Valiant for Truth

Certainly the most familiar and beloved of the standards of unity within the Reformed tradition is the Heidelberg Catechism. Its simplicity and warm devotion have nurtured Reformed laypeople for hundreds of years. I like how Howard Hageman

Abraham Kuyper was a remarkable man. An ordained minister and Doctor of Sacred Theology, he pastored churches, edited newspapers and wrote many helpful books. Yet, his service to God extended well beyond pastoring and writing.

The study of theology is complex and elicits many questions. What is theology? What are its major approaches? What are the various disciplines within theology? If there is more than one discipline within theology, how are the various disciplines integrated? Where does the study of the Bible fit within this broad subject? What is the relationship between historical theology and systematic theology? These are just a few of the perennial questions related to the study of theology.

Pastoral ministry is almost a lost art. Pastors today are so driven by techniques and methods to reach the lost that they have forgotten their primary calling, to preach the gospel and tend to the flock that God has entrusted them.

Some of the details of J. Gresham Machen’s death on New Year’s Day 1937 are recorded in two excellent biographies by Ned Stonehouse and D. G. Hart. But on a recent trip back to my hometown of Bismarck, North Dakota, I was able to view copies of the Bismarck Tribune for January 2nd and 4th, 1937, at the State Library.