Reformed Forum Video (large)

Nature and Scripture

Camden Bucey — Fri, 03 Aug 2012 05:00:43 +0000

In 1946, the faculty of Westminster Theological Seminary published a symposium on the doctrine of Scipture titled The Infallible Word. Cornelius Van Til’s contribution, an essay titled “Nature and Scripture,” is an important work describing the relationship of general and special revelation. In this episode, Dr. K. Scott Oliphint, Professor of Apologetics and Systematic Theology at Westminster, expounds on this essay and connects it to contemporary issues in philosophy and theological methodology.

Deuteronomy and Christology in the Gospel of Matthew

Camden Bucey — Fri, 27 Jul 2012 05:00:30 +0000

Christ the Center is pleased to welcome Dr. Brandon Crowe to speak about the themes in his book The Obedient Son: Deuteronomy and Christology in the Gospel of Matthew. The book is a published edition of Dr. Crowe’s dissertation written at the University of Edinburgh. It spans several key biblical themes, including sonship, God’s fatherly love, election, and obedience. Dr. Crowe is Assistant Professor of New Testament at Westminster Theological Seminary, where he teaches the core course on the gospels.

Divine Impassibility

Camden Bucey — Fri, 13 Jul 2012 05:00:45 +0000

The Christ the Center panel meets with Rev. Dr. James Dolezal to discuss the much maligned doctrine of divine impassibility. Beginning with a look at Westminster Confession of Faith 2.1, that “There is but one only, living, and true God, who is infinite in being and perfection, a most pure spirit, invisible, without body, parts, or passions…” the panel looks at the biblical basis and importance of understanding, affirming, and developing a proper use of this doctrine that God does not have passions. Often taken to be a denial of, for instance, God’s love, it is shown that the truth is to the contrary. As simple and as pure act, God is love in the fullest sense without fluctuation or change which is the human lot. This discussion offers much food for thought.

Dr. Dolezal is the author of God Without Parts: Divine Simplicity and the Metaphysics of God’s Absoluteness, which he spoke about on Christ the Center episode 185.

Logical Positivism

Camden Bucey — Tue, 03 Jul 2012 05:00:01 +0000

Dr. Lane G. Tipton, Professor of Biblical and Systematic Theology at Westminster Theological Seminary, describes logical positivism, a type of analytic philosophy incorporating mathematical and logico-linguistic constructs and deductions of … Read more→

Inerrancy and Worldview

Reformed Forum — Fri, 29 Jun 2012 05:00:33 +0000

Dr. Vern Poythress, Professor of New Testament Interpretation at Westminster Theological Seminary, speaks about his book Inerrancy and Worldview: Answering Challenges to the Bible (Crossway). In this important book, Dr. Poythress provides a worldview-based defense of inerrancy by demonstrating the influence various worldviews have on views of the Bible.

Did God Really Say?

Camden Bucey — Fri, 15 Jun 2012 05:00:55 +0000

David B. Garner, Associate Professor of Systematic Theology at Westminster Theological Seminary, visits the studio to speak about the doctrine of Scripture. Dr. Garner has edited an excellent collection of essays titled Did God Really Say?: Affirming the Truthfulness and Trustworthiness of Scripture. Many of the contributions for this book were originally lectures delivered at the 2011 PCA General Assembly. Join us for this fascinating discussion on an important subject.

The Theology and Preaching of Jonathan Edwards

Camden Bucey — Fri, 01 Jun 2012 05:00:25 +0000

The Christ the Center panel discusses a forthcoming new podcast entitled East of Eden: Discussions in the Biblical and Systematic Theology of Jonathan Edwards, which should appear, Lord willing, this summer. The panel for this podcast will include Rev. Nick Batzig, Rev. David Filson, and Rev. Jeff Waddington, along with an occasional visit from Dr. Craig Biehl. The goal of this new venture is to delve into the sermons as well as the other parts of Edwards’ voluminous literary corpus. Specifically we seek to demonstrate the interrelated nature of Edwards’ biblical and systematic theology, his use of the Puritan plain style sermon form, his development of typology, and his practical application. The CTC panel briefly discusses Edwards’ Trinitarian theology to round out the discussion.

Trinitarian Personality in the Theologies of Barth and Rahner

Camden Bucey — Fri, 25 May 2012 05:00:26 +0000

In this in-house episode, Camden Bucey leads a discussion on Trinitarian personality in the theologies of Karl Barth and Karl Rahner. Though the theologians approach the subject from different traditions, both theologies converge at several key points. The panel discusses the issues surrounding the traditional immanent/economic distinction and God’s relationship to creation before moving to Cornelius Van Til’s method for navigating common Trinitarian errors.

In addition to the main discussion, the panel begins the episode with a discussion of several new books including the forthcoming Kingdom through Covenant by Peter Gentry and Stephen Wellum.

Law and Gospel

Camden Bucey — Wed, 23 May 2012 05:00:52 +0000

Errors abound when readers of Scripture confuse law and gospel. Dr. Lane G. Tipton describes the uses of the law and the wonderful news that Jesus Christ has accomplished salvation … Read more→

Celebrity, Authority, and Authenticity in the Church

Camden Bucey — Fri, 18 May 2012 05:00:47 +0000

Dr. Carl Trueman joins us once again for an exciting conversation of issues in the contemporary church. Today, we discuss Dr. Trueman’s latest book Fools Rush in Where Monkeys Fear to Tread (P&R Publishing), a collection of essays originally appearing at Reformation21.org. Dr. Trueman leads us in a critical look at at the contemporary church with his characteristic wit and historical sensitivity.

The Covenant of Grace

Reformed Forum — Wed, 16 May 2012 05:00:43 +0000

Dr. Lane G. Tipton describes the Covenant of Grace and its two administrations. This is an important lesson that pictures for us the wonderful salvation that comes through the mediation … Read more→

The Covenantal Context of Redemption

Reformed Forum — Wed, 09 May 2012 05:00:37 +0000

In speaking of the gospel, it is important to understand the covenantal context in which it occurs. Though Adam sinned in the garden and brought guilt and corruption upon all his posterity, Jesus Christ institutes a new covenant in his blood for all those who believe in him. Dr. Lane G. Tipton speaks about covenant and salvation.

How is Redemption Applied?

Reformed Forum — Wed, 02 May 2012 05:00:23 +0000

The redemption accomplished by Jesus Christ is applied by the Holy Spirit as he effectually calls the elect and unites them to Christ by faith. Dr. Lane G. Tipton unpacks … Read more→

The Benefits of Salvation

Reformed Forum — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 05:00:21 +0000

The gospel is first and foremost the good news about the resurrected Christ. Through union with the resurrected Christ believers receive justification, adoption, sanctification, and all other benefits which either flow from or accompany them. In this video, Dr. Lane G. Tipton describes these benefits and how they relate to one another.

Redemption Accomplished and Applied

Reformed Forum — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 19:33:17 +0000

Dr. Lane G. Tipton, Professor of Biblical and Systematic Theology at Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia, PA, speaks about the distinction between the once for all accomplishment of redemption and its application to those who have faith in Jesus Christ.

Christ in the Old Testament

Camden Bucey — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 05:00:13 +0000

On this episode we welcome Nancy Guthrie back to the program to speak about Christ in the Old Testament. Nancy has written the latest in her series on the subject titled The Wisdom of God: Seeing Jesus in the Psalms and Wisdom Books, which is the center of our discussion. Nancy is a member of Christ Presbyterian Church in Nashville, Tennessee, speaks at conferences worldwide, and is currently pursuing graduate studies at Covenant Theological Seminary. Nancy and her husband David have ministered to countless couples who have lost a child, and they continue to provide resources through retreats and Nancy’s autobiographical books on the subject such as Holding Onto Hope: A Pathway Through Suffering to the Heart of God.

What is the Gospel?

Reformed Forum — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 22:11:00 +0000

Dr. Lane G. Tipton, Professor of Biblical and Systematic Theology at Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia, PA, speaks about the heart of the Christian message. Christians must be careful not to mistake the gospel for the benefits of the gospel. While the benefits of the gospel, such as justification, adoption, and sanctification, are essential, we can misunderstand the gospel if we do not focus on the benefactor. The heart of the gospel is the person and work of Jesus Christ, who died and was raised for sinners.

Baptism, Covenant, and Election

Camden Bucey — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 05:00:02 +0000

Richard B. Gaffin, Jr. and Lane G. Tipton analyze arguments for credo-baptism and discuss Reformed views of covenant and election. Many Reformed Baptists will be quick to differentiate themselves from dispensationalists. They favor a covenantal hermeneutic that seeks to take into account the redemptive-historical features of Scripture. For this reason, many confessing credo-baptists argue that the Old Covenant administration has yielded several features to the New.

For instance, many Reformed Baptists argue that circumcision, the Old Covenant sign of membership, was given to physical seed, but water baptism, the New Covenant sign of membership, should only be given to spiritual seed. Moreover, the covenant included unregenerate members in its previous administration, but all people know the Lord in the New Covenant. Drs. Gaffin and Tipton analyze these and other arguments for credo-baptism.

The Creator / Creature Distinction

Reformed Forum — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 05:00:44 +0000

This is the first lesson in a series examining the theological foundations of Reformed and covenantal apologetics. In this video, Camden Bucey looks at the important difference between God and … Read more→

The State and Religious Liberty

Camden Bucey — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 05:00:15 +0000

Today we welcome Dr. David Skeel and James Sweet to speak about recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions that impact the church. Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church and School v. EEOC was a recent case that raised several important questions. Oyez.org asks, “Does the ministerial exception, which prohibits most employment-related lawsuits against religious organizations by employees performing religious functions, apply to a teacher at a religious elementary school who teaches the full secular curriculum, but also teaches daily religion classes, is a commissioned minister, and regularly leads students in prayer and worship?” Our guests discuss the decision and explain its significance for Christians.

David Skeel is the S. Samuel Arsht Professor of Corporate Law at the University of Pennsylvania and an elder at Tenth Presbyterian Church (PCA) in Philadelphia. He has written an op-ed on the case for the Wall Street Journal. James Sweet is counsel and Director of Special Projects for Westminster Theological Seminary and former chairman of Drinker, Biddle, and Reath.

Redemptive-Historical Hermeneutics

Camden Bucey — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 05:00:41 +0000

Lane G. Tipton provides the biblical warrant for a transtestamental gospel that understands the organic unity of the Old and New Testaments. Tipton contributed a chapter to the recent Confident of Better Things: Essays Commemorating Seventy-Five Years of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church. Dr. Tipton is also the co-editor of Revelation and Reason: New Essays in Reformed Apologetics and Resurrection and Eschatology: Theology in Service of the Church: Essays in Honor of Richard B. Gaffin, Jr.

God without Parts: The Doctrine of Divine Simplicity

Camden Bucey — Fri, 15 Jul 2011 05:00:15 +0000

Recent trends in evangelical theology have called into question the traditional understanding of God’s being. For centuries, theologians have maintained that God is immutable and simple, that is, not composed of parts. Yet many recent philosophers of religion have found the doctrine to be untenable. Dr. James Dolezal argues for the importance of retaining divine simplicity while he discusses his dissertation in this fascinating look at the classic doctrine.

The Orthodox Presbyterian Church from 1945 to 1990

Camden Bucey — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 05:00:14 +0000

The Orthodox Presbyterian Church was formed in 1936 out of the modernist-fundamentalist controversy at a time when figures such as J. Gresham Machen were struggling with liberal influences at Princeton Seminary and the mainline Presbyterian Church. Much has been written on those early years, but a significant gap in the history persisted until recently. For the OPC’s 75th anniversary, the Committee for the Historian has commissioned two books. The first is a collection of essays edited by John R. Muether and Danny E. Olinger titled Confident of Better Things. The second is Between the Times: The Orthodox Presbyterian Church in Transition 1945-1990 written by Darryl. G. Hart. Hart’s book wonderfully chronicles the OPC during the transition beyond the first generation as the young Reformed denomination sought to find its identity in a changing evangelical world. Today Dr. Hart visits Christ the Center to speak about this important period in American Presbyterianism.

Jonathan Edwards’s Apologetic

Camden Bucey — Fri, 24 Jun 2011 05:00:55 +0000

The Christ the Center panel had the privilege of interviewing Rev. Dr. Robert Davis Smart, senior minister of Christ Church (PCA) in Bloomington, IL, and author of the recently released Jonathan Edwards’s Apologetic for the Great Awakening. This is an excellent study of Edwards’s moderate defense of the First Great Awakening over against the criticisms of the “Old Brick” and future quasi-Unitarian Charles Chauncy. Smart points out that the big question was: Was the awakening a work of the Holy Spirit? Dr. Smart also discusses the relevance of Edwards and revival for today.

Edwards on the Infinite Merit of Christ

Camden Bucey — Fri, 17 Jun 2011 05:00:07 +0000

Dr. Craig Biehl shares his work on Jonathan Edwards’ views pertaining to Christ’s merit. Biehl’s dissertation has been published as a book titled The Infinite Merit of Christ: The Glory of Christ’s Obedience in the Theology of Jonathan Edwards. Biehl and Jeff Waddington speak of the current state of Edwards scholarship and the need for a thorough analysis of Edwards own writings as opposed to studies treating primarily the secondary literature. What a thorough-going study yields is Edwards’s covenant theology and rich understanding of Christ’s work for his people.

As an added bonus toward the end of the episode, Dr. Biehl discusses a short booklet titled What’s in the Box?: The Unreasonable Faith of Atheism and Agnosticism.

The Ethics of Bankruptcy

Camden Bucey — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 05:00:29 +0000

Dr. David Skeel, professor of corporate law at UPenn, discusses Christians in legal studies in addition to the ethics of bankruptcy.

David Skeel is the S. Samuel Arsht Professor of Corporate Law at University of Pennsylvania Law School and the author of The New Financial Deal: Understanding the Dodd-Frank Act and Its (Unintended) Consequences (Wiley, 2010), Icarus in the Boardroom (Oxford, 2005), and Debt’s Dominion: A History of Bankruptcy Law in America (Princeton, 2001), as well as numerous articles and other publications.

He has been interviewed on The News Hour, Nightline, Chris Matthews’ Hardball (MSNBC), National Public Radio, and Marketplace, among others, and has been quoted in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post and other newspapers and magazines. Skeel has twice received the Harvey Levin award for outstanding teaching, as selected by a vote of the graduating class, and has also received the University’s Lindback Award for distinguished teaching.

In addition to bankruptcy and corporate law, Skeel also writes on sovereign debt, Christianity and law, and poetry and the law, and is an elder at Tenth Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia.

Reformed and Puritan Perspectives on Prayer

Camden Bucey — Fri, 22 Apr 2011 05:00:04 +0000

Brian Najapfour, pastor from the Philippines and a PhD student at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, discusses his book Taking Hold of God: Reformed and Puritan Perspectives on Prayer. The book, which Najapfour co-edited with Joel R. Beeke, is a wealth of material on the subject of Christian prayer. The writings of many Reformed and Puritan thinkers on the subject shine through to provide a rich understanding of this means of grace.

These Last Days

Camden Bucey — Fri, 08 Apr 2011 05:00:12 +0000

Richard D. Phillips and Gabriel Fluhrer visit to discuss their latest book These Last Days: A Christian View of History. Last year, the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals hosted a series of conferences exploring a Christian view of history. Many of the conference addresses have been compiled into this great book.

Universalism and Deification

Camden Bucey — Fri, 01 Apr 2011 05:00:56 +0000

Jeff Waddington and Camden Bucey analyze popular formulations of universalism and look to related themes in theologies of deification, divinization, and theosis.

Christ in Leviticus

Camden Bucey — Fri, 25 Mar 2011 05:00:04 +0000

Douglas Clawson is Associate General Secretary for the Committee on Foreign Missions for the Orthodox Presbyterian Church. In this episode, Clawson speaks about the controlling theme of Leviticus as he connects the themes of holiness and cleanliness to our doctrine of sin and the manifold work of Jesus Christ.

The Relationship of Philosophy to Theology

Camden Bucey — Tue, 22 Mar 2011 05:00:49 +0000

For Reformed theologians it can be rather difficult to articulate the relationship between philosophy and theology. Is philosophy simply theology asking different questions? Is it a distinct discipline that can be differentiated from theological inquiry? Bob LaRocca drives a discussion pertaining to these difficult questions.

The Practice of Law and the Christian

Camden Bucey — Fri, 18 Mar 2011 05:00:28 +0000

The Christian’s relationship to the civil law is a perennial point of discussion. Nearly a year ago Christ the Center explored this issue in the Christ & Culture series. Today we take some of those theological themes and see how they apply in practice. James Sweet, former Chairman of Drinker Biddle & Reath, speaks about his career practicing law and how the reality of being a Christian comes to bear.

The Role of the Seminary in Today’s World

Camden Bucey — Fri, 11 Mar 2011 05:00:32 +0000

Christ the Center is honored to welcome seminary presidents Albert Mohler and Peter Lillback to discuss the role of the seminary in today’s world.

Dr. Albert Mohler serves as president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. Listeners may know Dr. Mohler from The Albert Mohler Program, a daily nationwide radio program. Dr. Mohler is the author of He is Not Silent: Preaching in a Postmodern World, Atheism Remix: A Christian Confronts the New Atheists, and Culture Shift: Engaging Current Issues with Timeless Truth. He has appeared as a guest on a host of television and radio programs and we are very pleased to welcome him today.

Dr. Peter Lillback is President of Westminster Theological Seminary and he also serves as president of the Providence Forum, a non-profit organization whose mission is to re-instill and promote a Judeo-Chrsitian worldview within our culture. Dr. Lillback is the author of George Washington’s Sacred Fire and The Binding of God: Calvin’s Role in the Development of Covenant Theology.

Whose Christianity? Which Interpretation?

Camden Bucey — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 05:00:53 +0000

Nathan Shannon reviews Merold Westphal’s book Whose Christianity? Which Interpretation? Philosophical Hermeneutics for the Church.

The Clark/Van Til Controversy

Camden Bucey — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 05:00:51 +0000

K. Scott Oliphint explores the issue of divine and human knowledge as it relates to the Clark/Van Til controversy. Dr. Oliphint is Professor of Systematic Theology and Apologetics at Westminster Theological Seminary and is the author of several books on apologetics including Reasons for Faith and The Battle Belongs to the Lord.

Are All Van Tilians Equal?

Camden Bucey — Tue, 22 Feb 2011 05:00:55 +0000

In this brief episode, Camden Bucey discusses the Van Tilian interpretive tradition. Cornelius Van Til was an influential figure in the development of a distinctively Reformed apologetic. Camden Bucey discusses the issue of divergences in the Van Tilian interpretive tradition. In drawing out the insights of Greg Bahnsen, John Frame, Scott Oliphint, and Lane Tipton, Bucey provides a brief look into the current landscape of Van Tilian apologetics.

Books on Van Tilian apologetics

Cornelius Van Til, The Defense of the Faith, 4th ed., edited and annotated by K. Scott Oliphint
Cornelius Van Til with extended annotations by Greg L. Bahnsen, Van Til’s Apologetic
K. Scott Oliphint, Reasons for Faith
Greg L. Bahnsen, Always Ready
John Frame, Apologetics to the Glory of God
K. Scott Oliphint and Lane G. Tipton, editors, Revelation and Reason

Founders of Westminster Theological Seminary

Camden Bucey — Tue, 15 Feb 2011 18:43:18 +0000

Westminster Theological Seminary was founded in 1929 as a result of denominational conflict within the Presbyterian Church in the USA. J. Gresham Machen brought together several men in an attempt to carry on the rich Reformed tradition of Old Princeton. In this episode of Historia Ecclesia, Jonathan Brack provides of a sketch of three of those men: Paul Woolley, Ned B. Stonehouse, and Cornelius Van Til.

The Gospel Coalition

Camden Bucey — Fri, 28 Jan 2011 05:00:08 +0000

John Starke of The Gospel Coalition (TGC) visits the program to talk about their website, the TGC Reviews, the TGC conference, and how they see themselves in relation to the church at large.

Natural Theology

Camden Bucey — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 05:00:11 +0000

The idea of natural theology has been much debated. One’s understanding regarding the project of natural theology will inevitably impact substantially one’s apologetic methodology and epistemology.

K. Scott Oliphint and James Dolezal visit the Reformed Forum studio to discuss natural theology. Michael Sudduth’s book The Reformed Objection to Natural Theology (Burlington: Ashgate, 2009) will act as the foil of the discussion. The book is in the Ashgate “Philosophy of Religion” series edited by Paul Helm and Linda Zagzebski.

In The Reformed Objection to Natural Theology Sudduth identifies three main categories in the world of Reformed objections to natural theology: objections from the immediacy of our knowledge of God, the noetic effects of sin, and the logic of theistic arguments. While recognizing various forms of natural theology, Sudduth argues that none of the main Reformed objections are successful against the project of natural theology itself.

The foundation for Sudduth’s book was laid in his 1996 D.Phil. dissertation at the University of Oxford. In that work, Sudduth attempted “to synthesize the Reformed epistemology of Alvin Plantinga and features of the evidentialist tradition with its emphasis on natural theology – rational arguments for the existence and nature of God.” (Sudduth, Preface) The book is even titled after Plantinga’s 1980 paper of the same title.

New Media and the Technological Frontier

Camden Bucey — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 05:00:08 +0000

The Church stands at the beginning of a new technological frontier. Along with great opportunities come new challenges. Today the panel discusses mobile applications, intellectual property, and exciting news regarding … Read more→

Reformed Forum Video (large)

Nature and Scripture

Links

Deuteronomy and Christology in the Gospel of Matthew

Divine Impassibility

Logical Positivism

Inerrancy and Worldview

Did God Really Say?

The Theology and Preaching of Jonathan Edwards

Trinitarian Personality in the Theologies of Barth and Rahner

Law and Gospel

Celebrity, Authority, and Authenticity in the Church

The Covenant of Grace

The Covenantal Context of Redemption

How is Redemption Applied?

The Benefits of Salvation

Redemption Accomplished and Applied

Christ in the Old Testament

What is the Gospel?

Baptism, Covenant, and Election

The Creator / Creature Distinction

The State and Religious Liberty

Redemptive-Historical Hermeneutics

God without Parts: The Doctrine of Divine Simplicity

The Orthodox Presbyterian Church from 1945 to 1990

Jonathan Edwards’s Apologetic

Edwards on the Infinite Merit of Christ

The Ethics of Bankruptcy

Reformed and Puritan Perspectives on Prayer

These Last Days

Links

Universalism and Deification

Christ in Leviticus

The Relationship of Philosophy to Theology

The Practice of Law and the Christian

The Role of the Seminary in Today’s World

Whose Christianity? Which Interpretation?

The Clark/Van Til Controversy

Are All Van Tilians Equal?

Books on Van Tilian apologetics

Founders of Westminster Theological Seminary

The Gospel Coalition

Natural Theology

Links

New Media and the Technological Frontier