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The doctrine of creation is obviously one of the first things, but it is also one of the last things since the world to come is also, by definition, creation. The simple truth that it is so is incontestable since neither the world to come nor those whose dwelling it is built to be are God. But the way in which this is so is the subject of a long, long debate in Christendom, with the question of whether and in what degree the life to come is continuous with this one. How common is the “thing” in “first thing” and “last thing”? Our answer to this question conditions our answer to many others: the relationship of philosophy to theology, of the church to the saeculum, of the kingdom of Christ to the visible church. This volume brings together the careful investigations of established and emerging historians and theologians, exploring how these questions have been addressed at different points in Christian history, and what they mean for us today. Includes contributions from James Bratt, E.J. Hutchinson, Matthew Tuininga, Andrew Fulford, Laurence O'Donnell, Benjamin Miller, Brian Auten, and Joseph Minich.
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It is fascinating that in all the media reports and discussions of the church’s abuse of power in the early years of the twenty-first century, few if any seemed to notice that the accusation of the church’s misuse of power presupposed a shared understanding of the positive use of power within the church that had been violated. Rather than an interest in the sociological aspect of this question, this book examines the more ontological and normative aspects of it. That is, it investigates and discerns the foundational theological framework of culture and society and the location and purpose of the church within them. As a cultural force and societal institution, what does the church constructively bring to the human community?
A seasoned interpreter presents a "principled approach," showing how the Bible, though written long ago, can speak authoritatively on contemporary ethical, doctrinal, and practical issues.
Conventional scholarship holds that the theology and social ethics of the Reformed tradition stand at odds with concepts of natural law and the two kingdoms. But David VanDrunen here challenges that status quo through his careful, thoroughgoing exploration of the development of Reformed social thought from the Reformation to the present. - from publisher description.
In this introduction to Calvinism, Joel Beeke--with contributions from Sinclair Ferguson, Michael A.G. Haykin, Derek W.H. Thomas, and others--displays the biblical, God-centered, comprehensive, and practical nature of Calvinism. Explore Calvinism in history, in the mind, in the heart, in the church, in society, and more.
In The Sacrifice of Praise, Herman Bavinck pastorally guides the reader through the importance of the public profession of faith. Bavinck’s careful treatment includes explorations of the unifying power of a common (ecumenical) confession of faith, the blessing of the diversity of believers, and reasonable instruction for those facing persecution for publicly identifying with Christ. Theological, practical, straightforward, and devotional, The Sacrifice of Praise gives readers a fresh appreciation for the importance of confessing one’s faith. This is an updated English translation of the original Dutch edition and includes a new introduction and scriptural citations. “The Sacrifice of Praise gives us the impression of a spring flower, in the midst of the sharp, cold, fierce spring winds; an Elim in the desert of daily worries, hardships, quarrels, and murmurings. May the Lord God grant that it is the forerunner of a beautiful, refreshing, abundantly fruit-bearing summer.” —From a 1901 review in De Bazuin (a Dutch religious paper)
Richard J. Mouw is well known for his incisive views on the intersection of culture and Christianity and for his efforts to make the thought of major Dutch theologian Abraham Kuyper accessible to average Christians. In this volume Mouw provides the scholarly "backstory" to his popular books as he interprets, applies, expands on -- and at times even corrects -- Kuyper's remarkable vision for faith and public life. In thirteen essays Mouw explores and develops the Kuyperian perspective on key topics in Christian cultural discipleship, including public theology, sphere sovereignty, education, creation, and more. He deftly articulates an ecumenically enriched neo-Calvinist -- or "neo-Kuyperian" -- perspective that appropriates and contextualizes the ideas and insights of this important theologian and statesman for new challenges in Christian thought and service.
Scripture promises that God's people "shall not labor in vain, nor bring forth children for trouble; for they shall be the descendants of the blessed of the Lord, and their offspring with them" (Is. 65:22-23), and that Christ "will turn...the hearts of the children to their fathers" (Mal. 4:6). Yet Christian parents today face a disturbing exodus of their children from the Church to the world. Why is this? What is the place of children within the faith? What do the promises mean? Recognizing that this subject is fraught with difficulty and grief, the twelve contributors to this volume seek to address the hard questions and lay a biblical foundation of hope for our children. Contributors include Timothy Bayly, Joel Belz, Randy Booth, David Hagopian, Douglas Jones, Dr. Nelson D. Kloosterman, Dr. Charles Alan McIlhenny, Dr. Robert S. Rayburn, G. Mark Sumpter, Tom Trouwborst, Benjamin K. Wikner, and Douglas Wilson.
The revival of Calvinism in the nineteenth-century Netherlands entailed the neo-Calvinist movement. With Abraham Kuyper, Herman Bavinck became a brand name of neo-Calvinism. Nonetheless, not until the first decade of the twenty-first century was scholarly interest in Bavinck's work increasing. The conventional "two Bavincks" model used to read his work for much of the twentieth century argues that some contradictory and irreconcilable themes do exist in Bavinck's system, which makes Bavinck a self-contradictory thinker. This dualistic reading characterised most of Bavinck scholars in the second half of the twentieth century. Since James Eglinton's new reading of Bavinck's organic motif, the ...