Reformation21

In the last month or two on Reformation21, I think it's safe to say I have decisively proven once and for all that: 1. John Wesley was an Arminian. 2. John Owen was a Paedobaptist. I have been challenged to prove other self-evident truths, such as "John Murray was a Calvinist" and "1775 was the...

A passage from Calvin's commentary on Ezekiel 18:14-17 has the distinction of being among the last, perhaps the last, of his comments on the relationship among justification, faith and works. Apparently written shortly before his death in 1564, it is perhaps as pointed as any of his comments on...

Social media has brought about many interesting phenomena. Some of them are quite irritating. Someone can be privately critical of another person, but still praise that same person publicly. I've seen it happen. In South Africa we have a name for these types of people. They are called "bless you...

Who likes a complainer? Complainers are unsettling to be around. Holiday meals ruined by laborious and endless complaints about how life has shortchanged them - the car that broke down too early, the college that should have given admission, the nurse who should have done the job better. A few...

Who likes a complainer? Complainers are unsettling to be around. Holiday meals ruined by laborious and endless complaints about how life has shortchanged them - the car that broke down too early, the college that should have given admission, the nurse who should have done the job better. A few...

Well, if I thought it was bad when I exposed a few less-well-known things about John Wesley , that's nothing compared to what happens when you touch the sacred shibboleths of Owenian Baptists! There was a bit of a social media frenzy about my post yesterday concerning John Owen's covenant theology...

I remember once telling a friend at church that I was going to go do a PhD on John Owen. They replied, "Oh yes, I know him. He's that great Baptist theologian." Somewhat startled, I thought I'd since made this point pretty clear. The great 17th century theologian John Owen practised and taught...

Do you remember the story of Hansel and Gretel? Two young children are taken out into the forest one day and then abandoned by their father, who can't afford to look after them anymore. (Perhaps it was during the credit crunch?) But they discover that this is going to happen just before they leave...

Divine blessedness is fruitful. Of course the divine blessedness itself, the beatitude of God, is fruitful, as the source of everything that has come into being. But my point here, as in the earlier articles in this series, is that the theological doctrine of God's blessedness is also fruitful, and...

Divine blessedness is fruitful. Of course the divine blessedness itself, the beatitude of God, is fruitful, as the source of everything that has come into being. But my point here, as in the earlier articles in this series, is that the theological doctrine of God's blessedness is also fruitful, and...