Christ the Center

Dr. James Eglinton speaks about the life and thought of Herman Bavinck. Eglinton has written a superb biography of Bavinck that has been published by Baker Academic. Bavinck and other Dutch people of his era were accustomed to chronicling their lives. Herman Bavinck’s father wrote an autobiography. Herman wrote in journals. These became primary sources for James Eglinton as he wrote a critic...

Rev. Michael J. Glodo, Associate Professor of Pastoral Theology and Dean of the Chapel at Reformed Theological Seminary in Orlando, Florida, speaks about dispensationalism and its development in light of several historical, sociological, and theological contexts. Rev. Glodo is the author of “Dispensationalism” in Covenant Theology: Biblical, Theological, and Historical Perspectives edited by Guy P...

C. N. Willborn describes the importance of a faithful and active diaconal ministry within the church. Building upon contributions from Thomas Chalmers and other insightful theologians, Willborn describes a ministry “proportioned in number,” or segmented in order that the diaconate may faithfully carry out its duties both to the brotherhood and the neighborhood. Willborn argues “for a t...

Dr. Brandon Crowe speaks about the centrality of the resurrection in the book of Acts. Dr. Crowe has written The Hope of Israel: The Resurrection of Christ in the Acts of the Apostles (Baker Academic, 2020) in which he explores the historical, theological, and canonical implications of Jesus’s resurrection in early Christianity and helps readers more clearly understand the purpose of Acts in...

John Witherspoon (1723–1794) was an eighteenth-century Scottish-American Presbyterian minister and signer of the United States Declaration of Independence. In this episode, we speak with Robert S. Null about Witherspoon’s theology and understanding of history through four unstudied manuscripts of his lectures at the College of New Jersey (later Princeton University). In his dissertation, Joh...

In the spirit of our Vos Group episodes, we begin a concurrent venture into Cornelius Van Til’s book, The Defense of the Faith . Carlton Wynne joins Lane Tipton and Camden Bucey to discuss the theology and apologetics of this significant twenty-first century Reformed apologist. Participants: Camden Bucey , Carlton Wynne , Lane G. Tipton

Will Wood , Assistant Professor of Old Testament at RTS Atlanta, discusses the shaping of the book of the twelve, the canonical collection of the minor prophets (Hosea through Malachi). The Book of the Twelve is a grouping of twelve individual prophets into a single intertextually related and thematically integrated work that spans the course of a few centuries and can be appropriately called a “b...

In 1922, Reformed Press published six sermons by Geerhardus Vos in a volume titled Grace and Glory. In 1994, Banner of Truth published the same collection with ten additional sermons, which were discovered and edited by James Dennison. Banner has now brought this full collection back into print with a new edition: Grace and Glory: Sermons Preached at Princeton Seminary . Danny Olinger, author of G...

Jim Cassidy speaks about Karl Barth and his relationship with idealism. On the heels of Lane Tipton’s recent course, Introduction to the Theology and Apologetics of Cornelius Van Til, the panel compares and contrasts Barth’s ontology and doctrine of revelation in the Christ-event with Van Til’s critique of idealism and warnings of correlativism. Participants: Camden Bucey , Jim C...

We turn to pp. 238–243 of Vos’s book, Biblical Theology , to speak about the Old Testament prophets and their understanding of the nature and attributes of God. Vos affirms that God is Spirit. This brings into view not that God is immaterial per se, as Vos notes, but rather the “energy of life in God.” This is critical to appreciate. That God is Spirit reminds us that while he is immutable in his...

Glen Clary speaks about the biblical basis and covenantal context of the call to worship and benediction. These elements of worship are rooted in Christ’s work on behalf of his covenant people. In the call to worship, God calls his people to have covenant communion with him in his heavenly temple. He calls us to enter his house—to draw near to him—to have communion with him. The benediction...

In this episode, we discuss a new online course wherein 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...

Jeremy Boothby speaks about covenant theology through the biblical-theological lens of the book of Hebrews. In so doing, he compares and contrasts 1689 Federalism and other particular baptist approaches to covenant theology with that of confessional Reformed covenant theology. Following the author of the epistle to the Hebrews, Boothby gets to the heart of the difference between particular baptist...

Biblical exegetes have long discussed the relationship of justification in James to that of Paul. On the surface, James 2:24 appears even to contradict many of the key Pauline passages that speak clearly of justification as occurring by grace alone through faith alone in Jesus Christ alone and not by works of the law. In this episode, we discuss the different uses of the words “justification...

We turn to pp. 235–238 of Vos’s book, Biblical Theology , to speak about the Old Testament prophets and varying views of monotheism. The prophetic era begins with Samuel and the introduction of kingship in the theocracy, and the fundamental conflict between the prophets and the kings is between those who are fundamentally theocentric and those who are fundamentally political. And the kings concern...

We discuss the doctrine of the covenant of works, including its biblical basis (Gen. 2:15–17 et al ) as well as common objections to it. The Reformed tradition has spoken of the relationship between God and Adam as a covenantal relationship. The Westminster Shorter Catechism 12 asks: Q. 12. What special act of providence did God exercise toward man in the estate wherein he was created? A. When God...

William Reddinger speaks about strands of resistance theory in the American Revolution, considering Lockean, Continental, and Anglo interpretations of Romans 13. Dr. Reddinger has authored “ The American Revolution, Romans 13, and the Anglo Tradition of Reformed Protestant Resistance Theory ” in the Summer 2016 issue of American Political Thought . Some scholars argue that the theology...

We turn to pp. 234–235 of Vos’s book,  Biblical Theology , to speak about the nature and attributes of God as understand by the Old Testament prophets. Participants: Camden Bucey , Lane G. Tipton

Dr. James N. Anderson speaks about the philosophy of David Hume, one of the foremost thinkers of the Western tradition. Hume is well known for his influential system of philosophical empiricism, skepticism, and naturalism. Throughout his work, Hume developed a naturalistic science of man that examined the psychological basis of human nature. Dr. Anderson is the Carl W. McM...

Editor, teacher, and translator, Ryan M. Hurd speaks about the theology of Gisbertus Voetius. Hurd has translated a significant disputation of Voetius’ published as “Gisbertus Voetius: God’s Single, Absolutely Simple Essence” in The Confessional Presbyterian Journal (Volume 15, 2019). Gisbertus Voetius (1589–1676) was a Dutch theologian born in Heusden, Netherlands, and edu...

Dr. Gregg Allison and Dr. Carl Trueman speak about the theology of Benedict XVI, pope emeritus of the Roman Catholic Church. Allison’s article, “Faith, Hope, and Love” and Trueman’s article, “Is the Pope (Roman) Catholic?,” are published in The Theology of Benedict XVI: A Protestant Appreciation edited by Tim Perry and published by Lexham Press. Dr. Allison is P...

We turn to page 234 of Vos’s book,  Biblical Theology , to speak about the understanding of monotheism which the biblical prophets possessed. On pages 206–211 of the book, Vos dealt with the modernist conception of the issue, adding a footnote that his positive treatment would be saved for later. Now we arrive at that later portion. As we begin to address this new section, we revisit some of the g...

James Duguid speaks about the doctrine of divine simplicity and its roots in the Old Testament. While the pages of the Old Testament are not typically the first place one would go to build the case for this orthodox doctrine, Duguid demonstrates how the uniqueness of the biblical account establishes a foundation for understanding the Lord who reveals himself through it. Duguid is the author of &#8...

Danny Olinger speaks about the theology of Graham Greene, regarded by many as one of the leading English novelists of the twentieth century. Combining literary acclaim with widespread popularity, Greene acquired a reputation early in his lifetime as a major writer of novels so-called “Catholic novels,” as well as political and espionage thrillers. Twice, he was shortlisted for the...

After having created Adam in his image and placing him in the Garden of Eden, God entered into a covenant with him (Gen. 2:16–17). In Westminster Confession of Faith 7.1, the divines wrote, The distance between God and the creature is so great, that although reasonable creatures do owe obedience unto him as their Creator, yet they could never have any fruition of him as their blessedness and rewar...