The Twelfth Century by Nick Needham

FROM TABLETALK | September 2012

The twelfth century was one of the most colorful of the medieval era. Indeed, it would be no exaggeration to say that it was the age of some of the most famous and influential Christians of all time. We need …Read More

Understanding the Times: An Interview with Carl Trueman by Carl Trueman

FROM TABLETALK | September 2012

Table Talk: Please describe your conversion and your call to ministry. Carl Trueman: I first heard the gospel at a Billy Graham rally in Bristol, U.K., in 1984. I then started going to church and reading the Bible along …Read More

Gospel Footprints by Erik Raymond

FROM TABLETALK | September 2012

One of the cultural plagues of the twenty-first century is our historical illiteracy. The comedian Jay Leno capitalizes on this when he asks random questions to people. Leno’s “Jaywalking” skits demonstrate that regular Americans are not up to speed …Read More

Peter Waldo and the Waldensians by W. Robert Godfrey

FROM TABLETALK | September 2012

By the twelfth century, the church in Western Europe was indeed powerful and impressive. In the emerging Gothic architecture, we can see something of the devotion of the people and the wealth of the bishops. In the developing scholastic theology …Read More

Bernard of Clairvaux and Mysticism by Stephen Nichols

FROM TABLETALK | September 2012

One has to appreciate a medieval figure whom Martin Luther and John Calvin looked on with favor and, to a certain degree, approval. The figure in question is Bernard of Clairvaux, a Cistercian monk, abbot, mild mystic, and formidable theologian …Read More

Peter Lombard, Master of the Sentences by Andrew Hoffecker

FROM TABLETALK | September 2012

The roots of Christian doctrine extend back to God’s revelation in the Old and New Testaments. In the early centuries of the church, apologists defended Christian beliefs. Ecumenical councils affirmed the Trinity and theologians fleshed out these beliefs. True …Read More

Peter Abelard and the Development of Scholasticism by Gregg Allison

Peter Abelard (AD 1079–1142) served as professor of philosophy and theology at the University of Paris and was a notable scholastic theologian. Scholasticism is the discipline and method of bringing together philosophy and theology to make God and His …Read More

Fallacious History by Carl Trueman

FROM TABLETALK | March 2012

One of the most pressing but invisible threats to Christian thinking at the present time is that of fallacious history. Like carbon monoxide, it can kill; you just do not notice it is happening until it is too late. Fallacious …Read More

Theology and Doxology by Michael Haykin

FROM TABLETALK | February 2012

In December 1967, D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones gave an address to what was then known as the Puritan Conference, speaking on what some might have considered an esoteric topic: the teachings of a small eighteenth-century movement known as Sandemanianism. Ever a …Read More

The Great Schism of 1054 by Stephen Nichols

FROM TABLETALK | May 2011

You had to see it to believe it. During the pope’s September 2010 visit to the United Kingdom, one protester’s sign stood out, far out, from the others. In large markered letters on the back of a pizza …Read More

The Crusades by W. Robert Godfrey

FROM TABLETALK | May 2011

The Bible can be a dangerous book if misused and abused. In the history of the church, the misunderstanding of the Bible has led to many serious problems, ranging from false doctrine to legalistic customs and misdirected lives. One of …Read More

Schism and the Local Church by Michael G. Brown

FROM TABLETALK | May 2011

Although the Great Schism occurred in the eleventh century, dealing with schismatic people in the local church has been a problem since the days of the apostles. Writing to the church at Corinth around AD 55, Paul said, “I appeal …Read More

Separation of Church and State by Nick Needham

FROM TABLETALK | May 2011

Western Europe was shaken to the heart in the eleventh century by the investiture conflict. It saw kings humbled by popes, popes driven out by kings, wars between armies, dissensions within the church, and, ultimately, a new Europe. A theological …Read More

What Is Reformation Day? by Robert Rothwell

At the time, few would have suspected that the sound of a hammer striking the castle church door in Wittenberg, Germany, would soon be heard around the world and lead ultimately to the greatest transformation of Western society since the …Read More

To Be Deep in History by Keith Mathison

FROM TABLETALK | September 2010

The nineteenth century witnessed the conversions of two prominent Anglican clergymen to Roman Catholicism. Both men would ultimately become cardinals in the Roman Church, and both men would profoundly influence Roman Catholic theology. The first was John Henry Newman (1801 …Read More