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VIDEO: Pillars in Practice IV: Should Christians Avoid Public Schools?
The issue of Christian education is one of the most important questions most Christian families face, and also one fraught with controversy, that has often divided churches. In this video, Brad Belschner and Brad Littlejohn explore how we can navigate the principled and prudential questions surrounding this issue, and in so doing, illustrate how one…
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Common Places: Gregory Soderberg on Reformed Communion Practices and Church Discipline
Gregory Soderberg (PhD Candidate VU Amsterdam) speaks on the changes that were implemented in communion practice during the Reformation by Bucer, Calvin, and Oecolampadius. Highlights 1:40-7:00– What were some common communion practices in the pre-Reformation church? 7:30-What did the Reformers want to change about the practice and frequency of communion? 11:00-The importance of understanding the…
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Pearl and Leaven: The Gospel Church as Institute and Organism
This article by Jordan J. Ballor appeared in the March issue of our Ad Fontes magazine. To subscribe to receive full issues in your inbox, click here. A hallmark of neo-Calvinist thinking about the church in the nineteenth century and beyond is the distinction between the church understood as an institution and as an organism. The Dutch theologian and…
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A Report on the Davenant Trust Colorado Convivium
We were very blessed to have Colorado Christian University, and our esteemed friend Michael Plato in particular, host our first Convivium in the Mountain West earlier this month. Mr. Plato kindly wrote up this thorough summary of the event to give you a taste of the rich conversations we enjoyed. If you are interested in…
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VIDEO: Pillars in Practice III: What is Natural Law?
In recent years, many Christians have turned to the notion of “natural law” as a way of engaging a hostile culture or secular political sphere. But how does natural law work? How does it fit with total depravity? Is it supported by Scripture? And is it really useful? Brad Littlejohn addresses questions such as these…
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“The First Fair Trial”: The Genealogy of the Separation of Church and State
This article by Pastor Steven Wedgeworth appeared in the March issue of our Ad Fontes magazine. To subscribe to receive full issues in your inbox, click here. Triumphalism is a perennial danger to Christian communities, and it shows up in a wide variety of places, sometimes in the most curious ways. For Protestant traditions, one particularly ironic location of…
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Common Places: Andrew Fulford on Jesus and Pacifism
PhD candidate and author Andrew Fulford discusses his new book Jesus and Pacifism: An Exegetical and Historical Investigation. What does it mean to love our enemies? Does Jesus affect our view of war? Highlights (1:30) Andrew’s church background. (4:00) the six key arguments for pacifism. (10:00) what is natural law and how does it answer…
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VIDEO: Pillars in Practice I: Why Should Christians Study Pagan Philosophy?
Many Christians question the value of pagan philosophy as a useful tool for Christian theology; at best, they think, it can serve as a foil to show the dead ends that a false worldview leads to. But most of the Christian theological tradition leaned heavily on the insights of Plato and Aristotle. In this video,…
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“Covenant” and Polity in the Thought of the Early Reformers
This article by Simon P. Kennedy of the University of Queensland appeared in the February issue of our Ad Fontes magazine. To subscribe to receive full issues in your inbox, click here. The idea of “covenant” is prominent in Reformed political thought. Indeed, early Reformed thinkers who wrote about politics often used the concept of covenant to illustrate…
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VIDEO: Pillars in Practice II: Does the Bible Teach the Trinity?
The doctrine of the Trinity is a case in point of how, even for Protestants, we cannot just go straight to Scripture and bypass the historic teaching and theological reflection of the Church. Recent renewed controversies over the Trinity among evangelicals highlight this danger. But how do we make sure we are giving the right…
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