Why Is Justification So Important? by Keith Mathison

FROM TABLETALK | November 2009

  During the Protestant Reformation of the sixteenth century, there were few things more precious to believers than the recovery of the biblical doctrine of justification by faith alone in Christ alone. Centuries of semi-Pelagian (and Pelagian) growth were dragged into …Read More

Christ in the Old Testament by Keith Mathison

FROM TABLETALK | September 2009

  The relationship between the Mosaic covenant and the new covenant remains one of the most controversial and difficult topics in theology. As the notable American theologian Jonathan Edwards said, “There is perhaps no part of divinity attended with so much …Read More

Teenage Rebellion by Keith Mathison

FROM TABLETALK | October 2009

Let’s do a quick word association test. What is the first thing that comes into your mind when you see or hear the word teenager? Sadly, for many, the first words that come to mind are entirely negative. The …Read More

Does the Center Hold? by Keith Mathison

FROM TABLETALK | February 2009

If I have heard it once, I’ve heard it a thousand times: “A Calvinist evangelist? Isn’t that an oxymoron? Calvinism undermines evangelism.” This accusation has been repeated so many times that few make the effort to argue it …Read More

Two Kingdoms, One God by Keith Mathison

FROM TABLETALK | May 2009

Without a doubt, the greatest theologian in the first thousand years of the church was Augustine of Hippo (354–430). His voluminous theological, exegetical, and devotional writings have had a lasting impact and continue to be studied to this day …Read More

Respectable Sins by Keith Mathison

FROM TABLETALK | September 2008

Have you ever found yourself so caught up and concerned with the rampant sinfulness of our culture that you forget about the subtle sins in your own heart? If so, Jerry Bridges has written a book for you. Respectable Sins …Read More

Savoring the Institutes by Keith Mathison

FROM TABLETALK | October 2008

There are a very small number of books other than the Bible that have affected the course of history. One thinks immediately of books such as Nicholas Copernicus’ Revolutions of the Heavenly Bodies, Isaac Newton’s Principia Mathematica, Charles Darwin …Read More

The Glory of God by Keith Mathison

FROM TABLETALK | July 2009

The year 2009 marks the 500th anniversary of the birth of John Calvin. A number of publishers are celebrating this “Calvin Quincentennial” by releasing new books on the life, work, and teaching of Calvin. Among these are a new book …Read More

The Final Word by Keith Mathison

FROM TABLETALK | March 2009

In the early part of the twentieth century, one would have been hard pressed to find a greater theological mind than that of Benjamin B. Warfield (1851–1921). Sadly, both he and his work are virtually unknown today outside of …Read More

N.T. Wright on Justification by C.E. Hill

There is so much in this book that is good and should elicit a loud “Amen!” A balanced review of What Saint Paul Really Said by N.T. Wright would focus on both its strengths and weaknesses. Here, unfortunately, I …Read More

Religion, Politics, and Poetry by George Grant

FROM TABLETALK | October 2004

Just as it is generally assumed that religion and politics do not make for particularly pleasant dinner table conversation, it is generally assumed that they do not make for particularly pleasant poetry either. John Milton (b. 1608) sundered both assumptions …Read More

Theologian of the Spirit by Sinclair Ferguson

FROM TABLETALK | October 2004

The figure of John Owen (1616–1683) towers above — almost head and shoulders above — the galaxy of writers we know collectively as the English Puritans. His theological learning and acumen was unrivalled; his sense of the importance of doctrine for …Read More

A Life of Integrity by George Grant

FROM TABLETALK | May 2004

He was one of the most important English writers of the eighteenth century. Samuel Johnson (1709-1784) ranks right up with William Shakespeare and G.K. Chesterton as among the most quoted prose stylists in the English language. Indeed, it has …Read More

The Year in Books by Keith Mathison

FROM TABLETALK | December 2010

I have always enjoyed recommending books, and for the final “Beyond the Wicket Gate” column of 2010, I thought it might be helpful to share some of the significant books that have been published so far this year, books that …Read More

Signature in the Cell by Keith Mathison

In 1991, Phillip Johnson published Darwin on Trial. In 1996, Michael Behe published Darwin’s Black Box. In 1998, William Dembski published The Design Inference. While numerous other books on the subject have been published, these three books are considered …Read More