Volume 1 Issue 3

In This Issue

Reformed Faith & Practice completes its first year of publication with a collection of historical and theological essays by RTS faculty, written in commemoration of the fiftieth anniversary of the seminary.  Also featured is an extended review article by Dr. Gregory Lanier on two recently published New Testament Greek grammars. Because of the length of... READ MORE

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Can We Trust the Bible Over Evolutionary Science?

James N. Anderson

It’s no secret that one of the main reasons unbelievers give for not believing the Bible is that modern science—specifically, evolutionary science—has shown that the Bible’s account of human origins is mistaken. Indeed, evolutionary science is not merely an obstacle to unbelievers; it can also be a stumbling block for professing Christians. There are many... READ MORE

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Living & Active: The Efficacy of Scripture in Contemporary Evangelical Theology

Bruce P. Baugus

Introduction The theological appropriation of speech-act theory over the last two decades has revived interest in the efficacy of Scripture—the ability of God’s written word to accomplish divinely intended effects. Pioneered by J. L. Austin and John Searle in the 1960s, speech-act theory is constructed around the simple yet profound observation that we often use... READ MORE

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Old New Calvinism: The New School Presbyterian Spirit

S. Donald Fortson, III

In 2008, Christianity Today’s Colin Hansen, wrote a fascinating book, Young, Restless, Reformed: A Journalist’s Journey with the New Calvinists, which captured a lot of attention.[1] In a commendation of the book, evangelical historian Doug Sweeney, of Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, acknowledged the increasing popularity of Calvinism among young Americans, and noted how this “New... READ MORE

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The Signs of Jesus in Calvin’s Christology

Howard Griffith

From the paucity of scholarly studies, one might suppose John Calvin had little interest in miracles. There is perhaps an exception. To his chagrin, Calvin learned in 1551 that his hometown, Noyon, France, had held a celebration at the rumor of his death. The next year Habsburg troops sacked the town. The one house left... READ MORE

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A Pastoral Theology of Suffering

Derek W.H. Thomas

I begin with a story. For over a year, a young lady of twenty-seven was dying of incurable cancer. Her mother kept a daily on-line blog detailing the ups and downs of the struggle with faith and courage, hope and despair. The blogs were read far and wide, and the godliness and honesty of the... READ MORE

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Sharpening Your Greek: A Primer for Bible Teachers and Pastors on Recent Developments, with Reference to Two New Intermediate Grammars

Gregory R. Lanier

On the first day of “summer Greek” I had students open their newly-purchased Greek New Testaments (GNT hereafter) and — after giving them a short introduction to the alphabet — asked them to take turns reading aloud John 1:1–18. Though we only made it through verse three, and though they stumbled through nearly all of... READ MORE

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Sharpening Your Greek: A Primer for Bible Teachers and Pastors on Recent Developments, with Reference to Two New Intermediate Grammars, Part II

Gregory R. Lanier

II. Other Important Topics We turn our attention from (some of) the complexities of the Greek verbal system to a handful of other topics about which the pastor or Bible teacher should be informed. Lexical Semantics and the Question of What a Word “Means” A perennial challenge in the study of the GNT is determining... READ MORE

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