Melville Divinity Hall
ST509 · 3 credits · Graduate

Christian Ethics: The Decalogue in the Larger Catechism and the Heidelberg Catechism

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Reformed ethics as the exposition of the Ten Commandments, read through Larger Catechism 91-152 and Heidelberg Lord's Days 34-44 with Durham's Law Unsealed and Ursinus. The fourth commandment is a paired unit: the Scottish whole-day Sabbath and the continental reading of Lord's Day 38, each from its own advocates.

These lists, taken from the school's verified research, are studied on your own at your own pace. The school's own classes, written as full teaching, open one at a time.

How to begin

  1. Enroll with a free account so the school keeps your place.
  2. Open the first class, lecture or reading and follow the order of the syllabus.
  3. Mark each lecture, reading and assignment complete when you finish it.
  4. Choose a weekly study goal to see when you will finish.

Syllabus

  1. Lectures Listen to the lectures in order. Those marked supplementary are optional.

    • Larger Catechism: Questions 101-110 (preface to the Ten Commandments and the first two) Camden Bucey (reader) 8 min (mp3 duration read with ffprobe from the episode page's audio file) Open source Primary text Reformed Forum Reads the OPC (American) text of the Larger Catechism. The 1647 text of WLC 109 lists 'tolerating a false religion' among the sins forbidden by the second commandment; the American text omits it. Keep as primary-text with the note; the 1757 Glasgow printing is the reference wording and the Standards reader must show...
    • Calvin and the Sabbath (Christ the Center) Richard B. Gaffin Jr. 58 min (mp3 duration read with ffprobe from the episode page's audio file) Open source Doctrinal Orthodox Presbyterian Church; Westminster Theological Seminary (emeritus)
    • The Synod of Dort's Deliverance on the Sabbath (Christ the Center) Daniel R. Hyde 63 min (mp3 duration read with ffprobe from the episode page's audio file) Open source Doctrinal Oceanside URC, Oceanside, California (United Reformed Churches; Three Forms)
    • The Rule of Love: Broken, Fulfilled and Applied (Christ the Center, with John Fesko) John V. Fesko (with the Christ the Center panel) 53 min (mp3 duration read with ffprobe from the episode page's audio file) Open source Doctrinal Westminster Seminary California (academic dean at the time), OPC American subscribers (1788 text). None of their items in this stream touches WCF 20.4, 23 or 31. No comparison heading needed in this stream; keep the standing note on the page.
    • The Roots of Reformed Moral Theology (Christ the Center, with Bruce Baugus) Bruce Baugus 71 min (mp3 duration read with ffprobe from the episode page's audio file) Open source Supplementary Reformation Heritage Books author; church affiliation not stated on the page Affiliation could not be confirmed this session (the WebSearch budget was exhausted and the institutional pages probed did not state it). Kept only in history or supplementary roles; confirm before any doctrinal use.
    • Van Til and the Foundation of Christian Ethics (Christ the Center) Scott J. Hatch 66 min (mp3 duration read with ffprobe from the episode page's audio file) Open source Supplementary Reformed Forum author; church affiliation not stated on the page Affiliation could not be confirmed this session (the WebSearch budget was exhausted and the institutional pages probed did not state it). Kept only in history or supplementary roles; confirm before any doctrinal use.

    Total: 5.3 hours

See the full syllabus