God louede so the world, that he ȝaf his oon bigetun sone, that ech man that bileueth in him perische not, but haue euerlastynge lijf.  

Isn’t that over the top unbelievable? God can talk English! You can hear what he’s saying! Good old man John Wyclif, he did it, God’s word in English.  

British Foreign Secretary Sir Edward Grey stood at the window of his office watching the street lamps being lit below.  He turned to a friend standing next to him and observed, “The lamps are going out all over Europe, we shall not see them lit again in our lifetime.”  It was August 3, 1914.  World War I was beginning.

Thoroughly Uncontroversial: Sinclair Ferguson on Christotelic Interpretation

Regular readers of The Ecclesial Calvinist blog are no doubt aware of the recent involuntary “retirement” of Westminster Theological Seminary Professor of Old Testament Dr. Douglas Green. Those still unfamiliar with this controversy can find my analysis on that site (see below for the link to that site).

The Obama administration has sent clear signals that despite empty words of solidarity with Israel, America is firmly on the side of Hamas in the current hot war in Gaza.

Years ago, a young missionary pastor to Sri Lanka (formerly Ceylon), later professor of Missions at a leading Reformed theological institution in the US, told me of an interesting mission field experience.  He and a missionary colleague were visiting a group of new believers from a Buddhist background in a remote village in Sri Lanka. His colleague was scheduled to preach to the people, who probably had never heard a sermon before. 

 The item below has been submitted by WRF member Dr. Michael Milton. Dr. Milton may be contacted at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.  

Here is a prayer for Dutch pastors as they minister during this difficult time in their nation:

http://michaelmilton.org/2014/07/25/a-prayer-for-the-netherlands-in-the-midst-of-their-national-tragedy/

 The crisis at America’s southern border continues.  But the picture is bigger than that.   According to a New York Times article (Sunday Review, July 13, 2014), a recent survey by the United Nations High Commission for Refugees interviewed 404 immigrants from Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Mexico.  The study revealed that an alleged 58 percent of the illegals streaming into this country are fleeing to escape violence in their own Central American nations. 

WRF member Dr. Thomas K. Johnson recently gave a speech at the Vatican, in the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences, where he was representing the Theological Commission of the World Evangelical Alliance.

In Washington, Iowa, where I grew up, we had three Presbyterian churches: the big United Presbyterian with 900 people, my PCUSA with 350, and an Associated Presbyterian (Seceder) with about 60. There were 4 AP churches then in the USA, 2 around Pittsburgh, one in Kansas, and the one in Iowa.

 How Much Did the OT Writers Know?: The Spectre of Bibliological Eutychianism

The controversy regarding the forced “retirement” of Westminster Theological Seminary Old Testament Professor Doug Green continues unabated.

 On June 28, 1914, one hundred years ago, an otherwise incompetent assassin fired a shot that killed Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand.  The pistol waving radical would never have received his chance had not the Archduke’s driver become confused, stopped the open car, and backed right up to the spot where the assassin stood.  Such are the chances that change the world. 

Let me start by confessing my relationship with Westminster Theological Seminary. I got a M. Div. from Westminster in 1993. Both Dr. Davis and Dr. Gaffin were my esteemed teachers. After that, I enrolled in her Ph. D. program (with Dr. Gaffin as my supervisor) while I pastored a church, got married and had 3 wonderful daughters.