Pilgrim politics: recovering the cruciform in our creed
On 21 September 2022, RCSS pastor Rev. Dr. Simon Jooste gave a presentation at Westminster Seminary in California on the proposal for his book, Pilgrim politics: recovering the cruciform in our creed. The book proposal is below. I. Book topic and rationale for its writing The Apostle Paul once wrote
Face-to-face: the importance of personal presence in ministry and life
Electronic media tend to dis-incarnate and distance people from their embodied lives. While excellent at disseminating information, electronic media tend to isolate us from face-to-face interaction. Social media, in particular, cannot replace, and often even undermine, the fabric of personal relationships which strengthen fellowship with God and each other. Church
Stop saying that amillennialism is ‘pessimistic’ but postmillennialism is ‘optimistic’
This is a classic case of begging the question, i.e., assuming what has to be proved. People regularly say that amillennialism is “pessimistic” but postmillennialism is “optimistic”. Who is pessimistic about what? Define pessimism. Who says? By what standard? I say that amillennialism is truly optimistic in the way the New Testament is optimistic.
Paul’s Golgothic doctrine of sanctification
Was there a more un-sanctified and immature congregation of which we have an apostolic record than the Corinthian congregation? From a reading of Paul’s two canonical letters to them, they were beset by power struggles and schisms within, tolerant of gross immorality, besotted with flowery rhetoric, and unimpressed by the
Fables, friendship and living the gospel: why the gospel matters (Part 1)
Did you know that some parts of the Bible are more important than other parts? Yes, all the Scriptures are God-breathed, infallible, inerrant, sufficient and authoritative, but some parts are more important (not more God-breathed, etc.). The Holy Spirit had the Apostle Paul pen these familiar words: For I delivered
A brief history of covenant theology
The roots of Reformed covenant theology are as deep as the Christian revelation and tradition is old. Its importance to the Reformed faith cannot be overstated. The great Princeton theologian, B.B. Warfield, called federal (covenant) theology, “architectonic principle” of the Westminster Confession of Faith (1647). Early Fathers: present but undevelopedUntil