John Bolt (PhD, University of St. Michael’s College) is professor of systematic theology at Calvin Theological Seminary in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where he has taught for more than twenty years. For Dr. Bolt, the task of the systematic theologian is to pay attention to the big picture of the Christian faith, to summarize the grand truths of Scripture in a coherent way, and listen closely to the voices of important theologians throughout church history. His goal is to communicate the vision of the Christian faith from a Reformed perspective. Previously, Dr. Bolt taught at Calvin College (Grand Rapids, Michigan) and Redeemer University College (Ancaster, Ontario). He has served as pastor of Christian Reformed churches in Pencticton and Kelowna, British Columbia. Dr. Bolt is the author of The Christian Story and the Christian School, Stewards of the Word, and A Free Church, a Holy Nation: Abraham Kuyper’s Public Theology and is the editor of numerous books, including Herman Bavinck’s four-volume English edition of Reformed Dogmatics. He is married to Ruth and has three children and nine grandchildren.
Recent Articles by John Bolt
Enron is still with us
Enron and corporate executive greed no longer dominate our headlines, edged aside by world events and other economic issues such as tax cuts, the G-8 Summit, and the Middle East.
Tax cuts and the Triple Crown
While the U.S. Congress debates tax cuts, the New York-bred gelding Funny Cide is poised to win horse racing’s holy grail, the Triple Crown.
Terrorists or freedom fighters: What's the difference?
Though political correctness seems to be on the wane after September 11, its second cousin – moral equivalence – has not disappeared. One occasionally still encounters attempts to minimize the horror of that day in calls to "understand" the plight of those whose cries for justice are championed by the masterminds of the day’s terrorism.
It is hard, we are then told, to know exactly where the line exists between terrorists and the brave would-be liberators of oppressed people: freedom fighters. Besides, many nations in the world have come into existence after lengthy struggles for liberation. Many pundits assert that the difference between a terrorist and a freedom fighter is purely a matter of perception. When our guy kills in battle, he’s a freedom fighter; when our enemy does, he is a terrorist. Similar acts get different labels depending on who is doing the labeling.
In making a judgment on freedom fighters versus terrorists, there is more at work than a "perception." I am convinced that there is a metaphysical difference, not just a perceptual one, between these two descriptors. It is helpful to get at the difference with an analogy, a consideration of the important difference between two of the seven...
School's in: Look out!
America’s children have returned to the classroom, and so it is time for their "protectors" to go on alert again.