Any church that includes questions to ministers-elect in their ordination or installation to service will, in some shape or form, ask a question about the candidate’s commitment to the pastoral care of his people. This is very much in keeping…
What is God’s view on certain political matters or events? That is a question often asked . . . and often mocked. Centuries earlier, however, preachers and their audiences were more sympathetic with the notion that God might actually have…
As orthodoxy[1] itself has come under contemporary fire, religious and cultural forces persuade many to extend the theological fence posts. The logic? Exclusivity of the Christian faith is the cause of intolerance; intolerance is not tolerable, so therefore, change the…
If we are to believe many of the proponents and purveyors of mission and evangelism in today’s church, we simply have to get the ‘right’ message, packaged in the right way and conveyed to the right demographic to see people…
Of all the Bible words that fall into the ‘used and abused’ category one ranks high among the most frequent casualties of them all. It is ‘fellowship’. The most glaring evidence of this is in the way churches – even…
It is not uncommon for our church to receive protests for being careful adherents to the historic Westminster Standards; thus, I have developed a confessional apologetic that boils down to these modern proverbs: “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!”;…
Originally a lawyer (and cousin of an early President), the clergyman James Madison (1749-1812) had high academic potential (even teaching philosophy and math at the College of William and Mary) and was ordained to the Anglican ministry in 1775. Shortly…
It is tempting to think theology is about articulating Bible truths accurately. But, while this is very much at the heart of the theologian’s task, it cannot be divorced from the attitude with which God’s truth is presented. There is,…
The animal kingdom is full of ‘protected species’. From the Great Crested Newt to the Giant Panda, the White Rhino to the Western Lowland Gorilla, it is a criminal offence to interfere with them or kill them. Sadly there is…
Samuel Miller (1769-1850) was the second professor appointed to the theological seminary of the Presbyterian Church in the USA (Princeton Theological Seminary) by the general assembly of the church. Along with his senior colleague Archibald Alexander, Miller set the tone…
