Reformed Journal - A Journal of Reformed Thought

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Abraham Kuyper for a Secular Age

May 16, 2022

Kuyper’s name and ideas (or at least versions of them) have spread beyond the confines of the Dutch immigrant denominations that originally laid claim to him, into the broader evangelical culture.

Featured Articles

The Real Question in the Abortion Debate

Beneath this contorted, soundbite driven, raging debate is, in my view, the real question: When does a fertilized egg in its development acquire, in the view of the state, the status of a full human being deserving constitutional rights and protections, like any other person?

May 2, 2022

The Human Sexuality Report: What Does Scripture Condemn and Condone?

Exactly what is the harm being done to anyone’s neighbor by the relationship of an LGBTQ couple? On the contrary, the harm we do to these brothers and sisters when we ostracize and condemn them is obvious. The HSR advises that the church declare that these brothers and sisters have no place in the church or the Kingdom of heaven. Shame on us if we make such a proclamation.

Richard Vanderkloet 14

Featured Memoir

April 25, 2022

Cane and Able: A Retrospective Leading Me Somewhere

My work with RCA Disability Concerns has forced me to wrestle in deeper ways with ableism—the subtle, pervasive bias evident in attitudes, actions, or systems that consider a person with a disability as defective, broken, and “less than.” When I was hired in 2009 to launch this new RCA ministry, I resisted emphasizing the church's many ableist practices because it seemed too difficult to start there. But as I’ve observed and repeatedly experienced ableist practices and systems over more than…

Terry A. DeYoung

April 18, 2022

The Voice of your Brother’s Blood

Watching and listening to Eitan Haber, I felt the past and the present collapsing into each other. We were reliving the drama of Cain and Abel. Yigal Amir had murdered Yitshak Rabin, his brother in the faith, and Rabin’s blood was crying out to us from the text of Shir L’Shalom. One drama was interpreting the other. Rabin’s blood was crying out for peace and reconciliation, and I began wondering what the blood of Abel might have been crying. What…

Church Easter Featured

April 11, 2022

Missing Easter

The theme I should have preached is that hardly anyone gets it right away. Like the disciples, most of us are a little slow. I was definitely on the slower side. Faith takes a while, sometimes a very long time, which doesn’t make for a rousing Easter sermon, the kind I thought I was expected to preach. It wasn’t until the sun was high overhead that a few of the earliest disciples began to catch on, and even then there…

April 4, 2022

Thoughts and Prayers Aren’t Enough

We do have a gun violence problem in this country. In my view, both action and prayer can be appropriate ways to respond. But prayer alone, without active response has literally never worked to bring healing and wholeness to systemic issues in the United States. Ever.

Christy Berghoef

March 28, 2022

Lean into the Power of Story

As a psychologist, I also know it is never too late to change and create new habits! Oh, to experience the mystery of God’s word as I did as a child—what a pleasure that would be—as would sharing that with the youth of today.

Latest from the Blog

Daily blog by our regular bloggers & guest contributors.

Love It. Live It.
We are nine days out from this year’s observance of Ascension Day as this blog appears and that also means...
May 17, 2022 Scott Hoezee
A Closed Communication System
A closed communication system is about control -- the control of information and the control of discussion. The limiting of sharing.
May 16, 2022 Daniel Meeter
Bearing Witness
Baring our weakness, weariness, and anxiety — the marks of living in our broken world — may be the only signal to weary and anxious neighbours that our God welcomes these things
May 15, 2022 Adrian de Lange
My Dad the Magnificent
It’s not the most popular story and it was never made into a movie, but it tells the story of how the ordinary events of life can be the most meaningful.
May 14, 2022 Mark Waterstone
One cold morning in Belgium
It’s not that Patton was a good man–that’s not why his troops loved him. He wasn’t. It’s not that he...
May 13, 2022 James C. Schaap
Lawn Care (less)
Turns out sloth and stubbornness are earthkeeping virtues here. All we need is the courage to do nothing.
May 12, 2022 Tim Van Deelen
Purity, Protection, and Church Positions
Other official church positions are not taken as seriously and do not receive the same attention or policing, as evidenced by the fact that violations are widely known and tolerated.
May 11, 2022 Kevin Timpe
Geometry, Broccoli, and Jesus
Fractal scaling means that whether we’re leading a meeting, teaching a group of students, parenting, or directing traffic, the values and behaviors we choose — the posture, position, and procedures we demonstrate — will echo throughout the system.
May 10, 2022 Dana VanderLugt

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Poetry

May 17, 2022

Milkweed

Many of your sisters and brothers stay inside the pod huddled together ...

Rhonda Sider Edgington 2

May 17, 2022

Spirit of God

What if the Spirit of God just appeared to me right now, and it was in a flock of wild turkeys?

Rhonda Sider Edgington 0

May 10, 2022

Veiled Chimera

How sad the moon must be centuries of poets explain to hang so dimly in the sky ...

May 10, 2022

View

When I drag our Skype conversation to my widescreen, high-definition monitor and mazimize it ...

May 3, 2022

Eucalyptus Bending

Eucalyptus bending southward, angled by sundowner winds ...

May 3, 2022

Solitary

Old white oak, are you better-looking in the winter? Your rounded crown is tufted pale-green gray with lichen.

Read More Poems

Latest Podcasts

March 3, 2022

April Fiet

In this episode, Steve Mathonnet-VanderWell has a conversation with April Fiet, co-pastor at First Presbyterian Church of Scottsbluff. April is the author of The Sacred Pulse: Holy Rhythms for Overwhelmed Souls and a lover of creativity and delight in life. Steve and April talk about a whimsical crochet project that caught the attention of the Washington Post and MSN, as well as the four "dances" of The Sacred Pulse. You can find more of April's work at aprilfiet.com.

Steve Mathonnet-VanderWell

February 24, 2022

Jon Pott

In this episode, Jeff Munroe, editor at the Reformed Journal, talks with Jon Pott, former editor-in-chief of Williams B. Eerdmans Publishing Company. Jon has had a long career in the Christian publishing industry and has worked on numerous influential volumes, including Eerdmans' Contemporary Writers in Christian Perspective series. Listen to this episode to find out how Jon found himself in the publishing world and hear stories about the interesting people he has collaborated with as an editor.

December 16, 2021

Jim Schaap

In this episode, Steve Mathonnet-VanderWell chats with Jim Schaap, writer and retired Dordt University professor of English. Jim has authored novels, devotionals, and a history of the Christian Reformed Church, and continues to write for his daily blog, as well as hosts the podcast Small Wonders on NPR. In this conversation Steve and Jim discuss the roots of Jim's creative energy, his mission-oriented approach, and his fascination with the Great Plains, the Ghost Dance, and Native American rights, the subjects…

Steve Mathonnet-VanderWell

October 21, 2021

Jeff Crosby

In this episode, Jeff Munroe, editor at the Reformed Journal, talks with Jeff Crosby, President and CEO of the Evangelical Christian Publishing Association. Jeff C has been involved in the Christian publishing industry for nearly four decades, including 5 years as Publisher for InterVarsity Press (IVP). Listen to this week's conversation to hear about how Jeff C found himself in the Christian book business, Jeff's time at IVP, and the future of Christian publishing, as well as get great book…

September 23, 2021

Neal Plantinga

In this episode, Deborah Van Duinen talks with Cornelius (Neal) Plantinga, senior research fellow at the Calvin Institute of Christian worship at Calvin University. Neal has written several books, including Not the Way It's Supposed to Be (Eerdmans, 1995), Christianity Today's 1996 "Book of the Year," and Engaging God's World (Eerdmans, 2002), the 2003 "Book of the Year." Deb and Neal discuss his newest book, Morning and Evening Prayers, why more Christians should use published prayers, how Reformed theology informed…

Deborah Van Duinen

September 9, 2021

Gayle Boss

In this episode, Deborah Van Duinen, book review editor at the Reformed Journal, talks with Gayle Boss, author of All Creation Waits (2016) and Wild Hope (2020). Gayle shares the stories behind the Advent and Lent devotionals rooted in her deep love for God's creatures, as well as how we can become better caretakers of Creation. More information on Gayle's work can be found at gayleboss.com.

Deborah Van Duinen

Around the Web

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Bishop Vashti McKenzie to lead the National Council of Churches

The recently retired Bishop of the African Methodist Episcopal Church named the interim president of the NCC.

Unspeakable Violence

Kristin Kobes Du Mez writes on Saturday's horrific shooting in Buffalo, New York; "replacement theory;" and silence of conservative Christians.

“This Present Darkness” — how a Christian fantasy series formed today’s conservatives

Frank Peretti's novels of angels, demons, and corrupt liberal elites, now seem like reality to some Christians.

What a Post-Roe world might look like

Abortion rates are already quite low. What might an end to Roe mean?

The hate you receive might be equal to the hate you give

When you're attacking Tim Keller as too soft and mellow, it might be a sign American evangelicals have gone too far -- so says conservative David French.

The Seismic Shift, Tom Hanks, QAnon, and a Pastor Departs

An Arkansas pastor's departure demonstrates the strident extremes increasingly found in the white evangelical church. By Ruth Graham in NYT.

Segregation, not abortion, as the impetus of the religious right

A look back at the racist roots of the religious right in this 2014 essay from Slate.

Jonah and the Worm

Carol Bechtel goes to the root of the Jonah saga. The worm gets his 15 minutes of fame!

How America’s Youth Lost Religion in the 90s

The end of Communism, the religious right, strident rhetoric, the rise of the internet? What role did they all play in the rise of the young nones?

Sodom, archaeology, and academic credentials

Claims to have found the site of Sodom and evidence of its destruction have unleashed a firestorm in the academic community.

Singing on airplanes and praying at midfield

Performative Christianity operates out of a place of assumed privilege. That is a privilege so taken for granted that the average American Christian has no clue they are swimming in it.

Who’s to Blame?

Adam Hochschild reviews three new books that examine the rise of the politics of resentment.