On Another Note:

I know I said I would post on Calvin's view on Prayer from his Institutes, and I still hope to do this. But now I am a little too busy with schoolwork to write something up. Hopefully when school is over (in 5 weeks) I may have more time.

For now, I am reading Groen van Prinsterer's Unbelief and Revolution for Church History. I don't know enough about history to critique Groen's views on exactly what happened before, during, and after the French Revolution, but since his lectures were written to show the effects of Revolutionary principles and ideology, my philosophy and theology background certainly helps read him as a thinker.

I should have read these lectures years ago, before I even started university, but then I wouldn't have appreciated it near as much, I think. These lectures are Reformed intellectual gold. When my Church History paper is done, I think I will post it as well, or perhaps a summary. May I will post it in installments, to keep everyone interested. We'll see.

Since there are only 6 more weeks until Sherri and I head out west for two months, I will have to do some of that posting from B.C., I think. Oh well, no biggie.

Upcoming Post:

I have been doing some reading in John Calvin's Institutes of the Christian Religion in preparation for my upcoming classis examination which will determine whether or not I am going to go to BC for my internship. If I pass, I can preach (speak an edifying word) in the churches, and so will go to BC. If I do not pass, I cannot preach, and therefore will not be going to BC, since I would then not get a large part of the experience that the Pastoral Training Program is designed for.

Anyways, one of the topics that I am preparing is the doctrine of prayer. I am surprised that in the Reformed tradition (especially from Holland, I can't say anything about other traditions) there is very little by way of a systematic doctrine of prayer. We have 7 or 8 Lord's Days in the Heidelberg Catechism, and Calvin has a part of his Institutes devoted to prayer (although not a large percentage), but I have not really been able to find that much by way of a doctrine of prayer. Anyways, once all this classis hoopla is over, and my OT exegesis paper is done, I will try to remember to post my findings on Calvin's view of prayer. It is interesting reading, since Calvin, who was a good theologian, is also very pastoral, and there is a good mix of the two in his discussion on prayer.

Till then, I have plenty of other work to do, especially tomorrow.