Lawrence R. Rast, Jr.
In 1855, Philip Schaff published his wonderful romp through the United States titled America: A Sketch of Its Political, Social, and Religious Character. In it he captured the diversity of American life, including how Lutherans fit into it—or didn’t. “It is no easy matter to describe the character and internal condition of the Lutheran confession,” […]
In recognition of the 500th anniversary of John Calvin's birth, Modern Reformation editors have solicited essays from a number of authorities on Calvin's life and work. Not all of our writers are "Calvinists" (that is, they would not all necessarily agree with him or follow in his theological footsteps), but each has identified a particular […]
As the articles in this issue of Modern Reformation suggest, evangelicalism is experiencing a change in seasons: former evangelical statesmen are passing from the scene, new evangelicals don't seem to rally around the same issues and ideas as their forefathers, and it's increasingly difficult (if it was ever really possible) to identify clearly what an […]
Fifteen years ago the sign in the front of the Oneida Baptist Church caught my attention. It read: "Pastor, Fred Russell; Ministers, The Entire Congregation." (1) "Aren't pastors ministers?" I mused. "Wait-if everyone is a minister, then, in effect, no one is a Minister," I concluded. My thoughts haven't changed. In the years since that […]
"The system of New Measures lacks affinity whatever with the life of the Reformation, as embodied in the Augsburgh Confession and the Heidelbergh Catechism. It could not have found favor in the eyes of Zwingli or Calvin. Luther would have denounced it in the most unmerciful terms." (1) These are the words of John W. […]
