Reformed Forum

Drs. Alan Strange and Cornelis Venema speak about the practice of catechetical preaching both from a practical as well as historical perspective. While the practice is more common within the Dutch Reformed tradition, Dr. Strange also provides a case for Presbyterians to engage in preaching using the Westminster Standards as aids. Regardless of where you may land on the particular role of secondary standards in organizing the preaching of the Word, this conversation useful and instructive for considering how the church may best instruct her members. Dr. Cornelis Venema is Professor of Doctrinal Studies and President of Mid-America Reformed Seminary in Dyer, Indiana. Dr. Alan Strange is Professor of Church History, Registrar, and Theological Librarian of Mid-America Reformed Seminary in Dyer, Indiana.

We look at the significance of a trio of prophecies: the flight to Egypt, Jeremiah’s prophecy of the weeping of Rachel, and that “he would be called a Nazarene.” Matthew identifies Jesus with us, so that we might identify with him. The glorious king is not what many expected, and his kingdom does not look the way many expect.

Dr. Lane G. Tipton teaches a thorough introduction to the theology and innovative apologetic method of Cornelius Van Til (1895–1987), a pioneer in a distinctly Reformed approach to defending the faith. This course investigates the context, structure, and significance of Van Til’s theology and apologetics. It is designed to introduce students to the main influences and fundamental concerns of Van Til’s theological approach to apologetics. Topics include a general introduction, Trinity, image of God, covenant, revelation, worldview, antithesis, common grace, and idealism. Special attention is given to the programmatic deep structures of Van Til’s thought, distinguishing his views from Roman Catholicism, Barth, and Evangelical approaches to theology and apologetics.

In 1904, the same year Herman Bavinck published Christian Worldview, Bavinck published a book titled Christelijke wetenschap (Christian Science) in which he commented on a movement to "build science . . . on the foundation of the Christian faith." Cory Brock joins us to speak about this book and Bavinck's views on the subject. Dr. Cory C. Brock is assistant minister of St. Columba's Free Church and part-time lecturer in theology at Edinburgh Theological Seminary. He is the author of Orthodox yet Modern: Herman Bavinck’s Use of Friedrich Schleiermacher and co-author of Neo-Calvinism: A Theological Introduction.

Dr. Vern Poythress speaks about the study of history and historiography from a Christian perspective. In his book, Redeeming Our Thinking about History: A God-Centered Approach, Dr. Poythress emphasizes God’s own command to remember his works and share them with the next generation. He explores providentialism, divine purpose, and the four basic phases of biblical history: creation, fall, redemption, and consummation. Vern S. Poythress (PhD, Harvard University; ThD, University of Stellenbosch) is Distinguished Professor of New Testament, Biblical Interpretation, and Systematic Theology at Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where he has taught for four decades. In addition to earning six academic degrees, he is the author of numerous books and articles on biblical interpretation, language, and science.

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, the sixth chapter on “The Attributes of God,” sets before us the

This week on Theology Simply Profound, Rob and Bob discuss what it means for Christians to have a returning king, especially in the midst of the difficult and dark days of our lives. We all have those days when we forget to fix our eyes on Christ who will

We turn to pp. 299–301 of Geerhardus Vos’s book, Biblical Theology: Old and New Testaments. Vos discusses three ways in which the structure of New Testament Revelation can be determined from within Scripture itself. 1. From indications in the Old Testament 2. From the teachings of Jesus 3. From the teachings of Paul and the other apostles

Where is Christ’s body now? In short, that is the question behind our conversation today with K. J. Drake, the author of The Flesh of the Word: The extra Calvinisticum from Zwingli to Early Orthodoxy (Oxford University Press, 2021). In this book, Drake seeks to broaden the study of the extra Calvinisticum by investigating how the doctrine arose within sixteenth-century Reformed theology as well as how its form and function developed over time due to the changing polemical and theological contexts from Zwingli to the period of early Reformed orthodoxy. K. J. Drake is Academic Dean and Assistant Professor of Historical Theology at Indianapolis Theological Seminary. He received his BA in History, Classics, Medieval and Renaissance Studies, and Latin from the University of Nebraska. He attended Covenant Theological Seminary in St. Louis where he received his M.Div.

Carlton Wynne, Lane Tipton, and Camden Bucey turn to pp. 48–54 of Cornelius Van Til’s The Defense of the Faith to discuss the Christian theory of knowledge. In this section, Van Til speaks of the relationship between a theory of reality and the theory of knowledge and how for orthodox Christians, the absolute God of Scripture is identical with his knowledge while finite creatures are fundamentally dependent upon him. We also announce the arrival of Lane Tipton’s book, The Trinitarian Theology of Cornelius Van Til.