Bavinck’s career teaching theology and ethics between Kampen and Amsterdam, but no one knew that a manuscript on ethics was preserved in the Bavinck archive.
Bavinck had prepared the manuscript for publication, yet several formal issues may have held him back from publishing the work (RE, 2019; xxxv, xli-ii). Along with the manuscript’s discovery by Dirk van Keulen, two additional manuscripts from Bavinck’s students have been uncovered, providing invaluable insights into his classroom presentation and support for translation. The wealth... Continue Reading
Preaching for a Verdict: A Book Review
If you preach regularly, you should read this book. Here are four reasons why.
“The call to exhort,” wrote Smith, “is the call to speak to the will of the hearer, not just to inform the mind of the hearer. It is pleading, persuading, and strongly urging the hearer to respond in obedience to the Word of God. It moves beyond suggested application into a definitive call to respond”... Continue Reading
Imputation of the Active Obedience of Christ in the Westminster Standards: Book Review
The rush of books, articles, reviews, and even a hymnal that has flowed from the pen (or, more likely, keyboard) of Dr. Alan D. Strange has been a most appreciated and welcomed gift to the church.
Strange’s stated aim is to advance the argument that “while the Assembly may never have explicitly affirmed active obedience in what it finally adopted, nonetheless, the Westminster documents, taken as a whole, tend to affirm it” (2). He seeks to accomplish this by carefully considering both the original intent of the framers of the Westminster... Continue Reading
How on Earth Did Jesus Become God?
The challenge, argues Hurtado, is not simply explaining how Jesus was seen as divine by early Christians, but rather the challenge is explaining the manner in which he was seen as divine.
All the chapters in the volume are helpful, but the first two are the most foundational. In chapter one, Hurtado gives us the lay of the land by surveying the variety of other approaches to Jesus devotion within early Christianity, offering a brief critical review of each of them, so that his own approach can... Continue Reading
Primal Screams: How the Sexual Revolution Created Identity Politics
The human race is only now realizing what demons flew out of that particular Pandora’s box.
The long loneliness is seen in the woman who never had children in order to please a selfish husband, who then divorced her for a younger woman. It is there in the face of a sincere, but nerdy young man who can’t find a decent girl to marry or the faithful young woman who is... Continue Reading
Why Small-Town Ministry Matters: A Review of “A Big Gospel in Small Places”
Yes, ministry in forgotten communities still matters.
A Big Gospel in Small Places is filled with a combination of quotes from the likes of Puritans and contemporary thought and statistics on ministry. There are many pastors in small places who need to be reminded that preaching a Bible-saturated, gospel-centered sermon to forty-five people matters. This book is oozing with that kind of... Continue Reading
