Category Archives: theological

Two Churchy Rivals

Posted on December 3, 2010 by PaulVK

There are two frauds that haunt the church: pietism and moralism. (Disclaimer: A note on my use of the word “pietism”. We use that word to describe a very important and I think godly reform movement. That’s NOT what I’m … Continue reading →

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God’s testing as revelation of his story within us

Posted on November 17, 2010 by PaulVK

Testing is a recurring theme in Scripture. Israel is tested. Moses is tested. In the Lord’s Prayer we are instructed (in some translations) to “keep us from the time of testing” yet tests come again and again. Our experience in … Continue reading →

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Understanding Colossians 1:24 through Luke 18:31-34

Posted on September 11, 2010 by PaulVK

Got a question on Voices about Colossians 1:24 and decided to write a treatment of it through my text for this week’s sermon, Luke 18:31-34. Luke 18:31-34 (NRSV) Then he took the twelve aside and said to them, “See, we … Continue reading →

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3 Doctrinal emphases essential to both liberalism and the Mormon world view

Posted on September 4, 2010 by PaulVK

This from Richard Mouw’s lecture given at the celebration of the 150th anniversary of the founding of the CRC. He found this comment from a Mormon scholar who was complaining that recently some Mormon scholars were beginning to sound a … Continue reading →

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Life of the age to come

Posted on August 18, 2010 by PaulVK

Just some more work on my gospel vocabulary. Here’s another way to think about it belief, consequence, judgment and the life of the age to come. What Jesus does when he proclaims that the kingdom-of-heaven/earth/eternal-life/being-in-Christ is at hand, is that … Continue reading →

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On God’s Freedom and Ours

Posted on August 13, 2010 by PaulVK

A key element of the arminian/reformed conflict revolves around the idea of freedom. One of the things I think we are seeing today is our beginning to understand the complexity of freedom, in particular the limitations of our own freedom. … Continue reading →

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Shall we relish reprobation?

Posted on August 10, 2010 by PaulVK

The Punt business and the Monkey Town book are very relevant issues and are very relevant due with resurgent Calvinism. Rachel Held Evans who wrote the Monkey Town book bristles when “Calvinism” gets mentioned because she quickly associates it with … Continue reading →

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"Age of Decay" where I got it from and why I won't stop using the phrase

Posted on June 4, 2010 by PaulVK

I get this question a lot. “Where did you get ‘age of decay’ from?” and “why do you use that phrase, it is discouraging.” Here’s my answer. I started using the phrase “age of decay” after reflecting on Romans 8:21. … Continue reading →

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My response to the "Crucifixion was a cheat" challenge

Posted on June 4, 2010 by PaulVK

More than once I have heard the suggestion that Jesus’ trip to the cross is somehow cheapened by the prior knowledge he had of the resurrection. We know he had this prior knowledge because he told his disciples about it … Continue reading →

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Two women, the kings and the nations

Posted on April 8, 2010 by PaulVK

The book of Revelation ends with an interesting tale of two cities. Augustine didn’t get this stuff out of thin air. Revelation 17:1 begins with one of the angels from the seven plagues giving John a tour of the whore … Continue reading →

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