The Blog of Brad Belschner
Lord willing by age 16 my sons should be finished with “highschool”, a rigorous and well rounded education. My sons are currently on track for this, which is great. Then at age 16 they will be expected to choose a trade to begin apprenticing in. The plan is to give them a little experience and …
I am a Reformed Christian, confident in my faith and in the rationality of God’s creation. Nevertheless, I have lots of unanswered philosophical questions, especially about anthropology. None of these questions trouble me in any deep way, nor do they particularly cause me to doubt Reformed doctrine and ethics (let alone basic Christian doctrine). But …
The Law of Moses is often pretty sparse in its wording, and it’s worth emphasizing that certain laws require a reasoned application of gender differences. Deuteronomy 25 has two different examples of an opposite nature. The first example is verses 1-3, which give the famous limitation on beatings: “Forty blows he may give him and …
I was asked recently whether I affirm WCF section 1.8, given the principles of equitable eclecticism I hold. For reference, here is the statement in question: The Old Testament in Hebrew (which was the native language of the people of God of old), and the New Testament in Greek (which, at the time of the …
James Snapp Jr. introduced me to the term “equitable eclecticism”, and I liked the phrase so much I made it the subtitle for my blog. When I use the phrase I mean it in a looser way that applies to everything generically, but in the most technical sense it refers to a method of biblical …
Did Israelites hamstring horses, and if so why? My brother-in-law is a horse farrier, and we were discussing this question recently. Hamstringing refers to the severing of the hamstring tendon. Contrary to what you may have read in some commentaries, hamstringing a horse does NOT render a horse unfit for war but still useful for …
Some American Protestants are tempted by Eastern Orthodoxy because they believe it will give them greater epistemological certainty. They seek the firm foundation of 7 inspired ecumenical councils, instead of their own “private judgement” as individuals, etc. They see Protestantism as a messy land where every man does what is right in his own eyes, …