Top Posts and Articles from 2021
The end of 2020 and the duration of 2021 saw significant life change for me and my family, which meant far less blogging than in previous years. Only two posts from 2021 rise to the level of “top” posts (i.e. my favorites). The first was a post from April, wherein I assessed the compatibility of common charismatic practices with the Westminster Confession and Catechisms, especially in light of the EPC’s position paper on the Holy Spirit. The second post focused on Basil of Caesarea’s teaching on the Holy Spirit being sent by the Son, a result of my 2021 reading project.
I did have several articles published elsewhere.
- In May, the World Reformed Fellowship ran my review of the Christian Reformed Church’s proposed report on human sexuality. That article had originally been written in November of 2020 and was one of my favorite posts from that year. So far, due to COVID, the CRC has not officially acted on the report.
- Also in May, my denomination’s news site published an op-ed I wrote explaining why the EPC’s Permanent Committee on Theology was recommending the end of our support for Bethany Christian Services. This was an interesting exercise: I originally wrote the article and submitted it to Christianity Today after the president of Bethany wrote there a defense of his organization placing foster/adopted children in same-sex parented households, but the magazine did not think the article fit with their editorial vision. The staff at EPConnection wanted to run the op-ed, but its technical aspects had to be eliminated in the editing process to make it more broadly accessible. The EPC’s General Assembly approved the committee’s recommendation in June.
- Again in May (the culmination of a busy writing season!), Mere Orthodoxy published my review of Duke Kwon and Greg Thompson’s Reparations. MO‘s founding editor, Matthew Lee Anderson, called it a “terrific engagement”, an example of the kind of charitable, public disputes Protestants need. I was disappointed that neither Kwon nor Thompson ever engaged with my review, instead very publicly focusing on Kevin DeYoung’s. They were offered by MO a platform to respond, and I think the way in which I wrote my review provided a better (missed) opportunity for more constructive dialogue.
Protestants also need more public argument like this, not less. Reading this was a reminder of the indispensable role a place like @mereorthodoxy has within the broader evangelical ecosystem.
Where else can you go to see charitable disputations of this sort?
— Matthew Lee Anderson (@mattleeanderson) May 27, 2021
- Finally, in July I contributed a short summary of the theology of church membership to Reformation 21. This article more or less presents the same summary I use when teaching on the subject in church membership classes.
