The Impossibility of Preaching Jesus Without A Creed (Vos)

A church without a creed is a church to avoid.  Why?  Because a big part of the Christian's faith includes knowledge of biblical doctrine, factual truth-statements to which faith clings.  Geerhardus Vos said it quite well: "Faith presupposes knowledge, because it needs a mental complex, person or thing, to be occupied about.  Therefore, the whole…

We Always Need the Gospel…Always

 I've often told people that if they do not constantly and clearly hear the gospel preached in their church, something is terribly wrong.  They need to 1) pray, 2) lovingly approach the elders/pastor(s), and if change doesn't come over time, they need to 3) find a church that preaches the gospel constantly and clearly.  By "gospel" I…

Religion Of, By, and For the People

I've mentioned Hatch's The Democratization of American Christianity on this blog before and I'm sure I'll mention it again.  This is the book you need to read if you've ever wondered how Christianity got so screwed up in the United States.  If you've wondered where goofy patriotic hymns originated, if you want to learn when…

Jesus, Creed, Knowledge, and Faith

 Most of us understand that the phrase "No creed but Christ" is very unhelpful for two reasons: 1) it is illogical because it is creed in and of itself, and 2) one has to define "Christ," and in so doing, the result will be something like a creedal statement.  Geerhardus Vos tackled this unhelpful anti-creedal attitude which was evidently…