Reformed Forum

This week on Theology Simply Profound, Rob and Bob discuss Louis Berkhof’s little book, Summary of Christian Doctrine. Within the second section, The Doctrine of God and Creation, chapter 10 continues the section called, “The Works of God,” where Berkhof opens up the doctrine of providence.

This episode is a lesson from Exploring 2 Peter: The Promise and the Path, a course taught by Daniel Ragusa. Daniel Ragusa is the pastor of Messiah's Reformed Fellowship (URCNA) in New York City. He received his M.Div. from Mid-America Reformed Seminary and is currently a Ph.D. candidate at Westminster Theological Seminary. In this course, Rev. Ragusa explores 2 Peter with special attention to Peter’s use of redemptive history in his depiction and defense of the Christian life as oriented toward Christ and the future. By the righteousness of Jesus Christ, we have embarked on an eschatological pilgrimage down a path out of this world (1:4) and into his eternal kingdom (1:11). But along the path are cunning enemies, scoffers and mockers, who would cause us to turn back in unbelief, misattributing eternity to the present world order rather than to the kingdom (3:4). Alert to this danger, Peter mounts a defense that will endure these “last days” (3:3) in which we find ourselves by reminding the church of Christ’s promise to come again in power with new heavens and a new earth—a promise given long ago through the prophet Isaiah (1:4; 3:13) but now more fully confirmed by the corroborating witness of the apostles (1:19; 3:1–2). Peter exhorts the church not to overlook the Holy Spirit-inspired history of special revelation as it foreshadows this coming reality (1:21), including Noah and the flood (2:5), Lot and the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah (2:6–8), the restraint of Balaam (2:15–16), the approaching Day of the Lord (3:11), and even the transfiguration of Jesus Christ on the mountain as a witness to his royal sonship (1:17–18). This course will demonstrate what Geerhardus Vos meant when he said, “The Bible is not a dogmatic handbook but a historical book full of dramatic interest.” It will also explain the typological use of the Old Testament. Finally, it will shape and transform us as our minds are set on the eternal kingdom—where Jesus is and so our hearts too. Video lessons and supporting course materials are available at https://reformedforum.org/courses/exploring-2-peter-the-promise-and-the-path/

Today we welcome Cory C. Brock and N. Gray Sutanto to speak about their book, Neo-Calvinism: A Theological Introduction (Lexham Academic), which is an excellent initiation and explication of neo-Calvinism as a nineteenth- and early twentieth-century movement in the Netherlands. It was “a revival of Reformed confessionalist theology in the Netherlands roughly beginning with the rise of Kuyper as a theology, with the founding of the Vrije Universiteit in 1880, the formation of the Gereformeerde Kerken in 1892, and its systematization in the theological output of Herman Bavinck (p. 4).” Cory C. Brock is minister at St. Columba’s Free Church of Scotland in Edinburgh and adjunct lecturer in theology at Edinburgh Theological Seminary and Belhaven University in Jackson, Mississippi. Heh is the author of Orthodox yet Modern: Herman Bavinck’s Use of Friedrich Schleiermacher. N. Gray Sutanto is assistant professor of systematic theology at Reformed Theological Seminary in Washington, D.C., and the author of God and Knowledge: Herman Bavinck’s Theological Epistemology of God. He is an associate fellow at the Neo-Calvinism Research Institute.

This episode is a lesson from Exploring 2 Peter: The Promise and the Path, a course taught by Daniel Ragusa. Daniel Ragusa is the pastor of Messiah's Reformed Fellowship (URCNA) in New York City. He received his M.Div. from Mid-America Reformed Seminary and is currently a Ph.D. candidate at Westminster Theological Seminary. In this course, Rev. Ragusa explores 2 Peter with special attention to Peter’s use of redemptive history in his depiction and defense of the Christian life as oriented toward Christ and the future. By the righteousness of Jesus Christ, we have embarked on an eschatological pilgrimage down a path out of this world (1:4) and into his eternal kingdom (1:11). But along the path are cunning enemies, scoffers and mockers, who would cause us to turn back in unbelief, misattributing eternity to the present world order rather than to the kingdom (3:4). Alert to this danger, Peter mounts a defense that will endure these “last days” (3:3) in which we find ourselves by reminding the church of Christ’s promise to come again in power with new heavens and a new earth—a promise given long ago through the prophet Isaiah (1:4; 3:13) but now more fully confirmed by the corroborating witness of the apostles (1:19; 3:1–2). Peter exhorts the church not to overlook the Holy Spirit-inspired history of special revelation as it foreshadows this coming reality (1:21), including Noah and the flood (2:5), Lot and the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah (2:6–8), the restraint of Balaam (2:15–16), the approaching Day of the Lord (3:11), and even the transfiguration of Jesus Christ on the mountain as a witness to his royal sonship (1:17–18). This course will demonstrate what Geerhardus Vos meant when he said, “The Bible is not a dogmatic handbook but a historical book full of dramatic interest.” It will also explain the typological use of the Old Testament. Finally, it will shape and transform us as our minds are set on the eternal kingdom—where Jesus is and so our hearts too. Video lessons and supporting course materials are available at https://reformedforum.org/courses/exploring-2-peter-the-promise-and-the-path/

Danny Olinger and Camden Bucey discuss the preface and introduction to J. Gresham Machen’s book, Christianity and Liberalism. This is the 100th anniversary of the publication of this important work. In this episode, we discuss the historical circumstances that led Machen to address the Ruling Elders Association of Chester Presbytery, which was eventually expanded to become this classic work. Links J. Gresham Machen, “Liberalism or Christianity.” The Princeton Theological Review 20.1 (1922): 93-117. D. G. Hart, ed. J. Gresham Machen: Selected Shorter Writings D. G. Hart, Machen and the Presbyterian Controversy Lefferts Loetscher, The Broadening Church: A Study of Theological Issues in the Presbyterian Church Since 1869 John Updike, “Pigeon Feathers“

This Reformed Academy course is a production of Reformed Forum, online at reformedforum.org. This is an audio podcast of "Machen and the Presbyterian Controversy," taught by Darryl G. Hart. Videos of each lesson included Spanish and Chinese subtitles are available for free online at reformedforum.org. https://reformedforum.org/courses/machen-and-the-presbyterian-controversy/

We turn to pp. 306–308 of Geerhardus Vos’s book, Biblical Theology: Old and New Testaments to discuss revelation connected with the nativity. From the various texts that range from the annunciation of the angel to Joseph to the prophecy of Anna, Vos takes the “characteristic features” of these narratives and arranges them in a topical manner.

This Reformed Academy course is a production of Reformed Forum, online at reformedforum.org. This is an audio podcast of "Machen and the Presbyterian Controversy," taught by Darryl G. Hart. Videos of each lesson included Spanish and Chinese subtitles are available for free online at reformedforum.org. https://reformedforum.org/courses/machen-and-the-presbyterian-controversy/

Jim Cassidy and Camden Bucey bring in the New Year with a discussion of bible reading plans, tools, and strategies. They preview several of the projects that lay ahead at Reformed Forum, including a new course on the theology of Karl Barth. Dr. Cassidy introduces a list of recommended reading on Karl Barth and different interpretations of the theologian's theology before speaking about Barth’s unique Christology. Recommended Reading on Karl Barth Karl Barth, Church Dogmatics Karl Barth, Der Römerbrief; The Epistle to the Romans Cornelius Van Til, Christianity and Barthianism Cornelius Van Til, The New Modernism: An Appraisal of the Theology of Barth and Brunner James Cassidy, God’s Time for Us George Hunsinger, How to Read Karl Barth: The Shape of His Theology Bruce McCormack, Karl Barth’s Critically Realistic Dialectical Theology: Its Genesis and Development 1909–1936 Bruce McCormack, “Grace and Being: The Role of God’s Gracious Election in Karl Barth’s Theological Ontology” in The Cambridge Companion to Karl Barth Eberhard Busch, Karl Barth: His Life from Letters and Autobiographical Texts Christiane Tietz, Karl Barth: A Life in Conflict Tyler J. Frick, Karl Barth’s Ontology of Divine Grace Bruce McCormack, The Humility of the Eternal Son: Reformed Kenoticism and the Repair of Chalcedon Paul T. Nimmo, Being in Action: The Theological Shape of Barth’s Ethical Vision

This Reformed Academy course is a production of Reformed Forum, online at reformedforum.org. This is an audio podcast of "Machen and the Presbyterian Controversy," taught by Darryl G. Hart. Videos of each lesson included Spanish and Chinese subtitles are available for free online at reformedforum.org. https://reformedforum.org/courses/machen-and-the-presbyterian-controversy/