Education

A Christian in the Secular Academy

Gabriel Williams
May 26, 2017
When many individuals think of the life of a college professor, the general perception they have formed (fueled by articles such as this ) is that we only work for a few days a week and have the entire summer "off." Many misunderstand the nature and extent of this profession and are not aware of...

Bible Conferences: Obligations of Speaker & Hearer

Martin Blocki
Apr 17, 2017
During the Reformation, as young preachers were being trained and sent out, people complained about the quality of the preaching. Some things never change, do they? Martin Luther had little patience for such complaints, responding that the people of God 1) needed to appreciate the gift that God had...

The Sufficiency of Scripture and Biblical Scholarship: Reading is a Big Deal

David Smith
Mar 2, 2017
Jesus thinks reading is a big deal. After all, he wrote a book. And Jesus thinks reading his book is a big deal, because, well, he is. For a blog post on the sufficiency of Scripture and biblical scholarship this may seem overly simplistic. Aren’t scholars supposed to talk about really complicated...

Luther on History and National Identity

Aaron Denlinger
Feb 2, 2017
I've been preparing a talk on Luther and education for a conference this summer, and so have been reviewing Luther's 1524 " To the Councilmen of All Cities in Germany, That They Establish and Maintain Christian Schools ." In examining this work, I've been especially struck by Luther's plea for a...

Striving to Escape the Fall

Nick Batzig
Jan 14, 2017
Marathons, mud runs, CrossFit, Yoga, diets, non-GMO and gluten-free foods, Christian financial programs, anti-vaccination and homeschooling have--each in their own way--taken over the driver's seat of the lives of so many in the church. While all of these things, in and of themselves, may be good...

A God Thing

David Garner
Nov 15, 2016
Exuberant over an experience, an oh-so-sweet manifestation of divine providence, you delightedly seek to give God praise in telling your story. “It was such a ‘God thing’,” you proclaim. As you see it, God wove together an otherwise inexplicable combination of events to deliver a wonderful—even...

The Two Parts of Seminary Education

Sep 19, 2016
Q uick. What should be the two constituent parts of a Reformed theological education? Theology and exegesis? Philosophy and theology? Systematic and practical theology? Good guesses. Having just participated in examinations for seminary graduates who seek entrance into the ministry, this question...

Confession and Orthodoxy: for Church and Society

Martin Blocki
Apr 29, 2016
I went to listen, to get a lay of the land. What I heard was, humanly speaking, both frightening and exasperating. Perhaps you have heard of my community in the news, which is just north of Pittsburgh in Western Pennsylvania. Recently, it appears that the Superintendent of the School District along...

Old Princeton: Benjamin B. Warfield and Seminary Education Today

Steven McCarthy
Mar 18, 2016
During my first year of seminary, I took a required course titled “Spiritual Development”. Some question the inclusion of such a course in a program of formal theological study. After all, an academic course can not make someone spiritual by itself. What’s more, seminary is best suited to impart...

Old Princeton: Archibald Alexander, An Old Model For a New Paradigm

Jeffrey Stivason
Feb 5, 2016
What is a pastor/scholar? That is no mean question. Descriptions range. Some have quipped that the pastor/scholar is an ecclesiastical unicorn! Others grant a rare sighting. Still others think the problem is one of misclassification. The Pastor/scholar is in reality the more common pastor/...