Devotional retrieval must accompany theological retrieval. To that end, New Whitchurch Press’ republication of The Lamentation of a Sinner is prescient.
Revisiting “The Shape Fallacy”: A Response to Ben Jefferies
I am concerned with something bigger than any one late modern prayer book: how the Dixian shift to thinking of the prayer book in terms of “shape” has affected the virtues of the prayer book tradition.
Becoming Holy with Richard Hooker
By teaching two kinds of righteousness, one imputed and one actual, Hooker makes room for us both to truly become holy and for our works to contribute to that holiness.
Taking the Next Steps
The Lord has been very good to the Davenant Institute over the past year. We were able to make great contributions to the Reformation 500 commemoration with our publications of People of the Promise: A Mere Protestant Ecclesiology and Reformation Theology: A Reader of Primary Sources.
The Bible and the Religion of Protestants
“The Bible, I say, the Bible only is the religion of Protestants.” So wrote English Protestant apologist William Chillingworth in 1637, but the same words might just as well have been written in 1537 or 1937.
Denver Convivium 2018 – Summary
Earlier this month, The Davenant Institute held its Second Annual Denver Regional Convivium Irenicum in the shadow of the Rocky Mountain foothills, at Colorado Christian University.
Protestantism After Liberalism? An Untapped Resource for Christian Political Thought
In perhaps the most famous passage of his City of God, Augustine argues that, since justice consists in giving to each his due, there can be no justice where God is not given his due, and thus a functioning commonwealth is impossible.[1] Instead, all we will have is a disorderly mass of individuals pursuing their own interests and goods. To which liberalism asks: “But what if that’s what justice is—allowing individuals to pursue their own interests and goods? I suppose we don’t need God after all.”
Three Cheers for Wisdom: Clarifications Contra Critics
Henri de Vulcop, Lady Philosophy Presenting the Seven Liberal Arts to Boethius
Last week, I wrote a brief summary of our objections (here at Davenant) to “Christian worldview” thinking, and why we prefer the language of “wisdom” instead. The post was in many ways an experiment to see whether it’s possible to make a big-picture argument, about big and controversial concepts, in roughly 1,500 words. I’m tempted to think that, as such an experiment, it might have been a failure, even if it may still prove to be the beginning of an edifying conversation.
The responses to the piece were varied; for many, perhaps familiar with the phenomena I was responding to or otherwise attuned to where we were coming from, it seemed to resonate deeply. Others read it as a harsher and more sweeping critique than was intended, and defended the “worldview” category accordingly; there were a lot of “what about X?”s. And some worried that the category of “wisdom” that I proposed as replacement was too thin or flimsy. In short, a lot of the questions raised were the sorts I would have tried to address in a 4,000-word essay, but which instead will have to be addressed in a 1,500-word essay plus a 2,500-word one! Read more…
What’s So Bad About “Worldview”?
We’ve been known to rib on “Christian worldview thinking” from time to time, and scrupulously avoid “worldview” language in our publications and programs. Naturally, I frequently get asked why, and I thought I would finally take a stab at an answer here. Read more…
