The Calvinist Chronicle

 Critics say the program dangerously suggests that children are sinners, Christ is welcoming them, and Scripture means what it says. The annual Vacation Bible School at First Church reportedly drew sharp criticism this week after organizers were accused of introducing children to a range of offensive concepts, including that Jesus loves them, that they should come to him, and that the kingdom of heaven belongs to those who receive it like children. Sources familiar with the matter said the trouble began when the children were heard singing “Jesus Loves Me” with the kind of confidence that tends to unsettle those who prefer a less explicit theology. Matters worsened when “Father Abraham” was introduced, reportedly causing concern that the program had crossed from harmless entertainment into full-blown biblical catechesis. One observer described the curriculum as “thinly disguised paedobaptist propaganda,” though others noted that the actual offense appeared to be the assumption that...

 Sources say the young theologian confidently critiques paganism, secular humanism, evolutionary biology, and socialism based on three documentaries and one co-op discussion. AUTSIN —  The neighborhood was reportedly thrown into mild confusion this week after a homeschooled child, firmly grounded in conservative Christian teaching, concluded that public school students are, in fact, weird. The statement was delivered with the unshakable calm of someone who can recite memory verses, outline a basic Christian worldview, and has only ever seen locker-lined hallways in movies. According to observers, the child arrived at this conclusion after hearing that public school kids learn about “all kinds of gods,” discuss secular humanism, accept atheistic evolutionary biology as “just science,” and treat soft socialism like a group project with extra steps. “So they don’t even start with ‘In the beginning, God’?” the child reportedly asked, eyes wide with the kind of alarm usually reserv...

 Papists had long warned that exposure to the patristics would inevitably lead him to Rome, but the theologian reportedly finished Augustine, Athanasius, and the Desert Fathers and merely became more difficult at dinner parties. BOSTON — In a development that has reportedly confused both Roman Catholics and people who thought the early church was supposed to function as a kind of automatic on-ramp to the Vatican, a renegade Protestant announced this week that he had spent years reading the church fathers, the desert fathers, and a wide range of ancient Christian writers, yet remained stubbornly, and in some cases aggressively, Protestant. The theologian, whose reading habits have been described as “deeply suspicious” by former friends and “the exact sort of thing that should have corrected him by now” by several papists, reportedly began with Augustine, moved on to Athanasius, then spent a season among the desert fathers before concluding that the ancients were not, in fact, a hidd...

Leaders insist the decision is progressive, despite obvious signs of competence and fidelity. PHILADELPHIA — In a move described by church leaders as “a courageous expansion of who gets to serve,” a radical PC(USA) congregation reportedly ordained a straight Caucasian man faithfully married to his wife to the office of pastor this week, shocking members who had grown accustomed to the denomination treating such figures as a theoretical category rather than a viable candidate. According to witnesses, the ordination was framed as a historic act of welcome, with session members praising the candidate’s “life experience,” “availability to the Spirit,” and “willingness to use a microphone in front of a congregation without first requiring everyone to define their terms.” The man, who had reportedly spent years being overlooked for leadership because he was “too conventional,” was finally selected after church leaders concluded that ordaining someone with an intact marriage and no apparent o...

 Sources say the music was brief, sincere, and followed by another pledge drive. MURRIETA, CALIFORNIA — A local Christian radio listener was reportedly left speechless this week after tuning in at precisely the right moment and discovering that the station actually does, on rare and possibly accidental occasions, play a song. According to sources familiar with the situation, the man had long assumed the station’s main programming format was a carefully curated cycle of donor appeals, ministry updates, and urgent reminders that keeping the signal on the air requires the faithful support of people who are already paying for everything else in their lives. He was therefore unprepared when, after several minutes of static and sponsorship language, an actual worship song began playing. “I thought maybe something was wrong,” the listener said, still visibly shaken. “Then I realized it was music. Real music. With instruments and everything. I almost called somebody.” Moments later, he con...

 Sources say he thought “Catholic” meant “universal” until someone explained the rest. OMAHA — In a development that has already sent ripples through the interdenominational fog of modern evangelical identity, one non-denominational Christian reportedly converted to Roman Catholicism this week after encountering the line “I believe in the holy Catholic Church” in the Apostles’ Creed and concluding that it meant exactly what it sounded like. According to friends, the man had recited the Creed for years with the general confidence of someone who believes doctrine is best handled through ambiance and a decent audio setup. But during one recent service, the phrase “holy Catholic Church” apparently landed with the force of a hidden clause in a lease agreement, prompting him to believe he had, all this time, been accidentally refusing membership in something ancient, global, and inconveniently specific. “He thought it meant the church was just Catholic in the broad, ‘universal’ sense,” s...

After the word “Garden” surfaced in Madison Square Garden, one prophetic observer immediately recognized the event for what it clearly was: a spiritual battleground between Eden, the serpent, and several alarming capitalized nouns. NEW YORK — What looked to the casual observer like a celebrity wedding was, in fact, a far more consequential event: a public covenant moment taking place in a location whose very name contains the word “Garden,” and therefore cannot be dismissed as merely a venue with a basketball reputation. Sources close to the revelation say the moment was confirmed almost immediately when a headline appeared announcing Taylor Swift’s marriage. At that point, according to the seer, the Holy Spirit made everything obvious by drawing attention to the word “garden,” which naturally brought Eden, the first marriage covenant, the serpent’s deception, Adam’s abdication, and the entire history of redemptive conflict into focus. “Covenant vs covenant,” the warning declared, with...

 Guests say the annual barbecue took a theological turn after one man explained that freedom is real, but only in the same sense that a dead sinner is “free” to do whatever keeps him dead. PHILADELPHIA — What began as a routine Fourth of July gathering featuring hamburgers, folding chairs, and a gentle misunderstanding of human liberty ended Saturday in a prolonged argument after a cage-stage Calvinist spent the afternoon insisting that Independence Day is a strange time to pretend the will is free. Witnesses said the man first became agitated during a toast to “freedom,” at which point he reportedly stared into the middle distance like someone hearing a hymn sung in the wrong key. He then launched into a lecture about Luther’s Bondage of the Will, Calvin’s Institutes, and Paul’s letter to the Romans, as if the cookout had accidentally become a seminary exam and everyone had failed. “People keep acting like freedom is the default setting,” he said, according to several attendees wh...

Critics say Paul’s Roman passport, Jewish pedigree, and nonstop preaching make him “problematic” at best—and possibly one of those people who thinks Christ outranks the discourse. ROME — Social media users were once again forced into a familiar and exhausting interpretive crisis this week after realizing that the apostle Paul cannot be neatly sorted into the preferred categories of modern ideological panic. The controversy began when several commentators noticed that Paul appealed to his Roman citizenship when it helped him, identified as a Jew when relevant, and still managed to spend the rest of his life announcing that Jesus Christ—not Caesar, not tribe, and not the hot take of the moment—was Lord. This, according to online critics, is exactly the sort of thing that makes someone a Christian nationalist. “He obviously had strong views about identity, authority, and the public square,” said one observer after six consecutive posts that did not survive contact with the text. “That’s t...

Baptists call the ruling a shocking overreach, while proponents say the Court has finally recognized that the covenant does not wait for a first coherent sentence. WASHINGTON — In a decision that immediately set off alarms in Baptist churches across the country, the Supreme Court ruled Monday that any baby born in a Baptist church is automatically considered a member of the covenant, whether or not the parents planned for it, explained it, or survive the nursery class. The ruling was hailed by advocates of covenant theology as a long-overdue acknowledgment that God’s promises do not depend on a toddler’s ability to recite a testimony or sit still through an entire sermon. “This is about the objective reality of the covenant,” said one theologian. “Apparently the Court now understands that babies do not become less included just because the adults are nervous about it.” Baptists reacted with predictable disbelief, arguing that covenant membership requires a personal profession of faith,...