Excerpt from Oliver O'Donovan's Begotten or Made? "Sometimes the philosophy of an age is epitomized in a work of art; and to my mind the modern programme for morality was never better expressed than at the very beginning of the modern period, in Beethoven's opera Fidelio, surely the greatest of all artistic tributes to the…
I appreciated the invitation from Andrew Walker to write on the biblical case for parental rights and authority for Public Discourse, and online journal of the Witherspoon Institute. Below is an excerpt from the article, the rest of which can be read here. "Parental authority is enshrined in Christian Scripture in a prominent position as…
The Transfiguration (Luke 9:28–36) 28 Now about eight days after these sayings he took with him Peter and John and James and went up on the mountain to pray. 29 And as he was praying, the appearance of his face was altered, and his clothing became dazzling white. 30 And behold, two men were talking with him, Moses…
Reading Chrysostom's (c. 347–407) homily on Ephesians 6:1–3 today, I was struck by this simple yet profound picture of the Christian life as a statue or portrait honoring the King of kings: For if men for making statues and painting portraits of kings enjoy so great honor, shall not we who adorn the image of…
Why post a lengthy excerpt from 17th century puritan John Owen's Mortification of Sin in Believers? Since getting John Owen's complete works for Christmas, I have been reading as much Owen as I can—and I can't get enough. We would all do well to read more Owen. (Also, I am very grateful Banner of Truth…
Acts 15 gives us a fascinating insight into how the apostolic church navigated the transitional period between the inauguration of the New Covenant and the end of the Old Covenant, particularly with regard to the requirements for covenantal membership. Specifically, was the requirement of circumcision to continue into this new age? If not, how would…
The following words by Rev. Andrew Thomson from 1850 conclude the short biography of John Owen (1616–1683) that accompanies Owen's collected works: John Owen belonged to a class of men who have risen from age to age in the church, to represent great principles, and to revive in the church the life of God. The…
Happy Reformation Day! To celebrate, here are some of my favorite of Luther's 95 "Tweets": 1. When our lord and Master Jesus Christ said “Repent,” he intended that the entire life of believers should be repentance. 2. This word repentance cannot be understood to mean the sacrament of penance, or the act of confession and…
The nation's paper of record published a remarkably bad take recently on masculinity and femininity. The piece, titled "Enough Leaning In. Let’s Tell Men to Lean Out," is by Ruth Whippman, whose bio states that she is working on a book on raising boys. Buckle up. The gist of the author's argument is that society should stop…
Excerpted from Oliver O'Donovan, Resurrection and Moral Order, 74–75. Emphasis added. "'By faith Abel, though dead, still speaks,' wrote the author to the Hebrews (11:4), alluding to Genesis 4:10, where Abel's blood 'cries out from the ground'. The reason he still speaks is that God did not heed the cry: he did not exact from Cain…
Anchored 