Category Archives: Confessions

NCC in 2013?

Posted on December 19, 2012 by

So, obviously, the Outhouse has been especially lonely lately. A new year is coming up, and since my family’s catechesis has also fallen on hard times over the past few months, I am considering taking the family through NCC in … Continue reading →

Posted in Catechesis, Compare and Confess, Confessionalism, Confessions, Family, Reformed piety, Review, Tim Keller | 4 Comments

Non-Westminster Catechism

Posted on October 16, 2012 by

Speaking of creating a new catechism… I’m in favor of revising confessions and catechisms, in principle. For instance, I think we could use some language about male ordination. And how about nailing down IAOC? It would be nice to replace … Continue reading →

Posted in Catechesis, Compare and Confess, Confessionalism, Confessions, DG Hart, Education, Family, Links, Old Life, Spiritual discipline, Tim Keller | 12 Comments

Only God is Free

Posted on August 3, 2012 by

The other day I was listening to Stravinsky’s neo-Classical opera A Rake’s Progress (a morality tale based on a series of paintings by William Hogarth, with libretto by W. H. Auden), and I was struck by a very apt illustration … Continue reading →

Posted in Calvinism, Confessions, Quotes | 3 Comments

WCF Says No on Gay Marriage

Posted on June 14, 2012 by

To pull a trick from Zrim’s bag, I think it’s time for a re-post, revised and expanded for our current times (because if the Outhouse is about anything, it’s about Relevance!) The question came up what (R/W/Z)2K’ers think of the … Continue reading →

Posted in American Conservative, Applied Christianity, Church and State, Civil religion, Confessionalism, Confessions, Conservatism, Culture War, Family, Liberty, Liberty of Conscience, Natural Law, News and culture, Reformed Confessionalism, Spirituality of the Church, Two-kingdoms | 200 Comments

Maundy Thursday

Posted on April 5, 2012 by

Since I’ve been really busy lately, I thought I’d take a break from Thesis Thursday. (Even though we’re in the home stretch — just three lectures left!) Everybody knows about Good Friday, the day of the crucifixion, but for a … Continue reading →

Posted in Baptism, Calvin, Calvinism, Compare and Confess, Confessionalism, Confessions, History, Protestantism/Catholicism, The Lord's Supper, Worship | 12 Comments

Thesis Thursday

Posted on March 15, 2012 by

In Lecture 34, Walther continues rejecting Ex Opere Operato: At our last meeting we barely began to discuss the important contents of the twenty-first thesis, viz., that Law and Gospel are not properly divided, the one from the other, when … Continue reading →

Posted in Calvinism, Church relations, Compare and Confess, Confessionalism, Confessions, Gospel, History, Law/Gospel Distinction, Lutheranism, Protestant preaching, Protestant slogans, Quotes, Thesis Thursday | Leave a comment

How We Know Sola Fide is So Important

Posted on February 10, 2012 by

It seems that at some point we’ll have to have some discussion here in the ‘house of the most recent Frame job. Horton, in his response, captures very well a thought I’ve had before: This is ironic…that someone who is … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Church relations, Compare and Confess, Confessionalism, Confessions, Federal Vision, Horton, John Frame, Justification, Law/Gospel Distinction, Lutheranism, Mike Horton, Protestant slogans, Quotes, Sanctification, The gospel, The Protestant Reformation, Two-kingdoms, W2K, Westminster Seminary | 8 Comments

You WILL Download This Paper

Posted on July 27, 2011 by

…and it’s FREE! See, right there, that lame joke just about sums up what I know about Free Will. Which means I need to read Paul Manata’s new primer Free Will, Moral Responsibility, and Reformed Theology: A Contemporary Introduction. Paul … Continue reading →

Posted in Calvinism, Confessions, Education, Plugs, Quotes, Resources, Review | 10 Comments

Two Great Tastes that DO Go Great Together

Posted on April 19, 2011 by

The latest from OHS Horton is a must-read. Is he rebuking the Outhouse in the following concluding points? 1) Regardless of the historical accuracy of our definitions, what we call “pietism” today is different from the piety exhibited in the … Continue reading →

Posted in Calvinism, Christian life, Compare and Confess, Confessionalism, Confessions, Ecclesiology, High church calvinism, History, Horton, Introversion, Mike Horton, Nevin, Pietism, Quotes, Reformed Confessionalism, Reformed piety, Revivalism | 94 Comments

Sola Lutherianus

Posted on January 12, 2011 by

From an article by Pastor Bryan “Theological Bull Rider” Wolfmueller of Table Talk radio entitled “Lutheran Exceptionalism“: Here is a simple question: What do Lutherans believe and confess that no one else does? Lutherans have a unique history, unique texts, … Continue reading →

Posted in Baptism, Calvin, Calvinism, Compare and Confess, Confessionalism, Confessions, Ecclesiology, Gospel, Lutheranism, Protestant preaching, Protestantism/Catholicism, Quotes, Reformation Day, Reformed Confessionalism, Revivalism, The Lord's Supper | 18 Comments

Doing Justice to Equity

Posted on January 2, 2011 by

Our old friend Kazooless has been serializing his talk from Hoagies & Stogies: Open Mic Night about the historicity of Theonomist thought throughout the Reformation. The fourth and latest installment has quotes from Calvin, which made me think in a … Continue reading →

Posted in Church and State, Confessionalism, Confessions, Constantinianism, Culture War, Quotes, Theonomy, Transformationism | 2 Comments

Structured Shorter Catechism

Posted on December 23, 2010 by

Are you looking for a super-cheap Christmas present for that confessional-type person in your life who is dissatisfied with traditional pocket-size bookets of the Shorter Catechism because (a) the paragraph-shaped jumble of words and scripture proofs does nothing to reveal … Continue reading →

Posted in Catechesis, Christian life, Confessionalism, Confessions, Education, Family, History, Reformed Confessionalism, Reformed piety, Resources, The Protestant Reformation | 1 Comment

Liar, Liar!

Posted on March 23, 2010 by

Being a co-teacher of an adult Sunday School class this quarter on the Larger Catechism, I was confronted with the Hard Question of Rahab’s lying: sinful or not? As best as I can tell, Westminster does not address that question; … Continue reading →

Posted in Confessions | 4 Comments

SC memorization tool

Posted on February 5, 2010 by

[Update: This old post describes my first draft, which only covered "What man is to believe concerning God" (Q 1-38). The finished, complete version can be found at this link] I’m sure what you’ve always desperately longed for is a … Continue reading →

Posted in Confessions, Resources | 8 Comments

Don’t Go Changin’

Posted on December 4, 2009 by

What seems missing to me from the Dordt oath that Z has cited (and from historical Reformed praxis), is something of the form: “We promise that, if in the future we discover that that any articles or points of doctrine set forth … Continue reading →

Posted in Compare and Confess, Confessionalism, Confessions | 73 Comments