Latest from Keith Mathison
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Redefining What a Bible College Is and Can Be
from Keith Mathison Oct 25, 2012 Category: Ligonier Academy
Unlike most Bible colleges, RBC is inspired by the model of John Calvin's Academy in sixteenth-century Geneva. This means that RBC focuses on teaching the content of the Bible, but we do not combine that with dispensationalist theology. RBC is self-consciously Reformed. The historical confessions of the Reformed faith (for example, the Belgic Confession, the Heidelberg Catechism, the Canons of Dordt, and the Westminster Standards) express our theology. Keep Reading -
From Eden to Sinai and Beyond: An Interview with T.D. Alexander
from Keith Mathison Aug 13, 2012 Category: Ligonier Academy
An interview with a Visiting Professor at Ligonier Academy.
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Why Pastors Should Study at Ligonier Academy
from Keith Mathison Aug 06, 2012 Category: Ligonier Academy
We truly believe that Ligonier Academy offers one of the finest Doctor of Ministry programs in the world. We invite you to join those who are already pursuing their degree here.
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10 Books (and One Letter) Every New Calvinist Needs to Read
from Keith Mathison Jul 25, 2012 Category: Articles
In the interest of saving them time, money, and bad authors, I offer here a suggested reading list for those who are new to the Reformed faith and who wish to know where to begin in their studies.
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The Preterist Approach to Revelation — The Unfolding of Biblical Eschatology
from Keith Mathison Jun 25, 2012 Category: Articles
An issue that must be addressed before proceeding to an examination of the text of Revelation is our basic hermeneutical approach to the book. Over the course of the church's history there have been four main approaches: the futurist, historicist, preterist, and idealist approaches.i The futurist approach understands everything from Revelation 4:1 forward to be a prophecy of things that are to occur just before the Second Coming of Christ. In other words, all of these prophesied events are still in the future from the perspective of the twenty-first century. According to proponents, this conclusion grows out of a belief that there is no correspondence between these prophesied events and anything that has yet occurred in history.
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The Age of the Universe and Genesis 1 — A Reformed Approach to Science and Scripture
from Keith Mathison Jun 22, 2012 Category: Articles
In this series, we have been discussing Dr. R.C. Sproul's answer to a question about the age of the universe during the Q&A at Ligonier's 2012 National Conference. We have discussed a number of foundational theological issues that reflect Dr. Sproul's distinctively Reformed approach to this issue, an approach based on the thinking of Reformed theologians from John Calvin to B. B. Warfield.
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False Prophets — The Unfolding of Biblical Eschatology
from Keith Mathison Jun 18, 2012 Category: Articles
The main body of Peter's second epistle begins with Peter's replies to several objections to his eschatological doctrine (1:16–21). The first objection apparently raised by the false teachers is that Peter's eschatological teaching concerning the coming of Christ and of judgment is merely a myth (vv. 16–18). Peter assures his readers that the apostles did not follow cleverly devised myths, but were eyewitnesses of Christ's majesty. At the Transfiguration of Jesus, they were even witnesses to a foretaste of the glory to be revealed at the Second Advent (vv. 17–18). Peter also argues that the eschatological doctrine of the apostles is based on the writings of the Old Testament prophets (v. 19), men who spoke the very word of God (vv. 20–21).
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When Science and Scripture Conflict — A Reformed Approach to Science and Scripture
from Keith Mathison Jun 15, 2012 Category: Articles
In this series, we have been discussing Dr. R.C. Sproul's answer to a question about the age of the universe during the Q&A at Ligonier's 2012 National Conference. In our last post, we looked at Calvin's distinction between knowledge of earthly things and heavenly things in order to understand why Dr. Sproul and other Reformed theologians say that the church can learn from unbelieving scientists . In this post, we need to look at what Christians should do when science and Scripture seem to conflict.
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The Resurrection of the Dead — The Unfolding of Biblical Eschatology
from Keith Mathison Jun 11, 2012 Category: Articles
Eschatology moves to the foreground in 1 Corinthians 15. Here Paul turns his full attention to the doctrine of the resurrection. The question to which Paul is responding is not stated explicitly until verse 12. Paul informs us there that some of the Corinthians were saying that "there is no resurrection of the dead." As we examine the text it will become clear that what they were denying was the future bodily resurrection of believers. Paul makes very clear in this chapter how central the doctrine of the resurrection is to the Christian faith. His argument proceeds in two stages. In verses 1–34, he demonstrates the reality of the resurrection of the dead. In verses 35–58, he explains how it is that the bodily resurrection of believers is possible.
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Earthly Things and Heavenly Things — A Reformed Approach to Science and Scripture
from Keith Mathison Jun 08, 2012 Category: Articles
In this series, we have been discussing Dr. R.C. Sproul's answer to a question about the age of the universe during the Q&A at Ligonier's 2012 National Conference. In our last post, we looked at the geocentricity of Martin Luther and John Calvin in order to expand on Dr. Sproul's point regarding past mistakes Christians have made in their understanding of God's creation. Dr. Sproul argued that the church was able to learn from nonbelieving scientists who studied God's created works. For Reformed Christians, this raises several questions related to the Fall and its impact on human reasoning.
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