Wrinkly Theology > Ironed Theology

Compelling but short observation made by Thomas J. Davis, who is reflecting on Luther's theology of the Lord's Supper: "But too much real insight is lost if wrinkles are simply ironed out of theology" (This Is My Body: The Presence of Christ in Reformation Thought, 108).

It is a great observation, and Davis' verbiage is premier. Theology is oftentimes constructed in a two-dimensional fashion, which gives theology a flattened-ironed-bland-boring and merely-propositional feel. But if Theology has wrinkles, e.g., pesky loci that refuse to be ironed flat, that refuse to fit well under this or that Trinitarian sub-heading, etc., then such wrinkly-nuances make for a three-dimensional(ish) theology. So, a Wrinkly Theology presents the doctrine of the knowledge of God, and the creation that is derivative, as a topological(ish)-tapestry.

Wrinkly Theology is like a great work of art: you can walk back and forth and around it; you can change your point of view and perspective; yet, from every new vantage point, you realize something new - some light-explosion-within-a-diamond like intricacy you hadn't noticed before. But an Ironed Theology (a flattened-two-dimensional/merely-propositional theology) has no such spark, no intricacy, no ebb-and-flow Holy Spirit jet-stream. Wrinkly Theology is something that can provide shape and posture to your life. Ironed Theology is too over-simplistic to meaningfully describe the fecundity of life.

Wrinkly Theology, indeed. Oodelally!

JC & MJ

"When I was in junior high I even had a picture of Jesus hanging on my wall right next to the poster of Michael Jordan. In some ways that is a visual example of how I would define my relationship with Jesus at the time. I was a fan of Jesus, like I was a fan of Mike. I had memorized his records and knew his stats, but I did not know him" (Kyle Idleman, Not a Fan: Becoming a Completely Committed Follower of Jesus, 46).

God Condescends

"In relating to us, the triune God creates the means by which he condescends to us. He takes on human language, meaning, experience, and even flesh (supremely in Christ) in order to faithfully maintain his covenant with us; and he does all of this while remaining fully and completely God" (K. Scott Oliphint, Covenantal Apologetics: Principles and Practice in Defense of Our Faith, 96).

Regarding the condescension of God, John Calvin drew a correlation between how a nurse who speaks baby-talk with an infant and how God lisps in speaking to us - God condescends "far beneath his loftiness" in order to accommodate himself to us.

Watchful

"Spiritual warfare calls us to be watchful because Satan's chief means of destroying people is through deception (Gen. 3:1-5, 13; John 8:44; 2 Cor. 11:3; 1 Tim. 2:14; Rev. 12:9)" (Joel R. Beeke & Mark Jones, A Puritan Theology: Doctrine for Life, 194).

Following Jesus

"If you read through the four Gospels that tell of Christ's life, you'll find that Jesus says "Believe in me" about five times. But care to guess how many times Jesus said "Follow me"? About twenty times. Now I'm not saying that following is more important that believing. What I am saying is that the two are firmly connected. They are the heart and lungs of faith. One can't live without the other. If you try and separate the message of follow from the message of believe, belief dies in the process. Our churches will continue to be full of fans until we break down the dichotomy between following and believing. Following is part of believing. To truly believe is to follow" (Kyle Idleman, Not a Fan: Becoming a Completely Committed Follower of Jesus, 32-33).

LOL: Kudos to Foot Locker

Frigid Teaching

"For nothing is more frigid than a teacher who shows his philosophy only in words: this is to act the part not of a teacher, but of a hypocrite" (St. Chrysostom, Homilies on the Acts of the Apostles, Homily I. NPNF1 11:4).

Frigid teaching is the worst, indeed. Yowsers!

Feminine Faith - Strength of Character

"In marriage, it takes a lot of strength of character to be a helpmate as the Bible describes it and not bail on the marriage. But you're not doing it alone or in your own strength. Never forget that the encouragement, correction, submission, honor, respect, and appreciation that you give your husband each day are lavishly supplied by the One who is also your helper!" (Carolyn McCulley, Radical Womanhood: Feminine Faith in a Feminist World, 90).

WCF. IV. Of Creation - 1. Q & A

Blogging through and answering the questions from G. I. Williamson's The Westminster Confession of Faith for Study Classes for personal review and comprehension.

Prior posts for WCF. I. Of the Holy Scriptures - Sections 1-10.

Prior posts for WCF. II. Of God, And of the Holy Trinity - Sections 1-3.

Prior posts for WCF. III. Of God's Eternal Decree - Sections 1-8.

WCF. IV. Of Creation - 1.

1. Who created the world?

The true God created the world - the world derives its existence from the Triune Lord. According to Genesis 1:1, "The world is created, not self-existent, and it is God, the true God, who caused it to be" (53).

2. What are the basic points of dogma held by "modern science"?

Modern science teaches the world is "self-existent or eternal . . . that it does not have a derived existence . . . that the present form of the world is the result of a process of selection controlled, not by God, but by the 'principle' of 'the survival of the fittest' . . . that there is no 'ultimate' reason for it" (53). This also was axiom at back Greek-pagan-thought. Heraclitus (c. 500 B.C.) was a Greek philosopher, and, regarding reality, he said, "Neither has any god nor any human made this cosmos, rather it always was and is and will be" (frag. 30). Also, Heraclitus was admired by Cynics, Stoics, and, of course, Nietzsche (see Archetypes of Wisdom: An Introduction to Philosophy, 64).

3. Is there any proof for the theory of evolution? Why?

Williamson calls evolution a "theory" and a "dogma" that has been believed and accepted for over a century, but "there is still not one iota of "proof" that it is true" [italics original] (54). There can be no "proof" for the theory of evolution because . . . see answer below for Question 4.

4. What is truth?

 "Truth is simply that which really is. There is only one truth, because there is only one reality. Therefore, if the Scriptures are true, they merely tell us what really is (or was, or will yet be). When by investigation men also discover what really is in the world of nature, they simply grasp another aspect of the same total truth" (54).

5. Where is truth found?

Truth is found in the "book of life" (the Bible) and the "book of nature" - both have been authored by God.

6. What are some common false assumptions of those who accept modern scientific dogma?

That modern science can deduce truth from observing only the "book of nature". Truth is what really is . . . thus, you cannot deduce truth from the raw facts of nature alone. Truth involves both the thing and God's revelation (God's Word) regarding the thing. In addition to this, there are any number of false assumptions related to production of fossils, assumptions regarding vast stretches of time (i.e., "billions-and-billions-of-years-ago"), etc.

7. State concisely your reply to each of these false assumptions.

I prefer not to. If you address the epistemological presuppositions at back false assumptions, then you don't need to address each of the false assumptions.

8. What is your view of the "days" of Genesis 1?

These are 24-hour periods of time. I believe Genesis 1 is a historical narrative of a one-week-sequence of time.

9. Is the Hebrew term for "day" always used to denote a twenty-four hour period?

No, it is not. As any Lexicon will show.

10. Is there any good reason not to believe that God created the world in six twenty-four hour days? if so, state them.

No - there are no good reasons. The reasoning is always driven by an insipid-and-mildew Gnosticism, so it de facto cannot be good reasoning for a Christian.

Singing-and-Praying the Songs of Jesus

"Why . . . can Christians pray the Psalms? According to the ancient church, it is because it was always the Messiah at the head of his people who prayed them; in Augustine's fine phrase, it was always "the total Christ," the totus Christus, Christ as the head and his folk as the body, who gathered in the temple with these hymns and lamentations" (Robert W. Jenson, Canon and Creed, 23).

Four Prime Things

"Christ, the Scripture, your own hearts, and Satan's devices, are the four prime things that should be first and most studied and searched" (Thomas Brooks, Precious Remedies for Satan's Devices, in The Works of Thomas Brooks, ed. Alexander B. Grosart (1861-1867; repr., Edinburgh: Banner of Truth Trust, 2001), 1:3).

Prayer

Regarding prayer, "God's name is not to be a stop-gap to make up for our want of words" (C. H. Spurgeon, Lectures to My Students, 58).

Genesis 2:18

"When the Bible uses the word helper, there is a divine context for it. When the word is first introduced in Genesis 2:18 -- "It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him" -- it is the same Hebrew word ('ezer) that is used most often to refer to God throughout the Old Testament. If God, who is obviously and infinitely superior to us, unblushingly refers to Himself as our helper, we should be proud to use the same term" (Carolyn McCulley, Radical Womanhood: Feminine Faith in a Feminist World, 80).

Anticommitment

From Carolyn McCulley's Radical Womanhood (79).

Cohabitation by its definition is anticommitment. A prolonged "maybe" is not a commitment. It's sad that this is seen as a better option to God's gift of marriage. What Scripture portrays is a passionate, secure love between husband and wife, where commitment provides the freedom to celebrate one another and not hedge bets:

You have stolen my heart, my sister, my bride; you have stolen my heart with once glance of your eyes, with one jewel of your necklace. How delightful is your love, my sister, my bride! How much more pleasing is your love than wine, and the fragrance of your perfume than any spice! (Song of Songs 4:9-10 NIV) 

CCS Reflections: Genuine-Gratitude

I recently read the following quote by C. H. Spurgeon:

Young men have flung away all hope of salvation in order that they might be thought to be men of culture; they have abjured faith in order to be esteemed "free-thinkers" by those whose opinions were not worth a pin's head. I charge you, dear friend, if you are beginning at all to be a slave of other people, break these wretched and degrading bonds.

This thought by Spurgeon struck a chord within me.

I remember struggling through the "intellectual" questions raised during coursework at university. (I was a Religion and Philosophy major.) I remember struggling with how best to reconcile (on the one hand) "faith" and (on the other hand) "intellectual integrity" -- e.g., the problem of Theodicy, inspiration of Scripture and the New Testament canon, etc. (I was afflicted with doubts regarding God's goodness, his existence, the perspicuity and truth of Scripture, etc. Those were dark days, indeed.)

However, I vividly remember when a compelling idea - nay! - it was a conviction - surfaced in my head: it was sometime during my senior year, I realized that "intellectual integrity" for a Christian was a myth, in so far as it is constructed as something that must be reconciled with one's faith. The fact of the matter is this: "intellectual integrity" for a Christian is part of the warp-and-woof of faith. Faith is the substance of things hoped for; faith is the evidence of things not seen (Hebrews 11:1). Faith is a Christian's "intellectual integrity" - faith is a gift from God, and accepting, receiving, clinging to, persevering in that gifted-faith is "intellectual integrity" for a Christian.

So. Genuine-Gratitude is Intellectual Integrity.

However, in general, the Higher-Education/Peer-Reviewed/Tenure-Seeking/"Free-thinkers"/Men-of-Culture Christian-subculture (whose opinions, as C. H. Spurgeon said, are "not worth a pin's head") have chosen to disagree. If you have genuine-gratitude, then, as I've said before, prepare yourself to be called names. *Shrug*

But the trick is to count it all joy: look beyond the name-calling, look beyond being mislabeled (e.g., Fundamentalist, Anti-Intellectual, etc.), look beyond the complexity of providence, look beyond and lose sight of yourself, and look solely to God who is the author and provider of all.

And if you are looking to God, then you will be able to "respond to each providence in an appropriate way" (see John Flavel's The Mystery of Providence).

Art of Dying and God's Peace

"Dying is one of the two most difficult acts of faith (the other is coming to Christ for the first time). But the dying believer who is able to rehearse the blessings of God's providence in his or her life will surely know God's peace" (Joel R. Beeke & Mark Jones, A Puritan Theology: Doctrine for Life, 177).

"A Strange State of Mind"

"The man who supposes that baptism . . . acts mechanically, like a medicine, and that godly and ungodly, praying and prayerless parents, all alike get the same benefit for their children, must be in a strange state of mind" (J. C. Ryle, Holiness, 55).

Snapshot of the Torah

Genesis - Creation

• Genesis 1 - Creation
• 1:28 - Dominion/Cultural Mandate
• Genesis 3 - Fall
• 3:15 - Inception of the Covenant of Grace
• Genesis 6-9 - Flood
• Genesis 10-11 - Nations/Tower of Babel
• Genesis 12-50 - Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph
• 15:6 - Abraham believed in the Lord; and he counted it to him for righteousness.

Exodus - Redemption/Deliverance

• Exodus 3-4 - Moses Called
• 3:13-15 - I AM WHO I AM
• Exodus 7-11 - Ten Plagues
• Exodus 14 - Red Sea
• Exodus 19-40 - Sinai
• 19-24 - Marriage Ceremony (Israel wed to God)
• 20:1-17 - Ten Commandments (Marriage means new rules)
• 25-31 - House (God gives instructions for Tabernacle)
• Exodus 32 - Idolatry - Golden Calf
• 32-34 - Marriage Ceremony #2 (Covenant renewal after idolatry)
• 35-40 - Build House (Israel builds the Tabernacle)

Leviticus - Holiness

• Leviticus 1-10 - Sacrifices
• Leviticus 11-18 - Purity Regulations
• 17:11 - "For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul."
• Leviticus 19-27 - Holiness Laws
• 19:2 - "Ye shall be holy: for I the Lord your God am holy."

Numbers - Unfaithful Israel

• Numbers 1-10 - Promise Land/Preparations
• Numbers 11-25 - Promise Land/Rebel - Thus, Wander in Wilderness
• 11 - Israel wants to eat meat - given meat and judgment
• 13 - Twelve spies scout out the land but ten spies provide evil report
• 21 - Rebellion - judgment by fiery serpents/deliverance by bronze snake lifted up
• Numbers 26-36 - Second Generation: Promise Land/Preparations

Deuteronomy - Covenant Renewal/Second Law

• Deuteronomy 1-30 - Moses Speaks to Second Generation
• 4:2 - "Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you."
• 5 - Ten Commandments reviewed
• 6:4-9 - The Shema: "Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord..."
• 29:29 - "The secret things belong unto the Lord our God: but those which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law."
• Deuteronomy 31-34 - Epilogue
• 32 - Song of Moses
• 34 - Death of Moses

Scripture is Sufficient

"We do not need the authority of personal experience to counsel one another because the Bible is sufficient for this task" (Carolyn McCulley, Radical Womanhood: Feminine Faith in a Feminist World, 75).

Holy Spirit Produces Real Effects

In interaction with John Owen's Communion with God: "The Holy Spirit produces consolation, peace, joy, and hope in believers. The Holy Spirit produces real effects in the experience of believers, experience revolving around Christ as revealed in Scripture. Thus Owen rejected both the rationalists who dismissed the experiential work of the Spirit and the fanatics whose "spirit" disregarded the Word and Christ" (Joel R. Beeke & Mark Jones, A Puritan Theology: Doctrine for Life, 112).

Listening

"The first service that one owes to others in the fellowship consists in listening to them. Just as love to God begins with listening to His Word, so the beginning of love for the brethren is learning to listen to them" (Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together, 97).

Receiving and Seeking the Holy Spirit

"Thou the elect experience the Spirit's regeneration passively as so many dry bones (Ezek. 37:1-14), believers put their trust in the promises of the comfort of the Spirit and pray for Him and His work in them (Gal. 3:2, 14; John 7:37-39; Luke 11:13). Thus believers have a responsibility to seek the Spirit" (Joel R. Beeke & Mark Jones, A Puritan Theology: Doctrine for Life, 111).

Systematics and Preaching

"But systematics [Systematic Theology] helps ministers to preach the whole counsel of God, and thus to make God central in their work" (Cornelius Van Til, An Introduction to Systematic Theology (ed. William Edgar), 22).

Effectual Callings

"The first part of effectual calling is a right hearing of the Word by those who were dead in sin; their minds are illuminated by the Spirit with irresistible truth. The preaching of the Word accomplishes two things [following quotation from William Perkins' Golden Chaine]: 'the Law shewing a man his sin and the punishment thereof, which is eternal death' and 'the Gospel, shewing salvation by Christ Jesus, to such as believe.' Both become so real that 'the eyes of the mind are enlightened, the heart and ears opened, that he [the elect sinner] may see, hear, and understand the preaching of the word of God'" (Joel R. Beeke & Mark Jones, A Puritan Theology: Doctrine for Life, 126).

Liquidated Debts (i.e., Sin)

"Christ discharged the debt of sin. he bore our sins and purged them. he did not make a token payment which God accepts in place of the whole. Our debts are not cancelled; they are liquidated. Christ procured redemption and therefore he secured it" (John Murray, Redemption: Accomplished and Applied, 58).

"The patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit" (Eccles. 7:8)

"The desire for one's own honor hinders faith. One who seeks his own honor is no longer seeking God and his neighbor. What does it matter if I suffer injustice? Would I not have deserved even worse punishment from God, if He had not dealt with me according to His mercy? Is not justice done to me a thousand times even in injustice? Must it not be wholesome and conducive to humility for me to learn to bear such petty evils silently and patiently?" (Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together, 95).

Intercessory Prayer

"I can no longer condemn or hate a brother for whom I pray, no matter how much trouble he causes me. His face, that hitherto may have been strange and intolerable to me, is transformed in intercession into the countenance of a brother for whom Christ died, the face of a forgiven sinner. This is a happy discovery for the Christian who begins to pray for others" (Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together, 86).

Spiral-Sin

"As a movement, feminism arose because women were being sinned against. I think that is a fair argument. But feminism also arose because women were sinning in response. That's a classic human problem: Sinners tend to sin in response to being sinned against. The glorious hope we have is that Christ came to rescue us from this spiral of sin and sinful response. Only the gospel can accurately diagnose the issues on both sides and offer both the good news of forgiveness for our sins and the restoration of our relationship first with God and then with each other" ( Carolyn McCulley, Radical Womanhood: Feminine Faith in a Feminist World, 47).

LOL: On Being a Passive-Aggressive Smoker

An anecdote.

"The electrical wizard" Charles Steinmetz was an inveterate smoker. Once a notice that forbade smoking was posted in the General Electric plant where he worked. Steinmetz ignored it till an executive asked if he wasn't aware of the rule. The answer was a cold indifferent stare. Next day Steinmetz didn't show up, and for two days none heard from him. Important work remained untouched. The company began a serious search. It ended in the lobby of a Buffalo hotel. There he was found sitting at ease in a huge chair, puffing a cigar. When told that the whole company was looking for him, and asked why he had left like that, he calmly said, "I came up here to have a smoke." After that the smoking rule was never applied to him. 

 

The Lord of Time and the Lords of Time

Peter Leithart offers some great reflections on God and time.

A Living Faith - A Living Wisdom

Doug Wilson on wisdom that is alive. An excerpt below, but you really should go read article in full.

"Like termites need wood, so also unbelief needs the structures of faith that a living faith once built. They can’t get at the wood when it is still alive and growing, but once the living truth has gone through the sawmill of accreditation and become a standardized two by four of truth — watch out. A brief review will make the point — just imagine Fuller sitting in on a few classes at Fuller Seminary, Carl Henry dropping in at CT after reading the three most recent issues, or Thomas Cranmer trying to make it through the homily of the most theologically-minded dyke in the diocese...."

And he concludes: "Unbelief drifts. Wisdom walks, and fights as it goes."

NES (Nintendo Entertainment System) Facts!

Although I have never been much of a gamer (for either Console or PC), I do have a soft spot in my heart for NES, particularly Super Mario 3. So, naturally, I enjoyed this NES Facts video.

Luther on Prayer, Again

Martin Luther on prayer: "Or we recall Martin Luther saying to his students, 'I wish I could get you to pray the way my dog goes after meat!'" (quoted by William H. Willimon & Stanley Hauerwas, Lord, Teach Us: The Lord's Prayer and the Christian Life, 29).

Luther on Prayer

Martin Luther on prayer: "As it is the business of tailors to make clothes and of cobblers to mend shoes, so it is the business of Christians to pray" (quoted by Donald S. Whitney, Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life, 68).

WCF. III. Of God's Eternal Decree - Q & A - Questions 1-8.

Blogging through and answering the questions from G. I. Williamson's The Westminster Confession of Faith for Study Classes for personal review and comprehension.

Prior posts for WCF. I. Of the Holy Scriptures - Sections 1-10.

Prior posts for WCF. II. Of God, And of the Holy Trinity - Sections 1-3.

Prior posts for WCF. III. Questions 1-8.

III. Of God's Eternal Decree - 1-2.

III. Of God's Eternal Decree - 3-5.

III. Of God's Eternal Decree - 6.

III. Of God's Eternal Decree - 7-8.

WCF. III. Of God's Eternal Decree - 7-8. Q & A

Blogging through and answering the questions from G. I. Williamson's The Westminster Confession of Faith for Study Classes for personal review and comprehension.

Prior posts for WCF. I. Of the Holy Scriptures - Sections 1-10.

Prior posts for WCF. II. Of God, And of the Holy Trinity - Sections 1-3.

Prior posts for WCF. III.

III. Of God's Eternal Decree - 1-2.

III. Of God's Eternal Decree - 3-5.

III. Of God's Eternal Decree - 6.

WCF. III. Of God's Eternal Decree - 7-8.

1. Precisely what has God determined to do with respect to the reprobate?

With respect to the reprobate, God has sovereignly determined to withhold his grace from some men, and this God does according to his perfect counsel.

2. Why has God passed by these particular persons?

God passes by the reprobate according to his good pleasure (see Romans 9:18 and Ephesians 1:5).

3. Why do they receive damnation?

The reason the reprobate receive damnation is wholly within God. i.e., the reason is known by the triune God - "God elects or passes by as, and because, it pleases him" (38). The reprobate are not passed over by God because of their sin; that cannot be the reason because "all have sinned" (Romans 3:23). However, the reprobate receive damnation because they have been left in their sin, which in the end brings upon them God's perfect and holy wrath.

4. How has this doctrine been abused?

This doctrine has been abused by those who say, "If God passes over the reprobate, then that means it is God's fault they receive punishment." G. I. Williamson says, "This [the abuse just mentioned] is diabolical for the simple reason that God's withholding of grace does not make the sinner guilty and liable to punishment; it merely leaves him in that condition. "The wrath of God abideth (i.e., remains) on him" (John 3:36)" (39).

5. Why has this doctrine been refused?

This doctrine is refused by those who say, "If God does this, then God is arbitrary, unfair/unjust, and unkind.

6. Is God "arbitrary" in his actions?

Yes. God is arbitrary, however, God is not unjust. Romans 9:18 - "Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth."

7. Is it wrong for God to be "arbitrary" in his actions?

No. He is God. God's decree determines what will be, and their is nothing higher than the will of the triune God. In his answers to the questions at the back of the book, G. I. Williamson says, "He has absolute right to do as he will with creatures he has made, especially in view of their sin" (275).

8. What text in Scripture shows that reprobation (God's withholding of grace, and passing by) does not make a sinner guilty and liable to punishment?

John 3:36 - "He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him."

"God's sovereign discrimination concerns those who are already under his wrath and curse. His discrimination concerns who shall not be left in that condition" (275). This is declared by the Prophet Habakkuk: "O Lord, I have heard thy speech, and was afraid: O Lord, revive thy work in the midst of the years, in the midst of the years make known; in wrath remember mercy" (Habakkuk 3:2). This fact, that "in wrath remember mercy", is at back of the salvation of every Christian.

9. Should this doctrine be taught? Why? How?

Yes, Yes, three times I say, Yes. It should be taught to counter false presumption. It should be taught in a manner that spurs on diligence to our faithful-and-loving triune God; it should be taught in a manner that engenders humility before our merciful triune God.

 

God's Decree

"His decree determines what shall be done.... For there is nothing higher than his will."

Quotation from William Perkins, The Works of That Famous and Worthy Minister of Christ in the University of Cambridge, Mr. William Perkins (1:723), quoted by Joel R. Beeke & Mark Jones in A Puritan Theology: Doctrine for Life (117).

Predestination

"It is impossible to understand predestination without realizing that God's decrees flow from the inner life of the triune God" (Joel R. Beeke & Mark Jones, A Puritan Theology: Doctrine for Life, 120).

The Love of Christ

"Christ woos and wins His bride in an ever-deepening relationship" (Joel R. Beeke & Mark Jones, A Puritan Theology: Doctrine for Life, 109).

J. Gresham Machen

It was a glorious Lord's Day. This afternoon I finished reading (first edition) Ned B. Stonehouse's J. Gresham Machen: A Biographical Memoir.

Machen (1881-1937) taught at Princeton Theological Seminary for over twenty years, was a world-class New Testament scholar, and was instrumental in the founding of Westminster Theological Seminary and the Orthodox Presbyterian Church. Machen was a stalwart defender of the faith, and combated Modernism within the Presbyterian Church throughout his life. This book was an excellent and edifying read.

The German-Reformation

Below are a loose collection of thoughts, some talking points (largely dependent/derived from J. W. Nevin's History and Genius of the Heidelberg Catechism) from a short, high-overview talk that I gave about the German-Reformation at our church's annual Reformation Celebration.

1. The Reformation was not something that flared up overnight; it had been developing within the Roman Catholic Church for some time, e.g., Wycliffe - "the Morning Star of the Reformation" - was born nearly two-hundred years before Luther nailed his Ninety-Five Theses on the door at Wittenberg. Nevin calls the Middle Ages the "womb" of the Reformation; he says that the Church, by God's Spirit, gave birth to the Reformation. 
2. Because the Reformation was something birthed in the Church by God's Spirit, Nevin says, "[Luther and the other Reformers] did not make the Reformation. The Reformation made them."
3. Because the Reformation was something that God' Spirit was birthing within the church, we cannot say the Reformation was bound only to Germany (although German was the "proper cradle of the Reformation"). This was a movement that occurred across the board, i.e., in France, Switzerland, the Netherlands, England, Scotland, etc.
4. The "Reformed Church" found its initial distinction through opposition to Roman Catholicism in France; there it first known as the "Catholic Church Reformed" - in time it became a "technical term", a form of nomenclature that distinguished it from both Lutheranism and Romanism.
5. "The Reformed Church was the national Protestantism of Switzerland, France, Netherlands, Scotland and England, and eventually the German Palatinate (South-Western Germany)."
6. The Catechism of the Palatinate (aka - Heidelberg Catechism) was chiefly written by Zacharius Ursinus, who was trained at Wittenberg by Luther's successor (Melanchthon).
7. Heidelberg Catechism was "eagerly accepted by other Reformed Synods", e.g., Synod of Dort included the Catechism as one of the Three Forms of Unity, and even now its acceptance and use are widespread. 

Prayer

"Prayer is in one sense an expression of a Christian's unbroken relationship with the Father" (Donald S. Whitney, Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life, 67).

Doctrine + Exhortation

Thus saith C. H. Spurgeon: "Doctrine without exhortation makes men all brain, no heart; exhortation without doctrine makes the heart full, leaves the brain empty. Both together make a man."

Baptizing Babies

"One reason why we persist in baptizing babies - helpless, dependent, sinful, little things that babies are - because each of us, at any age, is helpless, dependent, in need of God doing for us what we cannot do for ourselves" (William H. Willimon & Stanley Hauerwas, Lord, Teach Us: The Lord's Prayer and the Christian Life, 28).

Amen, indeed.