“Asserting the primacy of ‘identities and social norms’ leads to the dissatisfying explanation: ‘Because that is who they are and what they do.’ This invites the exasperated follow-up: ‘OK, but why is that who they are and what they do?’” - Current
“Every time we let someone say, ‘Oh, I’m just a mom,’ and don’t honor her work, we let stand the idea that serving the vulnerable is somehow a lesser existence—when in reality it is the foundation of any society that hopes to survive.” - Acton
“Though a fascinating historical study undoubtedly unfamiliar to many readers, American Heretics fails to interpret properly the framers’ conception of religion and… ham-fistedly collapses into a single whole a diverse group of religious conservatives who often share little more than superficial commonalities.” - Acton
“Bavinck delivered the lectures that would become The Foremost Problems of Contemporary Dogmatics: On Faith, Knowledge, and the Christian Tradition at the beginning of his time at the Free University of Amsterdam, likely writing much of it in 1903–4.” - TGC
“In his new book, ‘Believe,’ Douthat makes a case for name-brand religion, saying the world’s largest faith traditions are like maps for helping us navigate life and the universe around us. They also might just be true.” - RNS
Related: Gavin Ortlund interview
Read Part 3.
As I complete this review one of the things that stands out to me is how much the author leans upon Reformed Confessions and writers from the past. While he does interact with Scripture a lot, one notices that men like Irenaeus, Augustine, Calvin, and a host of Puritans are brought in to direct the arguments. This is not to say these great men shouldn’t be referenced; it is the supporting role these authorities are given that is of note. They often do not merely corroborate an assertion; they reinforce and develop it.
“Eventually, [Harbor] determined the Christian faith could not provide satisfying answers. And so he left it all behind. Today, though, he is following the Lord. He worships God as a member of a church… writes a newsletter where much of his emphasis is on reconstruction.” - Challies
Every Fundamentalist needs to read Chris Anderson’s new book The Scandal of Schism. The book charts the currents that are pulling younger Fundamentalists away from a strict separatist position. We ignore Anderson’s work to our own peril. His words must either be refuted from the Bible or acknowledged to be biblical.
In his characteristically self-assured fashion, Michael Barrett (Anderson’s lifelong mentor and former professor at Bob Jones University) sets the tone for the book in his endorsement,
“Finding My Vocation is a rare achievement. It expresses rich biblical and theological principles (informed by some of the best minds from church history) with simplicity, clarity, and specificity.” - Ref21
Read Part 2.
As we move on to the “covenant of grace” one thing to look for is how passages explicitly assigned to the covenants one can locate in the Bible are reassigned to support this theological covenant, which can’t be located in the Bible. Perkins, along with CT’s the world over, makes assertions about the “covenant of grace” that the Bible claims are about the New covenant:
The covenant of grace offers Christ as the mediator for sinners…The covenant of grace also promises the Spirit to believers. (189)
