Doctrine Alone
The season of the Reformation ‘Solas’ has just ended and we have been reminded of the ‘aloneness’ of Scripture, grace, faith, Christ and the glory of God. But, hopefully, we will have also been reminded too that none of these…
Tag Reformation
Heinrich Bullinger’s Apology for the Reformation
Authors who have told the story of the Reformation often neglect to give appropriate recognition to some of its most influential and significant figures, whom David Steinmetz dubbed, “Reformers in the wings.” These were often viewed by their contemporaries to…
Is the Pope the Antichrist?
These days no one asks a question like this. It seems too arrogant, too outdated, grossly missing the mark of a honest religious conversation. Moreover, any reference to the Anti-Christ seems to be further marred by the fancy treatments that…
John Calvin and the Papacy
The Papacy has always had its critics throughout the centuries. It is fair to say, however, that it was the XVI century Protestant Reformation that developed the most comprehensive and massive argument against the Papacy pulling together biblical, doctrinal, historical,…
Martin Luther and the Papacy
Luther and the Pope have long been perceived as representing the two enemies within Western Christianity. Their persons embodied the religious conflict that took place in the XVI century giving rise to the Protestant Reformation and the Counter-Reformation. Before Luther…
John Davenant: Good Works
In the last article, I looked at John Davenant’s discussion on the formal cause of our justification. Now I will turn to his discussion of the role of good works in light of our justification in Christ. Davenant is…
John Davenant: The Formal Cause of Justification
One of the key theological battles between the Protestant churches and the Roman Catholic Church was over the doctrine of justification. This important battle continued on into the seventeenth century and indeed it continues unabated today. John Davenant, the Bishop…
John Jewel’s “Challenge” to Rome (2)
We need to make a distinction between the various forms of debate that historians classify as “polemical theology.” Anti-Catholic preaching at St. Paul’s Cross was something different because it addressed a lay audience untrained in the theological details of the…
John Jewel’s “Challenge” to Rome (1)
It is no exaggeration to say that one sermon dominated anti-Catholic preaching in the first decade of Elizabeth’s reign, and that was the Bishop of Salisbury John Jewel’s Challenge sermon, first delivered on November 26, 1559, and again on 31…
Louise de Coligny – a Courageous Woman in Troubled Times
On August 22, 1572, while Paris was lingering in the celebrating mood after the wedding between Henry, King of Navarre, and Marguerite de Valois, sister of King Charles IX of France, 16-year old Louise de Coligny received some terrible news.…