The state of Maine made national headlines earlier this summer when the Supreme Court decided by a 6–3 vote that residents could apply vouchers for private Christian schools, not only secular ones. Religious liberty advocates praised the ruling in Carson v. Makin, though its greatest impact will be felt in states with larger Christian populations.
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A Long Day for the High Priest: Finding John 17 from Leviticus 16
John 17 is a prayer by Jesus in an upper room in a house in Jerusalem at the time of the Passover. That is, the setting is alive with elements of Jesus’s own Jewish roots. The chapter is known as the “High Priestly Prayer” because in it, Jesus intercedes for His disciples and for the soon-to-be established church. As He prays, He knows He’ll soon suffer physically as only those who were crucified could ever comprehend. In addition to that, and far worse, He knows He’s about to undergo agony on a spiritual level beyond anything you and I can imagine.
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The Love Chapter: A Devotional from 1 Corinthians 13
You know this passage from a wedding you were in or attended. But what is Paul, a single, tent maker and Old Testament scholar doing writing about love? There must be something more going on than a wedding sermon.
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The church of Maria Gern in Berchtesgaden, Germany.
A Personal Reflection on Reformation Day
Therefore, let us celebrate together, even with our secondary and tertiary differences, what God has done to preserve His bride until He returns for her!
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Help! I’m Preaching Through Esther.
Rather than a story of how things ought to be, Esther shows us how someone was faithful in the world as it is: painful, fear-filled, and potential hopeless. Only God offers a way out. Perhaps He has us right where He wants us to be a part of His bigger redemption story.
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Safeguard the Hope of Salvation: An Introduction to John Calvin's Pastoral Theology — Part 3
An Introduction to John Calvin’s Pastoral Theology: 7 Key Concepts
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Safeguard the Hope of Salvation: An Introduction to John Calvin's Pastoral Theology — Part 2
An Introduction to John Calvin’s Pastoral Theology: 7 Key Concepts
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Safeguard the Hope of Salvation: An Introduction to John Calvin's Pastoral Theology — Part 1
An Introduction to John Calvin’s Pastoral Theology: 7 Key Concepts
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A Missionary Kid, a President, and the Challenger Tragedy
To summarize the national pain, the president quoted from a poem written by a Canadian fighter pilot who had joined the Royal Canadian Air Force during World War II. Born in Shanghai, China in 1922, John Gillespie Magee, Jr. was the son of Canadian and American parents serving as Anglican missionaries to the region.
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Watts and Wesley: A Tale of Two Hymn Writers and the Christmas Carols that Remain with Us
As a general rule, those who study Christianity’s growth and expansion—missiologists—know that a given culture has truly embraced the faith when its people compose their own songs for worship. Similarly, hymns that remain popular centuries after their composition are often traced to times of reformation and revival. Two well-known Christmas carols in the English language are Joy to the World, written by Isaac Watts (1674-1748), and Hark the Herald Angels Sing, by Charles Wesley (1707-1788).
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A Friend Who Sticks Closer than…a Hobbit? What the Inklings Teach Us about Friendship
In the age of social media, the notion of friendship has taken on new meanings. Many people have "friends" whom they have never met, nor do they know them on any personal level. While most of us would agree that such a relationship does not constitute a friendship in the true sense of the word, the term itself has broadened in application over time to now include nearly any individual one has met and not found deplorable. This expanded use is not necessarily a bad thing, provided one understands varying degrees of friendship.
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God, Our Fortress in Pandemic and Calamity
“In the actual moment history is made, it is usually made in terror and confusion” Tom Junod scribed in his iconic “The Falling Man” reflection on the September 11, 2001 attacks. Junod rightly observed the relentless responsibility of the photographer to record what they see knowing that “history” will formulate around their images later. In the moment, it just happens in chaos and blood. As we weather our own tumultuous season, we must consider how we will distill the lessons of this moment from the snapshots of our experiences.
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The Pilgrim's People: Christian at House Beautiful
Here in the days of COVID-19, with many churches are not yet able to gather, Christians are finding themselves increasingly adjusting to the isolation. After all, there are perks to being able to livestream a service and not have to leave the comfort of your home. Yet virtual relationships are hardly conducive to deep relationships. And podcasts and livestream services are no substitute for accountability and discipleship. As we need to be reminded again and again, this cannot be the new normal. Christians have always needed to be connected in meaningful relationships with other believers in the church. A good reminder of this is found in John Bunyan’s The Pilgrim’s Progress.
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Owen's Encouragement for Tired Carers
One of my favourite things to do is care for other people. I love seeing a person’s face soften with relief when they realize someone else is looking out for them or sharing their burden, whether it’s a girl in our youth group struggling with a life issue, a library patron struggling with a research question, or an older family member struggling with a household task. I usually jump at the opportunity to help someone out, but once in a while I get tired.
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Summer Reading Recommendations
Summer is here and the HistoricalTheology.org crew has book recommendations to add to your summer reading list. Here’s something for all the historians and theologians in your family!
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Melito of Sardis’ Christ-Centered, Historical-Grammatical Hermeneutic
Guest Post by Stephen Lorance
In a recent paper presentation of Irenaeus’ textual worldview I sought to articulate his Christ centered hermeneutic, which includes, as Patristic scholar John Behr notes, an understanding that Christ “by being explained ‘according to the Scriptures’, becomes the sole subject of Scripture throughout.”[1] At the conclusion, a student from a mainline seminary asked a piercing question. Specific to his context, this student wanted an apologetic for classmates and faculty that have conflated meaning with the historical-grammatical at the expense of the theological. In essence, living in a historical-grammatical world, how could he argue that a Christ-centered interpretation doesn’t run roughshod over the “literal interpretation?”
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Is Self-Love a Sin? Owen on Sober Love of Self
Every so often I see inspirational quotes about loving yourself and witness some Christians opposing it and others agreeing with it. Is self-love merely a euphemism for selfishness, pride, and elitism? Or is it a part of the Christian’s calling to love?
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Ants, Augustine, and Preparing for Spiritual Winter
The ongoing heath crisis and cultural and legal events have sent many Christians into confusion and chaos. It has challenged and exposed my deeply rooted problems in American Christianity. Many are choosing to lash out in anger. Others turn to fear. While others double down on politics as their last hope to maintain life as they know it. However, Augustine (354-430) has some great wisdom on Proverbs chapter 6 that turns the familiar passage used to prod lazy Jamestownians and Pilgrims off their 17th-century log couches into a ballad of spiritual preparation.
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Guiding Principles for Writing a Paper on Women in Church History
When I began studying Puritan women, I felt overwhelmed. There was something different happening in the primary and secondary texts than what I was used to, even after years of studying historical theology and writing papers. Unfortunately, I hadn’t gleaned the type of information needed to analyze these issues from my previous classes, probably because it is the kind of thing that is mentioned by professors in passing or taught through example and is highly influenced by their areas of expertise. Yet, after making many mistakes, I finally began to understand the shape of historical studies on women and found that other students were coming across the same questions I had to work through. This led me to create a list of guiding principles for those writing their first paper on a woman in church history.
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The Old Redemption Story: Illustrations from the Book of Ruth
The book of Ruth begins in brokenness. The time of the Judges had seen people go from obedient and devoted followers of God to fickle and nameless wanderers who came to Him temporarily in their times of greatest distress. The first chapter records how one family even leaves God’s “Promised Land” to seek life elsewhere. The book of Ruth is short but deep. We see suffering, but we see restoration. The hope of the Gospel is very much alive even centuries before the arrival of the Messiah. This outsider and foreigner teaches us what it’s like to be an insider with God. In the midst of broken times, we are reminded that God knows us by name. When we are tempted to look back at how things used to be, we learn that there is nothing better behind us than the God before us. For all of us whose paradise has ever been broken, let’s make Ruth’s God of restoration our God too! Where He goes, we go.
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