The Promise of Catholic Calvinism, J. Tood Billings

In 1536, a 27 year old exile from France addressed Roman Catholic King Francis regarding a new religious movement that Francis opposed. This exile takes pains to deny that the teaching of the movement is, in fact "new" and "of recent birth." To the contrary, says the humanist scholar, the gospel preached in this movement is as "ancient" as Paul's gospel. Moreover, "if the contest were to be decided by patristic authority, the tide of victory would turn to our side."¹ For the young Jean Calvin, the reform of the church entailed a rediscovery of the scriptures--and a rediscovery of the scriptural theology of the patristic writings from the church's first five centuries. Continue reading at Perspectives.

Peter Leithart on the Consequences of the Evangelical Marginalizing of the Lord’s Supper

I was recently asked to identify the biggest cultural challenge facing American Evangelicals. In my judgment, the biggest cultural challenge is not “out there” in “the culture” but internal–I almost said, “inherent”–to Evangelicalism: the persistent marginalization of the Eucharist in Evangelical church life, piety, and political engagement. Evangelicals will be incapable of responding to the specific challenges of our time with any steadiness or effect until the Eucharist becomes the criterion of all Christian cultural thinking and the source from which all genuinely Christian cultural engagement springs...continue reading

J. C. Ryle on the Lord's Supper

The Lord Jesus Christ knew full well the unspeakable importance of His own death for sin as the great corner-stone of Scriptural religion. He knew that His own satisfaction for sin as our Substitute, His suffering for sin, the Just for the unjust, His payment of our mighty debt in His own Person, His complete redemption of us by His blood, He knew that this was the very root of soul-saving and soul-satisfying Christianity—without this He knew His incarnation, miracles, teaching, example, and ascension could do no good to man; without this He knew there could be no justification, no reconciliation, no hope, no peace between God and man. Knowing all this, He took care that His death, at any rate, should never be forgotten. He carefully appointed an ordinance, in which, by lively figures, His sacrifice on the Cross should be kept in perpetual remembrance...The strengthening of the faith of God’s elect in Christ’s atonement was one great purpose of the Lord’s Supper.

                                                                                                — J. C. Ryle, from Knots Untied