Theology / Creeds and Confessions

  • The Westminster Shorter Catechism (1647) by Various

    Q1: What is the chief end of man? A1: Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy Him for ever. Read More

  • The Westminster Larger Catechism (1648) by Various

    Question 1: What is the chief and highest end of man? Answer: Man’s chief and highest end is to glorify God, and fully to enjoy him forever. Read More

  • The Westminster Confession of Faith (1647) by Various

    The original text of 1646, from the manuscript of Cornelius Burges, Assessor to the Westminster Assembly, with the Assembly’s proof texts, as published in the modern critical edition of 1937 by S. W. Carruthers. Read More

  • Canons and Decrees of the Synod of Dordt (1619) by Various

    The Judgment Concerning Divine Predestination Which the Synod Declares to Be in Agreement with the Word of God and Accepted Till Now in the Reformed Churches, Set Forth in Several Articles.Read More

  • The Belgic Confession (1561) by Various

    1. That there is One Only God We all believe with the heart, and confess with the mouth, that there is one only simple and spiritual Being, which we call God; and that he is eternal, incomprehensible invisible, immutable, infinite …Read More

  • Protestants and Creeds by Kim Riddlebarger

    FROM TABLETALK | January 2009

    Q. What is then necessary for a Christian to believe?  A. All that is promised us in the gospel, which the articles of our catholic, undoubted Christian faith teach us in sum. 
    (Heidelberg Catechism, Q&A 22)     I’ll never …Read More

  • Deeds Over Creeds by Gary L. W. Johnson

    FROM TABLETALK | September 2009

      The English Reformer Hugh Latimer once remarked, “We ought never to regard unity so much that we would or should forsake God’s Word for her sake.” Wise words from a man who went to the stake, rather than compromise …Read More

  • Confession unto Death by Gene Edward Veith

    FROM TABLETALK | April 2008

    Some people call us theological diehards “conservatives.” That term is appropriate, since we do want to conserve something. But a better word, one that we increasingly use, is “confessionals.” This term throws the emphasis on what we want to conserve …Read More

  • The Faith of Demons by R.C. Sproul Jr.

    FROM TABLETALK | April 2008

    While written creeds have their advantages, unwritten creeds have a few as well. With a written creed we are able to nail down precise language. We can affirm this and deny that. Everyone is able to make a conscious decision …Read More

  • What Is Your Only Comfort? by Kim Riddlebarger

    FROM TABLETALK | April 2008

    Of all the Reformation-era catechisms, perhaps none is as well-loved as the Heidelberg Catechism. In the opening question and answer, the personal and distinctive tone of the catechism becomes evident. “What is your only comfort in life and in death …Read More

  • The Canons of Dordt by R. Scott Clark

    FROM TABLETALK | April 2008

    Everyone knows the acronym TULIP, but not everyone knows where this acronym comes from. The Canons of Dordt are among the most famous but unread deliverances of any Reformed Synod. The canons are more than five letters. The canons teach …Read More

  • The Heidelberg Catechism by Lyle Bierma

    FROM TABLETALK | April 2008

    Q. What is your only comfort in life and in death? A. That I am not my own but belong — body and soul, in life and in death — to my faithful Savior
    Jesus Christ.      These are the opening lines of …Read More

  • The Belgic Confession by Cornelis Venema

    FROM TABLETALK | April 2008

    The Belgic Confession is one of the best known and most loved of the Reformed confessions. Philip Schaff, the venerable historian of the church and her confessions, observes that it is “upon the whole, the best symbolical statement of the …Read More

  • Confessionally Challenged by Burk Parsons

    FROM TABLETALK | April 2008

    One dutchman, a theologian. Two dutchmen, a church. Three dutchmen, a schism — or so the saying goes. Though such a saying could rightly include Englishmen or Frenchmen, historically the Dutch have demonstrated their fervent tenacity for defining the truth, defending …Read More

  • Minutes and Years: The Westminster Assembly Project by Chad Van Dixhoorn

    FROM TABLETALK | March 2011

    TT: You’ve spent more than a decade studying the Westminster assembly. How did it all start? CVD: I first encountered a text by the Westminster assembly while my family was on holiday in northern Ontario. We were visiting the …Read More