Posts by Todd Pruitt

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On October 12-15 Midway Presbyterian Church in Powder Springs, GA will be hosting the Reformation Worship Conference . It promises to be an excellent time of instruction and fellowship. Among the impressive lineup of speakers are Drs. Robert Godfrey, Carl Trueman, Terry Johnson, and T. David Gordon...
I was happy to pass along some links to African American voices we ought to be hearing. But because they will sometimes ask inconvenient questions or come to conclusions not sanctioned by the elites they are slandered and ignored. The voices of these men and women have become all the more important...
It seems that in the Reformed(ish) world there is only one approved narrative regarding race and racial reconciliation. Indeed, any voice which dissents even mildly from the approved message is ignored and/or vilified by the great and the good. Perhaps the recognized white leaders of big reformed(...
Let's face it. Christians in America have suffered enough. We have, for too long, allowed the world to have all the fun. No longer! It is time Christians enjoy the same sorts of creature comforts the world has been enjoying. Mortification of Spin is finally going to do something about this...
On Saturday August 12, 2017 Charlottesville, Virginia was scarred by violence and hatred as white supremacist groups gathered to rally for their cause. Not surprisingly counter-protestors gathered as well. Some of the counter-protests were peaceful. Others were not. The mix led to an inevitable...
You have no doubt heard the term “intersectionality” by now. It is an idea which is sweeping academia and activism (unfortunately one in the same thing now). Oddly it is also beginning to have an influence among evangelicals, even of the broadly reformed stripe. Elizabeth Corey has...
In recent years several major Christian denominations have been dealing with questions related to race and racial reconciliation. Two of the denominations are the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) and the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA). At the recent annual meeting of the Southern Baptist...
There are a lot of conversations going on in the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) concerning homosexuality and same sex attraction. A division exists which seems only to be growing wider. On the one hand are those who believe that homosexual attraction is inherently sinful. They deny that it is...
During the week of June 12, 2017 the Presbyterian Church in America held its annual General Assembly in Greensboro, NC. The following is my attempt to summarize my thoughts from the week. 1. I continue to be grateful to the Lord for the PCA. I am grateful that the founders of our denomination had...
Once again I am writing from Greensboro, NC and the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in America. Today was the fourth annual Gospel Reformation Network GA luncheon . If you are not familiar with the GRN you can read about it HERE . The speaker for this year’s luncheon was pastor...
I am currently in Greensboro, NC for the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in America. As a denomination we are facing what I believe is a watershed moment. Overture 2 which was submitted by Calvary Presbytery will grant full constitutional status to Book of Church Order (BCO) 59 which...
Let's face it, General Assembly can be spiritually and emotionally taxing. This is especially true when there are disagreements between us as there are this year. God tends to use situations like this to expose the sins in my own heart. It has been a painful but good process. As we approach a...
There is no avoiding the fact that there are deep divisions within the PCA. When “us versus them” language is used routinely it is clear that we have separated into competing camps. That is sad but certainly not unprecedented. These sorts of divisions and competing visions seem to...
Churchill and Orwell: The Fight for Freedom by Thomas Ricks I’m a few chapters into this and am already hooked. It is the story of how these two men, so different from each other, found a common cause in the defeat of tyranny. The author also demonstrates the power of ideas when they are...
Congratulations are in order to our own Carl Trueman. He will be the William E. Simon Visiting Fellow in Religion and Public Life at Princeton University for academic year 2017-18. It is part of the James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions at Princeton. The Director of the program...
The one and only Simonetta Carr will now be a contributing writer for the already excellent Place for Truth . If you are not familiar with Simonetta or her writing I would encourage you to check her out. Her beautifully written and illustrated biographies are worth adding to your library. Simonetta...
In a helpful post, Dr. Gabriel Williams addresses certain challenges in the current discussions regarding race and reconciliation. With so much noise and tension and knee-jerk assumptions filling our conversations on race, a calm voice shaped by biblical categories is desperately needed. Dr...
First Presbyterian Church of Montgomery, Alabama (PCA) is providing a great example for other churches with histories of racism. I encourage you to read the story HERE and pray for the continued health of this congregation and their impact on their community. We should also offer thanks for the...
J. Gresham Machen died of pneumonia on January 1, 1937 while on a trip to Bismarck, North Dakota. He was there to teach and preach in an effort to shore of the strength of the congregations in the newly established Orthodox Presbyterian Church. Upon news of Machen’s death tributes poured in...
“You can catch more bees with honey than with vinegar.” It is a good saying. And it is undoubtedly true. Bees seem invariably to prefer honey over vinegar. But what if the purpose is not to attract bees? What if your purpose is to warn bees away from a danger far greater than the bad...
Rachel Miller over at A Daughter of the Reformation (a blog you ought to read) has written an excellent post on anxiety . I encourage you to read it and pass it along. You may also want to check out a sermon I recently preached from Philippians 4:4-7 entitled "Living in Light of the Nearness...
It only took 43 years for the Northern Presbyterian church to move from defrocking Charles Briggs for advancing higher criticism to defrocking J. Gresham Machen. That is a titanic shift in what is essentially only two generations.
Last week I posted a rather strong critique of the Truth’s Table podcast entitled “Gender Apartheid.” Those who have followed this blog know that I subsequently took the post down because of charges of racism that were being leveled against me. Yes, I chickened out. Those charges...
Much to the disappointment of many good friends I have made the decision to remove a critique I posted last week of a troubling podcast. I was naive. Actually I feel quite stupid. When I saw the charges of racism being leveled against me just moments ago I decided immediately I would not subject my...
I am a convert to Presbyterianism. I came running from the vague and confusing world of broad evangelicalism. For several years prior to my taking vows in the PCA I, like so many of you, read quite a bit about the history of Presbyterianism in the United States. One of the things we know from the...
There is still time to register for the Blue Ridge Bible Conference on March 31-April 1, 2017. It promises to be a wonderful time. The theme is God Has Spoken and our speakers are Greg Beale, Johnathan Master, Carl Trueman, and Aimee Byrd. It is being hosted by Covenant Presbyerian Church in the...
When you get a chance watch or listen to the lectures from Carl Trueman delivered at The Master's Seminary during this year's January term. You can access the Youtube channel HERE ...
When you get a chance, listen to Carl Trueman's excellent messages from the Mid-South Men's Rally at First Presbyterian Jackson . Also, our own Aimee Byrd's new book No Little Women has received high praise from Tim Challies. You can read his review HERE ...
It sounds obvious I’m sure to say that your pastor sins. The Scriptures demand such recognition after all. And certainly experience confirms that no pastor has escaped the curse of original sin. Yet I wonder if we have become intermittent Pelagians expecting that original sin ought to skip...
Phillip Jensen has written a powerful reflection on the appalling ugliness of death and the hope of the life to come. The essay was written in light of the death of Jensen's 16-year-old grandson Nathan. We expect old people to die – it is the way of the world. Yet, when it happens, and...
Once again many of us are talking about the dread evil of child abuse. As recent history proves, churches are vulnerable to predators and must, therefore, take serious measures to protect their children. This means churches must heighten their awareness of the problem, sharpen their policies, and...
Two books occupy my “best book of 2016” position: 1. Brand Luther by Andrew Pettegree This is the story of how Martin Luther transformed a small backwater town into a publishing power house. It is about Martin Luther. It is about Luther’s world and work. And, yes, like all good...
Two books occupy my “best book of 2016” position: 1. Brand Luther by Andrew Pettegree This is the story of how Martin Luther transformed a small backwater town into a publishing power house. It is about Martin Luther. It is about Luther’s world and work. And, yes, like all good...
Kevin Giles was kind enough to send me the paper he presented at the 2016 meeting of the Evangelical Theological Society. While I disagree with Dr. Giles view of women as office-bearers in the church I very much appreciate his vigilance in speaking up for orthodox Trinitarianism over the years. Of...
The following is a guest post from Dr. Mark Jones concerning John 6:38 and those who use it to advance the notion of eternal relations of submission and authority within the Godhead. “For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but to do the will of Him who sent Me.”...
One of the unfortunate features of the current Trinity debate is the moaning over “tone.” Such a complaint fails in at least two ways. First it fails in not affording proper weight to the content of the debate. In generations past men were willing to be exiled and physically mangled for...
The annual Southern California Reformed Baptist Pastor's Conference was recently held in La Mirada, CA. Stefan Lindblad was the keynote speaker. You can listen to all the sessions HERE . I want to especially highlight sessions 3 and 7. Session 3: “The Knowledge and Will of God: One or...
Recently the Reformed Theological Seminary hosted a conference in Houston, TX on the doctrine of the Trinity. Rachel Miller, who attended, has written two quite helpful summaries. The FIRST is a summary of the content of the sessions. The SECOND is a deeper analysis of the content. They are well...
We continue to hear that the most notable feature of the Trinity debate which touched off this summer is the "unfortunate tone" of the meanies here at MOS. As we have noted repeatedly on this site the real "tone" problem exists on the side of those who have actually accused...
The kind folks at Hendrickson Publishing sent each of us a copy of their handsome facsimile of the Biblia Germanica (the Luther Bible). It is a wonderful work especially given the coming recognition of the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation next year.
Over the weekend the world was given the distasteful surprise of the now infamous recording of Presidential nominee Donald Trump bragging in the crudest terms about his adulterous sexual conquests. He even bragged about his success in groping women. Later he explained it away as nothing more than...
I was interested to read a recent article by Dr. Jason Duesing of Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Kansas City (my alma mater). The title of the post is “Where are the Gentleman Theologians?” The post is helpful and appropriately challenging in many ways. I appreciate his call...
Over at Ref21 Rick Phillips posted a vigorous defense of complementarianism . I agree with much of his defense. What was particularly encouraging for me however was his clear statement regarding ESS. Recent months have seen considerable controversy among conservative Christians around the topic of...
No, we are not ready to move away from the Trinity controversy yet. The ones who are guilty of propating the error of ESS/EFS have not yet publically repented. That, by the way, is what is required when one spreads doctrinal error. There are already attempts going on to rewrite history ("Our...
Some people wonder (others fuss about) why we at Mortification of Spin seem to devote so much energy to objecting to the celebrity culture and methods of Big Reformed(ish) Evangelicalism. That's an easy question to answer. It's bad for the church. Period. The Reformed community has created...
I made the decision to take down my post critiquing Denny Burk’s article on Philippians 2:6 . It was not an easy decision. I still believe my critique was appropriate. I still believe Denny’s article is problematic. But I don’t have very thick skin. I learned a lesson today. It...
Denny Burk and I have been corresponding today concerning my post from yesterday. Understandably Denny takes strong exception to my conclusions. And while his disagreements with my conclusions have been vigorous, his tone has been Christlike. To sum up I was happy to hear that Denny does indeed...
On August 22 Christianity Today posted another article on the recent debate over the doctrine of the Trinity. I won’t rehash the details of the debate. However the author of the CT piece does get a few details wrong. Notably she repeats the line that the Council on Biblical Manhood and...
Over at Theology on the Go Jonathan Master hosts an excellent conversation with Liam Goligher on why it matters so much to possess a proper doctrine of God. Check it out HERE . The debate over the doctrine of the Trinity is not over. So far as I can tell, those who have advanced the troubling (a...
Last week Donny Friedrichsen offered a thoughtful and friendly response to my post entitled “I am not a complementarian.” As Donny writes in his post, he and I are friends. I point that out because neither of us are being cynical when we refer to each other as “friend.” It...