Sola Gratia - By Grace Alone

Over the next couple of weeks I will be publishing short articles which were written for a church newsletter..... This is the first in the Sola series. Unlike most of what I produce, these articles are brief and simple. In some cases I would say a great deal more and may in fact differ (to some extent) with what I've written. 

But the purpose was not to make an argument but rather to touch on the issues of historical theology and (at most) raise a few points of consideration.

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During the centuries we call the Middle Ages, the gospel was obscured, if not buried under a mountain of tradition and theology driven more by philosophy, than a faithful reflection of Scriptural teaching. While the New Testament teaches baptism and the Early Church clearly placed a great deal of stock in the Lord's Supper, over time these simple rites were transformed into complex rituals, and many more were added to the list. Repentance became confused with penances and to this was added pilgrimages, the veneration of relics, the cult of saints, and so much more. By the time we reach the Middle Ages, the gospel of grace taught in the New Testament was all but lost. The average Catholic believed that through the ministrations of the priests, the various rituals, and after a season of suffering in purgatory, they would at last be granted access to heaven and the Divine Presence. The gospel was no longer one of grace but of man-made works and the traditions of men.

Mary de Rachewiltz, Ezra Pound, and the Battle for Western Civilization

Mary de Rachewiltz (1925-2026) has died at the age of 101. She wasn't exactly a household name but as the daughter of Ezra Pound and Olga Rudge, she was somewhat famous in European and American artistic circles. But her reputation was tarnished at least in part by her father Ezra and his associations with Fascism and Mussolini and the fact that she devoted most of her adult life to curating his work and memory.

Framing the Magisterial Reformation from a Lutheran Perspective

https://issuesetc.org/2026/05/25/the-uniqueness-of-the-lutheran-reformation-dr-jordan-cooper-5-25-26-1452-encore/

For the most part I appreciate Jordan Cooper and the work he does. Despite my many differences with him on questions of doctrine and Scriptural interpretation, I appreciate his spirit and the careful and conscientious way in which he approaches theological questions. In terms of being an ambassador for Confessional Lutheranism, there is no one better that I'm aware of.

However on this point concerning the uniqueness of the Lutheran Reformation and the way he frames it as a 'Traditional' or 'Conservative' Reformation as opposed to being 'Radical', I must disagree. But the debate itself is interesting and informative.

Sola Scriptura and The Spectrum of Scriptural Authority (VI): Revelatory Correspondence, Text, Canon, and Conclusions

In terms of philosophical analogy, the Biblicism being advocated here is akin to the Correspondence Theory of Truth - the Logos-Scriptures being the epistemological measure and our task is to reflect (or mirror) and project these teachings as they are taught (in their context). This framing (in contrast to the Coherence Theory) is usually tied to Empiricism and on that point we must depart. We communicate an analogy wherein we must acknowledge the danger of our ideas becoming a filter or playing a mediatorial role in how God's truths are understood. Our understanding always runs the risk of being slanted or tainted by how our eyes, minds, and hearts see and understand these things and so that too is a cause for caution and humility. This in contrast to the kind of 'direct realist' approach (or ethos) seen in Fundamentalist literalism - an effort that results not only in oversimplification but is often blind to its own biases. It also differs (strongly) from the systematics approach which seeks to reorganize and reframe revealed doctrine into a coherent and comprehensive theological product - I use this term deliberately.

Sola Scriptura and The Spectrum of Scriptural Authority (V): The Holy Spirit, Epistemological Poverty, and True New Covenant Biblicism

We've considered various Sola Scriptura camps that are found wanting in their claims as well as briefly touching on some of the groups that esteem Scripture down to those who functionally despise it.

We must weigh all of these versus a genuine Biblicist rendering of Sola Scriptura. For some this is an impossibility, for others Pandora's Box that can only lead to chaos.

Sola Scriptura and The Spectrum of Scriptural Authority (IV): Hyper-Literalism, Rationalism, and Prima Scriptura

To some extent the rise of Dispensationalism in the early 20th century can be understood as an expression of this same reaction-to-liberalism dynamic, even though the theological system it spawned (despite its claims) was actually proven to be an inaccurate and unfaithful interpretation of the Scripture itself. It's hyper-literalism proved to be selective and driven by certain commitments. Once these were undermined by more solid exegesis, the entire system collapsed like a great house of cards.

Sola Scriptura and The Spectrum of Scriptural Authority (III): Academic Evangelicalism, Barth, and the Theological Modernism

This sphere of discussion is both delicate and frustrating as these well-meaning folks are (in some respects) upholding Scripture and yet pushing it beyond the boundaries of how it's supposed to function in this present evil age. And, they are guilty (we would argue) of imposing an alien epistemological commitment in their reading and interaction with the text which ultimately undermines a faithful rendering and interpretation.

Sola Scriptura and The Spectrum of Scriptural Authority (II): Lutheran Apocrypha, Fundamentalist Epistemology, and Evangelical Compromise

We must also mention the somewhat unusual structuring of Lutheran conceptions of Sola Scriptura - something a lot of people are unaware of. As already mentioned, it's largely confined to gospel-related questions - an issue itself not always easy to categorize. But in addition, the Lutherans have (historically) a two-tiered concept of Scripture. Following Eusebius, there are the New Testament Homologoumena - the undisputed books, and the Antilegomena which were disputed in some quarters for a time - a list that would include the Epistle of James along with Hebrews, 2 Peter, and Revelation.

Sola Scriptura and The Spectrum of Scriptural Authority (I): Initial Considerations and Confessionalism

Author Brian Godawa appeared on my radar back in the early 2000's when Christian publications called attention to his participation in the 2001 film To End All Wars. For my part, I didn't really care for the film - all the more as I refuse to accept some of the assumptions at work in the Anglo-centric narrative.

Godawa was an open Theonomist and was pointed to as an example of positive Christian cultural engagement. He seemed to be something of a rising star in those circles but then I didn't really hear about him again for the next decade or so. Then in the mid-2010's he popped up on my radar again in connection with his fictional works on the Antediluvian world and the Nephilim. I listened to and read some of his material in connection to these themes and found it palatable, interesting, and sometimes refreshing.

The Clarkian-Gnostic Freemasonry

Recently I was in a used book store and stumbled across Christianity and Neo-Liberalism by Paul Elliott (published by the Trinity Foundation in 2005). Some will immediately know this is a book connected to the followers of Gordon Clark (1902-1985), a controversial figure within Reformed circles in general and the Orthodox Presbyterian Church (OPC) in particular.

Vos and the Two-Age Ethics of Redemptive-Historical Theology

https://reformedforum.org/vos-and-neo-calvinism-rethinking-a-transatlantic-identity/

Bucey provides some helpful analysis regarding this rather pivotal episode in the life of Geerhardus Vos (1862-1949) and his 1886 refusal to join Abraham Kuyper at the Free University in Amsterdam. The young Vos instead made his way to Grand Rapids to teach at what would become Calvin College and Seminary.

Twisting the Scriptures, Undermining Biblical Principles, and the Supposed Stewardship of Voting (II)

Woods' appeals to New Testament limits on state power are also guilty of non sequitur. He confuses a Christian ethic and call to bear witness with enumerated powers. Likewise in his state of deception and delusion (32:00) he seems to find the Second Amendment in the Scripture - even when numerous passages in the New Testament repudiate the ethic of vengeance, self-defense, let alone the taking of life in self interest. His interpretations of Luke 22 and Christ's words regarding the two swords being enough are telling as he falls into the very same misguided interpretive traps as did the Pharisees who argued with him and the apostles in some of their worst moments of ignorance. The sword in Luke 22 has nothing to do with walking around with a gun strapped to you - or strategically placed under you car seat. And Christ made very clear in the garden that he was not calling them to take up swords and warned them against doing so. They were either an object lesson or a case of his exasperation due to their lack of understanding - which He knew would be clarified in short order. Woods completely misinterprets these passages as indeed he has demonstrated a repeated failure to grasp basic New Testament teachings and ethics.

Twisting the Scriptures, Undermining Biblical Principles, and the Supposed Stewardship of Voting (I)

https://www.vcy.org/crosstalk/2026/02/24/the-bible-and-your-vote/

If you can stomach it, listen to this episode of CrossTalk - or more properly John Birch Society Radio. The show frequently hosts the society's leaders and thinkers and functions as a platform for its brand of Right-wing politics. It's almost a comprehensive study in all that is wrong with the Christian Right and today's Evangelical movement. Woods (the guest) is a bit simplistic to be sure, but he's consistent in his representation of their platform. With the Bible in hand, he launches an assault on New Testament Christianity every bit as subversive as that of James Talarico. The latter won't actually fool anyone grounded in Scripture but Woods and his ilk are persuasive to many and continue to do great harm.

A Misrepresentation of Western Art

https://cne.news/article/4938-how-arts-draw-europe-back-to-paganism

This article struck me as rather strange. In many respects I can resonate with Placentino's concerns about pagan revival in connection with 18th and 19th century Romanticism, but at the same time I found his arguments wanting and often guilty of begging the question.

Deconstructing Dolezal

https://au.thegospelcoalition.org/book-review/not-god-divine-simplicity-simple/

I appreciated this review of James Dolezal's 2017 work All That is In God: Evangelical Theology and the Challenge of Classical Christian Theism - a work that has generated controversy and led to the creation of new factions within Reformed circles. As the subject interests me, I find myself returning to it once again.

Calvinism's Inability to Reckon With Apostasy

https://philosophical-theology.com/2025/10/17/abandoning-the-faith-in-college-really/

DiGiacomo finds parental discourse surrounding the issue of apostasy to be confused but we could say the same adjective describes his discourse as well. The bottom line is this - what does the New Testament say? And this is the rub, Calvinism all too often commits itself to rationalist systemic frameworks that logically prioritize certain truths and as a consequence, verses (even if there are literally dozens of them) that suggest something to the contrary must be explained away and/or subordinated.

Psychology, the Re-framing of Evangelical Parenting, and Roads to Apostasy

https://religionnews.com/2025/10/09/new-book-debunks-spanking-and-the-myths-of-christian-parenting/

https://religionnews.com/2024/05/30/adults-raised-in-the-christian-parenting-empire-of-the-70s-90s-push-back/

Evangelicalism has an established track record of compromise and worldly thinking. From its inception in the post-war context, this movement has left the doors wide open to worldly influence.

Therefore it's no surprise to read of these assaults on Biblical parenting being offered by women - women who are effectively teaching doctrine and ethics. Their disobedience to the Scriptures and the fact that they are given standing and an audience within the Evangelical sphere only further emphasizes this point.

Market Machinations, Wall Street, and the Ethics of Profit

The BBC recently interviewed a farmer in the American Midwest. He was upset over rising fertilizer prices connected to the Iran War. The markets have spiked due to petroleum and natural gas interruptions and 'supply chain' problems associated with the conflict.

The farmer contended that the US is energy independent. After all this is a point the Right has championed for a number of years - a point even associated with Trumpism. If the US becomes energy independent, it will be able to divorce itself from Middle Eastern instability and entanglements - or so it was argued. Not everyone agreed.

Honest to God, Bonhoeffer, and Metaxas

https://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1011-76012018000100013

I think I first encountered JAT Robinson (1919-1983) and discussions of his 1963 work 'Honest to God' in the writings of Francis Schaeffer and authors such as Iain Murray of the Banner of Truth. This would have been back in the mid-1990's.

For those unfamiliar with the discussion, Robinson was the Bishop of Woolwich and while in that office he published 'Honest to God' in which he revealed his doubts about conventional theism. It shocked the Christian world at the time (1963) - a bishop who was effectively (at least according to traditional definitions) an agnostic, if not an outright atheist.

Christianity and Cynicism: Nonconformity, Dissent, and Defacing the Coin

Historians have long debated the relationship between the Cynics and early Christianity. There are some striking similarities to be found in the lives of the Cynics who emerged in the context of Classical Greece, a few hundred years before Christ - so much so, that some believe Christ may have been influenced by them.

The likeness is superficial. The Cynics rested their thought on a different epistemological basis and their ethics were also different - and yet similar enough at times to generate a lot of discussion. For those wishing to make direct comparisons or find some trace of lineage, it's a dead end. That said, the similarities can be striking and nevertheless generate some interesting reflection. The Cynics raise issues in terms of ethics and society that the Church can benefit from. And this is not something new or something that emerged in this era of comparative religious studies.

The Deceitfulness of Riches

https://petehurst.com/prosperity-the-big-lie-and-the-big-truth/

https://pilgrimunderground.blogspot.com/2025/12/the-sweet-taste-of-vomit.html

I commented on Hurst back in December of 2025 but this article crossed my path and left me more astonished than usual. Does anyone actually read the Scriptures?

The False Exegesis and Idolatry of House Speaker Mike Johnson

https://reformedpolitics.substack.com/p/a-christian-case-for-borders

Apparently PCA pastor David Hall was so moved by Speaker Mike Johnson's apologia for border defense that he chose to re-post it on his website.

A Confessional Presbyterian Revels in Idolatry, Nationalism, Apostasy, and Trump

https://reformedpolitics.substack.com/p/religious-gains-2025

Hall's work has been repeatedly promoted on websites like The Aquila Report and I've also encountered him in the podcast world. Hall thinks 'gains' are being made with the Trump presidency. Needless to say there are a lot of assumptions being made as well as the typical pronoun confusion (and the thought that undergirds it) that we've come to expect.

Secular Humanism and Neuro-Nonsense

The other day while driving I picked up an AM radio station out of Toronto and heard an interview with an expert on neurogenerosity - which apparently has been a subject of discussion for the better part of a decade. I wasn't sure at first whether to take it seriously.

The Sufficiency of Scripture, the Christian Life, and the Rejection of Psychology

https://churchandfamilylife.com/sermons/6952196ce386b6135c21f915

As regular readers of my websites will know, I am not a fan of Scott Brown and his Theonomic movement within Reformed Baptist circles.

I first encountered him around twenty years ago (or more) in connection with the question of family-integrated worship. I had already more or less developed convictions with regard to worship, and as a paedobaptist, I had wrestled with how to view Christian children. And so on that point, I actually go a good deal further than Brown and this also shaped my thinking in terms of worship. Sunday School for me had come up in the 1990's as I wrestled with ecclesiology and the regulative principle.

A Sure Formula for Self-Deception - Direct Realism's Road to Monism, Materialism, and Pantheism

https://theopolisinstitute.com/leithart_post/epistemological-dualism/

Right from the onset I disagree with Meek's airtight definitions and the way she wishes to imply how such epistemological dualism operates. I further disagree with Leithart's insinuation that this leads to the elimination of knowledge. It's a slippery slope argument that is misleading at best.

The Bogus Case for Cathedrals

https://thefederalist.com/2025/11/18/why-christians-should-build-cathedrals/

Nathanael Blake, the author of this piece was recently on LPR's Issues Etc., in order to promote this article and its ideology. I was disappointed with Todd Wilken that he was willing to give voice to this, but given some of the other voices and ideas he promotes, I guess I'm not too surprised.

The Lutheran Church Missouri Synod (LCMS) is clearly fighting its own internal battles. They're struggling with Far Right and Nazi-esque revisionists on the one hand and a still vibrant Evangelical-style movement that wants to take them into a low-church direction. Having examined and even visited some of the LCMS congregations in my area, the battle lines are clear. We have everything from High Church practice with statues of Jesus, the sign of the cross, and chanting to (at the opposite end of the spectrum), low-church Evangelical-style worship with pop music, screens, and the rest.

The Life and Times of IC Herendeen

https://www.amazon.com/Life-Times-I-C-Herendeen/dp/B0FJZ4ZFY7

I am pleased to endorse this 2025 work authored by my son, Isaac. It would seem that our visits to Swengel, Millmont, and Lewisburg, Pennsylvania piqued his interest some years ago. I had visited those places in connection to Arthur Pink. I knew of Herendeen, but Isaac picked up his story and pursued his own course of research and I must admit I find Herendeen's life to be noteworthy.

The Historical Canon of the Waldenses, Charism, and the First Reformation

https://pilgrimunderground.blogspot.com/2025/09/a-troubling-revival-of-historic-anti.html

As I have recently indicated, the hijacking of the Septuagint and Apocrypha debate by Right-wing Anti-Semites has been the source of considerable grief for me as I believe it unnecessarily muddies the waters and will overshadow future discussion. This issue is one of many that I have called attention to in recent years - another point of deviation (on my part) from the Magisterial Reformation narrative as embraced by Confessionalists and contemporary Evangelicals.

That said, the issue of the Apocrypha and Septuagint is still a live one for me and the Right-wing's attacks on the Masoretic Text and tradition are an unfortunate complication. Leaving that aside with assurances that in no way am I motivated by anything Anti-Semitic, let us turn to the historical and doctrinal issues at hand.

The suggestion that the Apocrypha (so-called) was only formally adopted by Trent in the 16th century is misleading if not altogether false.

The Church in Dark Ages - A Call to Dissent and Nonconformity (IV)

What are the options? To be frank, there aren't many. We can look to the Confessionalist churches within the Reformed, Lutheran, and Anglican traditions. This is a viable option in some cases and in terms of week to week worship these offer much better opportunities - but they are not without their problems. Their ecclesiologies are often unbiblical. Many Reformed are actually just Evangelicals. There are real problems with Lutheran and Anglican worship but I find them preferable to Evangelical pop-culture worship and piety.

The Church in Dark Ages - A Call to Dissent and Nonconformity (III)

Evangelicals have frequently looked askance at Roman Catholic scholastic theology and its long tradition of philosophical syncretism - and with good reason.

The Church in Dark Ages - A Call to Dissent and Nonconformity (II)

Medieval Romanism formulated its notions of law and justice in terms of a fusion between old Roman jurisprudence and the tribal codes and customs coming out of the Germanic world. Over time this would be re-tooled by other influences. The point being - Scripture had little to do with it.

The Church in Dark Ages - A Call to Dissent and Nonconformity (I)

or,

An Examination of the Twin Sisters of Medieval Roman Catholicism and American Evangelicalism

Evangelicalism has moved much closer to Rome in recent years and unthinkable as it was just a few decades ago, many now consider Roman Catholics to be fellow Christians. In recent days this has been most evident with the way Evangelicals speaks of figures like JD Vance and Erika Kirk. These Roman Catholics who worship Mary, partake of the idolatry that is the Mass, venerate a tradition of false prophets that claim to speak in the place of Christ, and find salvation in a merit-based sacerdotal system, are deemed inspiring fellow believers. The term 'Christian' has itself has been run through so many filters and redefined to such an extent that theologically and even culturally it struggles to have any kind of actual meaning. The same is true of Evangelicalism which describes more of a cultural attitude and ethos (if not a political movement) than any kind of ecclesiastical movement, theology, or identity.

Piety and an Oversimplified Dichotomy

https://christoverall.com/article/concise/which-way-christian-a-contrast-of-david-platts-radical-and-michael-hortons-ordinary/

Chad Lawrence is keen to warn his audience against forms of Pietism and thinks he's found it hiding in the works of New Calvinist author David Platt.

Platt's 'Radical: Taking Back Your Faith From the American Dream' was released in 2010 and made a splash in Evangelical circles. Platt's work has some problems to be sure - he rightly wants to counter American consumerist norms but equates the rejection with a model of piety which is expressed by means of the highly flawed and corrupt 'missions'-ministry approach common in modern Evangelicalism and a kind of missional approach which tends toward an agenda of social transformation. And for the record, a mega-church is hardly the venue for Pietism to sink roots.

Ghosts of Weimar: A Lament for Lutherans Struck Blind

I found myself frustrated listening to a couple of Missouri-Synod pastors discussing what they called The American Interim - an attempt to draw a parallel with the Augsburg and Leipzig Interims (1548-1555). German Lutherans were forced to make concessions in the wake of their 1547 defeat in the First Schmalkaldic War. Eventually the Protestant princes rose and in the Second war of that name they achieved victory marked by the 1555 Peace of Augsburg.