Are You Among the Elect? It is a question that plagues many Christians. Calvinists will typically say that we simply cannot be sure, but little do they know that tucked away in his discussion of the canon of Scripture, John Calvin seems to have given us a means of discovery: “For as God alone can properly…
Introduction [Original article published in 2012, updated in 2017) Evangelical writer Norman Geisler’s teachings are fairly widespread, and much has been said about “the orthodox Christian faith” regarding them. The term “orthodox” has been thrown around so much, it seems it is simply being taken for granted that everyone agrees on what it means. Given the tenor…
Introduction Thomas Aquinas defined true faith in terms of one’s willful adherence to a religious authority. Because supernatural truths of faith are not directly discoverable by the senses or reason, God must reveal them somehow. Because supernatural truths of faith must be revealed, questions concerning them cannot be resolved by other means (e.g., logic, science, philosophy,…
Introduction Michael Kruger’s Canon Revisited: Establishing the Origins and Authority of the New Testament Books (Crossway, 2012) is an important contribution to the ongoing issues biblical scholars face when considering what material should be counted as scripture by Christians. Having personally sat under his teaching, I can say that Kruger is a smart guy and his book is…
Introduction When teaching Introduction the the New Testament at my Evangelical seminary, I always got a kick out of starting the first class by asking the students to turn to 1 Maccabees. Reactions ranged form confusion to uncertain laughter – “Silly professor, that’s a Catholic book!” To keep from being reported to the Dean, I always explained…
Introduction “I want to know one thing: the way to heaven. God himself has condescended to teach me the way. He has written it down in a book. Oh, give me that book! At any price give me the book of God.” (John Wesley) Walk into any bookstore and you can probably find “a Bible”…
Introduction The doctrine of sola scriptura (“Scripture alone”) began its life as a concern for proper authority in religious matters. By “authority” here I mean something like “that which has the right to compel agreement.” A religious authority would be one which has the right to compel faith (orthodoxy) and actions (orthopraxy). This does not…
Douglas Beaumont 