Category Archives: church

Notes on Church Dogmatics I/2

Posted on November 13, 2018 by J. B. Aitken

19, chapter 1 deals with Scripture as a witness to God’s revelation.   Resisting the urge to attack Barth because he “doesn’t believe the Bible is the Word of God,” let’s actually see what he is saying and what it means … Continue reading →

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Review of Walter Wink on the Powers

Posted on October 9, 2018 by J. B. Aitken

Wink seeks to recapture the integrity of speaking about “spiritual powers” in a materialistic world.  If that is all his thesis is, he is more or less successful, albeit with some major problems. The reviewer faces a problem of a … Continue reading →

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Frequency of the Lord’s Supper: Fluidity as an in-between category

Posted on August 5, 2018 by J. B. Aitken

How often should we take the Lord’s Supper?  I am going to ignore Roman Catholic and Orthodox counters for the moment.  Rome used to be quite infrequent and in EO countries many do not take the Eucharist at all (sort … Continue reading →

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R. Scott Clark: Recovering the Reformed Confession

Posted on July 24, 2018 by J. B. Aitken

Clark, R. Scott.  Recovering the Reformed Confession. Dr Clark’s book can be focused around three themes: 1) a distinctively Reformed piety flows from a Reformed theology and this piety will be directly counter to the 2) Quest for Illegitimate Religious Certainty … Continue reading →

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Ursinus on Baptism

Posted on July 14, 2018 by J. B. Aitken

Mark Horne typed all these out, so credit goes to him. In the horrors of the FV controversy, these were seen as a rebuttal from the FV side.  But do they really attack Reformed Orthodoxy?  Not at all.  However, they … Continue reading →

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Outline John Owen on the Christian Life

Posted on June 25, 2018 by J. B. Aitken

Ferguson, Sinclair.  John Owen on the Christian Life.  Banner of Truth. The Plan of Salvation Doctrine of the Covenant The Covenant of Works. The reward of eternal life succeeds strict justice, since it is in the nature of a promise.  Further, … Continue reading →

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Review: Social Justice and the Christian Church (Nash)

Posted on June 19, 2018 by J. B. Aitken

This book isn’t quite the violent beat-down of the Sojourners guys that David Chilton’s was, but it’s close. It was a pointed response back then; it is a desperate cry today. As church groups are falling, or about to fall, … Continue reading →

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Review: Gillespie, Aaron’s Rod Blossoming

Posted on May 25, 2018 by J. B. Aitken

Argument of Book: there exists a religious tribunal distinct from that of the civil magistrate.  This tribunal has the power of excommunication. In fact, Gillespie’s overall argument is quite simple, despite the learned discussions in the book.  Erastianism isn’t necessarily … Continue reading →

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Notes on Heiser’s Supernatural

Posted on April 25, 2018 by J. B. Aitken

This is a cliffs-notes version of his longer Unseen Realm. Key argument: “In at least some cases, God decrees what he wants done but gives his supernatural agents freedom to decide what it means” (23). Image of God Genesis says God … Continue reading →

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Review: Schilder’s Struggle for the Unity of the Church

Posted on April 1, 2018 by J. B. Aitken

Van Reest, Rudolf. trans. Theodore Plantinga. Schilder’s Struggle for the Unity of the Church. Neerlandia, Alberta, Canada: Inheritance Publications, 1990. The Golden Age of Dutch Theology came in the person of Kuyper, yet within Kuyper were the seeds of its own … Continue reading →

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