A Few Thoughts Regarding Paul Helm (1940-2025)

https://banneroftruth.org/us/reports/obituaries/2026/paul-helm-1940-2025/

Given that Helm died last December and the fact that this is only now appearing will give readers some sense of how far behind I am in terms of my articles list.

The Deranged and Violent Fantasies of Today's Evangelical Leaders

https://www.wearegreenbay.com/news/national/ap-at-pentagon-christian-service-hegseth-prays-for-violence-against-those-who-deserve-no-mercy/

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/cpac-republicans-close-ranks-behind-trump-iran-war-2026-03-26/

https://consortiumnews.com/2026/03/05/hegseth-brags-of-mass-killing-in-iran/

The Hegseth prayer has received quite a bit of press coverage but unfortunately the media interactions I have encountered are from Liberal/Modernist Theologian-types that are incapable of providing a robust Biblical rejection of his theology.

The False Prophets of Just War Theory

https://breakpoint.org/just-war-in-iran/

Both Stonestreet and his mentor the late Charles Colson provide ample evidence as to why Just War Theory is a malleable self-serving fiction. If the war is launched by a Republican president, they support it and provide (by means of sophistry) a theological and ethical justification.

Mysteries Overcome by Philosophical Discipline are not Mysteries

https://www.challies.com/articles/difficult-does-not-mean-cryptic-and-mysteries-arent-meant-to-mystify/

Challies is a popular figure within New Calvinist/Evangelical circles. He rightly denounces the counterfeit mysteries that seem to be so popular in Evangelical and Charismatic circles - the Bible code books, visions of heaven and hell, hidden prophecies tied to contemporary politics, or perhaps the latest 'key' to understanding the Dispensational End Times scheme. There are plenty of examples we could point to and Challies rightly denounces this tendency.

But then he said a few things that I found to be troubling.

One Nation - Two Masters: The Confusion that is Sacralist-Nationalist Evangelicalism

https://cne.news/article/4851-why-one-nation-can-never-serve-two-masters

We read in Matthew 6.24:

No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.

Not long ago I head Charlie Kirk twist this passage and use it to justify nationalism. You have to serve and love your country or not. You can't have divided loyalty. It was a complete distortion of the passage as it actually precludes the very nationalism Kirk was arguing for. Kirk was advocating a divided loyalty that contradicted the words of Christ.

The Da Vinci Drag Display in Paris

As the Olympics wind down I felt compelled to offer a comment in relation to the scandal regarding the sodomites in the opening ceremony.

Presbyterianism's Rejection of the Sufficiency of Scripture

https://reformedforum.org/podcasts/ctc848/

I literally laughed out loud when I reached the 47:00 minute mark of this podcast - an exercise in the torture that is Presbyterian polity. We have committees to exercise oversight of committees.

Another New Calvinist Apostate

https://julieroys.com/how-shannon-harris-kissed-biblical-womanhood-goodbye/

This article is about the wife of Josh Harris and with her story the sad circle of apostasy is now complete. Both of them have abandoned Christianity in what is another mark against New Calvinism testifying to its often superficial and shallow nature.

Theologians of the Beast and Ivory Tower Takes on Empire

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/empires-foreign-and-domestic/id1677193347?i=100063749953

Since the American Reformer keeps popping up on Reformed websites like The Aquila Report, I have (out of curiosity) been listening to some of the podcasts. They have proven as disappointing as the writings.

Inbox: Isn't the embrace of Christian Nonviolence a case of over-realized eschatology?

It can be among those who argue for it in universal terms, who insist on it for the nations this side of glory. Or to put it differently, they too are Transformationalists of a kind who believe the Kingdom is expressed in terms of worldly power, politics, and culture.

Charging Admission for Worship

It's one thing for Christian musicians to compose works that are informed or influenced by the faith and the ideas associated with it. But when such music is labeled 'Christian' then several important lines are blurred. It becomes a form of 'sacred' music in the minds of many and as such its performance can be associated with worship.

The Dynamics of Perseverance

https://www.ligonier.org/learn/articles/preserved-god

Leaving aside the misguided (though not unexpected) use of a Winston Churchill quote, the problem with Parsons' argument is that he doesn't define what saving faith is. And interestingly if you get a half-dozen Confessional theologians into a room and ask this question, you'll likely end up with a heated debate and a lack of consensus.

The Failure of New Calvinist Apologetics

https://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=107221718125272

Matt Slick antedates the rise of New Calvinism – I remember him from the 1990's, but in many respects he's one of several figures that anticipated the movement and even now can and should be identified as a member of that camp.

Capitalism and John Robbins

https://lucidmarbles.wordpress.com/2012/05/22/capitalism-and-john-robbins-no-argument-from-scripture/ 

I heartily recommend this article which takes John Robbins to task. The protégé of Gordon Clark, Robbins (who died in 2008) and the Trinity Foundation have long promoted a particularly rabid form of Christian Capitalism. In addition to his Clarkian projects, Robbins worked for Texas congressman Ron Paul in the 1970's and 1980's and has connections to the Heritage Foundation. He combines his Right-wing political and economic theories with Clark's philosophical-theology labeled under the misnomer of Scripturalism.

Calvinism, the Feminist Wars, and the Vocation Trap

https://julieroys.com/aimee-byrd-cyberbullying-the-battle-over-manhood-womanhood/

I must confess I was pretty disturbed hearing about some of the comments directed at Aimee Byrd. They were out of line and some of the men who made them are especially guilty as they are office holders in the Church.

Evangelicals and New Calvinists Out-Foxed: MacArthur's Non-Scriptural Basis for Resistance

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=62nN2RDhjOA

This is a follow-up to the piece that appears here:

http://proto-protestantism.blogspot.com/2020/07/the-context-of-macarthurs-flawed-stand.html

If I had any doubts about John MacArthur's motivation regarding his defiance of the governor – his appearance on Tucker Carlson's programme certainly cleared things up.

How Should We Then Live Part 4: The Reformation

In some respects this was a simpler episode keeping to more basic but recurring and even redundant themes. Schaeffer assumes that his audience is already familiar with the basics of the Reformation narrative and spends hardly any time laying out its chronology. I was surprised however to hear how he postured his narrative. He argued the Reformation was the breaking away of the Reformers from the Roman Catholic Church. Additionally the movement represented a turning away from the humanistic elements of medieval Catholicism.

How Should We Then Live Part 1: The Roman Age

Many if not most readers will already be familiar with Francis Schaeffer and his famous series which first appeared in the late 1970's. The Fundamentalist circles I was in during the 1980's would not have bothered too much with someone like Schaeffer and would have viewed him as strange and too worldly.

Arthur Pink at 132

Here's an intro from 2015 that links to a piece on Arthur Pink I wrote in 2011. He was born on 1 April 1886 and I continue to believe that despite his faults his writings are beneficial and much can be learned from his life's struggles and context. He made his share of mistakes but he lived in tumultuous times... the stage was being set for the catastrophe of post-war Evangelicalism. Pink saw it coming but to be honest he could not have imagined what would happen.

http://pilgrimunderground.blogspot.com/2015/04/lessons-from-life-of-aw-pink.html

Here's the 2011 post over at Proto-Protestantism:

http://proto-protestantism.blogspot.com/2011/04/arthur-pink.html

21st Century Editions: A Warning

https://banneroftruth.org/us/resources/articles/2018/bowlderizing-john-stott/

This book review warrants a reading because it reveals a growing trend... revisionist republications.

Regardless of one's opinion of Stott or the book, the reviewer does a great job exposing what these publishers (and editors) are up to. It's dishonest and potentially harmful to both the legacy of the author and the larger body of ideas they represent.