The Five Solas Theology Conference

Today is the 500th anniversary of Martin Luther’s posting of his 95 Theses on the church door in Wittenberg, Germany which is the beginning of the trajectory that led to the Reformation.

One of the important thing that came out of the Reformation is the recovery of the Gospel.  From the Reformation we also get the five Solas.  During the Fall 2015 Theology Conference at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary the five Solas was the topic that was discussed from some of evangelicalism’s finest scholars as they unpack for us the meaning and significance of each of these themes.  From these lectures they have also partnered with the publishers Zondervan to released “The 5 Solas Series.”  You might want to check out my review of one of the volume, Faith Alone: The Doctrine of Justification by Thomas Schreiner.

Here are the videos:

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Free Historical Theology Seminary Lectures: Reformation onwards by Dr. Nathan Busenitz

All throughout the month I have posting resources and reviews of things related to the Reformation in light of the 500th anniversary of the Reformation.  Here’s another one of those resource posts!

The following below are seminary lectures by Nathan Busenitz for a course at the Master’s of Divinity level on historical theology from the Reformation onward.  There are 26 lectures total and 11 of them alone are on the Reformation.  Lectures 12-15 also cover the Puritans which those who love Reformation history and Reformed theology often enjoy also as well.  What a treat!

If you enjoy these kinds of lectures don’t miss also 2017 Seminary Lectures: The Reformation by Dr. Carl Trueman.

Here are the videos featuring Dr. Busenitz:

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Review: The Church History ABCs: Augustine and 25 Other Heroes of the Faith

I’m reviewing this children book!  Christian parents, though this is a little different than most children’s book this is worth considering!

Updated: Due to an observation from a friend who commented this review has been modified to reflect a theological concern.

Stephen J. Nichols. The Church History ABCs: Augustine and 25 Other Heroes of the Faith.  Wheaton, IL: Crossway, June 30th 2010.  34 pp.

3 out of 5

Purchase: Westminster | Amazon

This is a rather fun book for children on church history.  The back of the book says it is for children ages three to six which were the age group of my kids when I read this book to them.  It’s not easy trying to write a church history book for kids that age and the author Stephen Nichols should be commended for his effort as well as his attempt to make it as easy to understand as much as possible!  In what follows in my review I will first discuss about the artistic elements of the book followed by a discussion about the content of the book.  My second to last paragraph also bring up a serious disappointment with a theological concern that I do have with the book which also calls for anyone reading this to beware of one of the individuals that was profiled as a hero.

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Free PDF Book: Reformer of Basel: The Life, Thought, and Influence of Johannes Oecolampadius

In light of the 500th anniversary of the Reformation this book being made available for free on PDF is rather timely.  This book is on a Protestant Reformer Johannes Oecolampadius who might not be as well known to most people.  It is authored by Diane Poythress who is the wife of the Christian scholar Vern Poythress.  This 230 page work was originally published in 2011 by Reformation Heritage Books and was adapted from her doctoral dissertation.

Here’s the book’s description and endorsement by from Richard Gamble:

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Review: John Knox: Fearless Faith by Steven Lawson

Steven Lawson. John Knox: Fearless Faith.  Ross-Shire, UK: Christian Focus Publications, November 2014. 126 pp.

5 out of 5

Purchase: Westminster | Amazon

Of all the major Reformers John Knox is one that I probably know the least about.  It was therefore a delight for me to read this book on John Knox by the preacher and biographer of preacher Steven Lawson.  One would expect this work would have been part of the series of “A Long Line of Godly Men” which the author is the editor for but this work was instead published by Christian Focus as a stand-alone work and I suspect it is because Steven Lawson has been greatly impacted by John Knox and wanted to write about Knox even though someone else contributed to the John Knox volume for the “A Long Line of Godly Men” Profile Series.  What follows in this review is a summary of the chapters of the book followed by my thoughts of the contents of the book.

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2017 Reformation of Apologetics Conference Videos

This past weekend there was a Theology Conference hosted by Reformed Forum and this year the subject is on the Reformation of Apologetics which focuses a lot on how Reformed Theology shapes apologetics’ methodology and Presuppositional apologetics.

Here’s a description of the conference from their website:

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Reformation Profiles: Free Video Series on Amazon Prime

This month many Christians online are remembering God’s grace with the Reformation 500 years ago.  Here’s a neat resource to understand more of the Reformation.

Here is a series titled “Reformation Profiles”  It is taught by Stephen Nichols of Ligonier Ministries.

For those of you with Amazon Prime the good news is that it is made available for free!

Here’s the description from Ligonier Ministries:

A careful study of the history of the church prepares and equips its members to face the difficulties of its own day. Popular church historian and author, Stephen Nichols, embarks on this seven-part series to assist the church in understanding the solas of the Reformation and their place for the people of God in all ages.

To access this series on Amazon click HERE.

Don’t let the number of lectures intimidate you: They are all 24 minutes-25 minutes each except for the last one which is 10 minutes long.  I love the “bite size” way Ligonier Ministries presented this and other teaching series.

Here’s the break down of each lecture with a description and links to the individual videos:

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Review: Why the Reformation Still Matters

Michael Reeves and Tim Chester. Why the Reformation Still Matters.  Wheaton, IL: Crossway, September 30th 2016.  224 pp.

5 out of 5

Purchase: Westminster | Amazon

A timely book I read in light of the 500^th anniversary of the Reformation, though this book was published a year ago (2016).  This book is written with the general Christian readers in mind and argues that the Reformation still matters and why it matters is because the doctrines recovered in the Reformation are biblical and has implication for our lives today.  Whether you are a general Protestant or you are new to Reformed theology or you are a seasoned saints in a Reformed church or a non-Christian curious about Christianity this book would be edifying for all who read it.  While this book is pretty basic concerning Reformed theology I found that even as a pastor who daily read Reformed writers I was much encouraged in the faith by this work.

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Review: Protestants: The Faith That Made the Modern World

This is a book review as part of our blog’s celebration of Reformation 500.

Alec Ryrie.  Protestants: The Faith That Made the Modern World. New York, NY: Viking, April 6th 2017. 627 pp.

4 out of 5

Purchase: Amazon

This book was published in the timely year that is the 500^th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation which began when Martin Luther started raising concern with the corruption of the Catholic Church that eventually led to Luther’s recovery of the doctrine of justification by faith alone, among other things.  Here the author Alec Ryrie examines Protestantism historically as a movement.  Ryrie also evaluated the impact that Protestantism has had for good or for bad in history.  Given how much Protestantism has shaped world history and has contributed to what society and civilization looks like today, this is indeed a fascinating book for both Protestants and non-Protestants alike.

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