Westminster Conference 2020

CAPTIVE TO GOD’S WORD

You may be aware that the Westminster Conference this year has not been possible but there is a short online version next week. The two sessions will be

Tuesday 1st December 2020

2.00pm ~ LUTHER AND AUTHORITY

DAVID MCKAY ~ Pastor of Shaftesbury Square RPC, Belfast

Luther stands astride the history of the Reformation like a colossus. We all know, or think we know, his famous, “Here I stand …” But what governed his life and bound his heart? Who or what directed Luther’s steps? In some respects, he could be seen as a flamboyant rebel with a stiff neck. In others, he appears a humble subject with a bent knee. We need to see him in a milieu in which authority was very differently understood in comparison to our own day, and to learn how he wrestled with and submitted to authority, whether God’s or man’s.

3.15pm ~ BELLARMINE AGAINST THE REFORMERS

LEONARD O DE CHIRICO ~ Pastor of Breccia di Roma

If you read much Protestant and Reformed theology from the 16th and 17th centuries, especially of a more polemical kind, you are likely to come up against the name of Robert Bellarmine (1542–1621). Who was this man, and why was he such a significant interlocutor with the Reformers and their successors? Leonardo De Chirico will introduce the man, survey his works and his thought, and help us to understand how and why he became one of the most prominent and even respected opponents of the Protestant Reformation.

The conference will be on more than one platform. The Youtube link is

Westminster Conference 2020 on YouTube 

Westminster Conference 2020 on Facebook

So, God willing, the conference will run from 2pm until 5pm on Tuesday 1st December 2020. Two of our original speakers will be joining us to deliver two papers, followed by a round table discussion.

At 2pm, David McKay, pastor of Shaftesbury Square RPC, Belfast, will speak on Luther and Authority. After a short break, at 3.15pm Leonardo De Chirico, pastor of Breccia di Roma, will address us on Bellarmine against the Reformers. Immediately following this paper, our two speakers will participate 

in a moderated round table discussion. We expect to conclude by about 5pm.

Anyone is welcome to join us. We hope that this may be an opportunity for many who do not normally attend the conference in person to get a taste of the theology and history which we love to study and from which we delight to learn. Some eighty have registered so far.

As we are not holding a full conference this year, there will be no printed publication for 2020