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You are here: Home / Archives for Reformed

Reformed

Wanted: A Dutch-to-English Translator

November 17, 2008 by Phil Gons

Abraham KuyperYesterday I stumbled across Kuyper’s dogmatic theology, Dictaten dogmatiek: College-dictaat van een der studenten, on Princeton’s digital online library. By the subtitle, it appears to be dictations from one of his students. I really wish I knew even enough Dutch to work through some of this with profit. Better yet, I wish I knew someone who knew Dutch and would be willing to translate his section on the Trinity for me: Hoofdstuk I. Het Dogma de Sancta Trinitate. It’s only 44 pages. Any takers?

Also, how about we get someone to translate the whole thing—all 3,486 pages of it—into English for print and digital publication?

[Read more…] about Wanted: A Dutch-to-English Translator

Filed Under: Books, Theology Tagged With: Abraham Kuyper, Dutch, Geerhardus Vos, Logos Bible Software, Petrus van Mastricht, Reformed, Trinity

Packer on the History and Theology of the Puritans

September 7, 2007 by Phil Gons

rts-virtual.jpgRTS Virtual at iTunes U just recently added J. I. Packer’s (Regent | Wikipedia) 16 lectures on the History and Theology of the Puritans. It looks like a great series of lectures. Packer’s adeptness in Puritan history and theology is evident in his helpful book A Quest for Godliness: The Puritan Vision of the Christian Life (Wheaton: Crossway, 1994).1

[Read more…] about Packer on the History and Theology of the Puritans

  1. This book is available for Libronix. [↩]

Filed Under: Theology Tagged With: conscience, iTunes, J. I. Packer, Libronix, Logos Bible Software, PastorBlog, Reformed

Was Jerry Falwell Reformed?

May 17, 2007 by Phil Gons

Ben Witherington (Theopedia | Wikipedia) apparently thinks so. In his recent post “Mr. Falwell Moves On Up” he said, “Throughout his adult life he remained a committed Reformed Dispensationalist Baptist.” When I read that I did a double take, as you probably just did. Reformed?! In what sense?! It seems that he is using Reformed as a synonym for Calvinist rather than as a synonym for Covenantalist, since it occurs alongside Dispensationalist.

Jerry Falwell (Wikipedia) a Calvinist?! The same man who just pronounced limited atonement heresy?! Here are the words from a chapel message entitled “Our Message, Mission and Vision,” which Falwell preached at Liberty University on Friday, April 13, 2007—almost exactly a month prior to his death.

[Read more…] about Was Jerry Falwell Reformed?

Filed Under: Theology Tagged With: Ben Witherington, Calvinism, James White, Jerry Falwell, John Piper, John R. Rice, limited atonement, Reformed, Spurgeon, Tom Ascol

Justification and the New Perspectives on Paul | Guy Prentiss Waters

May 14, 2007 by Phil Gons

Justification and the New Perspectives on PaulGuy Prentiss Waters. Justification and the New Perspectives on Paul: A Review and Response. P&R, 2004. 273 pp.

[rate 3]

I just recently came across Perrin’s evaluation of Waters’s Justification and the New Perspectives on Paul (WTSBooks).

“Whatever the merits of Justification and the New Perspectives as a primer on twentieth-century Pauline scholarship, the author has been less than successful in his interaction with the NPP. Indeed, assuming that Waters’s primary goal is to construct a convincing argument against the NPP (and N. T. Wright in particular), the book must be judged to have failed at a fundamental level.”1

[Read more…] about Justification and the New Perspectives on Paul | Guy Prentiss Waters

  1. Nicholas Perrin, “A Reformed Perspective on the New Perspective,” WTJ 67:2 (Fall 2005): 381-89. [↩]

Filed Under: Books, Reviews Tagged With: justification, N. T. Wright, New Perspective, Paul, Reformed

Titus 2:11 in Calvin

May 3, 2007 by Phil Gons

A few days ago I discussed Titus 2:11 in Context in light of my personal Bible reading and my stumbling across this rather bothersome statement by Donald Bloesch:

The Calvinist position, especially as transmitted through Reformed orthodoxy, stands in palpable conflict with the New Testament witness.1 Titus 2:11 assures us that “the grace of God has appeared for the salvation of all men.” The Pauline writer of 1 Timothy contends that Jesus Christ sacrificed himself “to win freedom for all mankind” (2:6 NEB).2

In case you skipped over the footnote, Bloesch said, “In this discussion we need to bear in mind that Calvin’s position and that of later Calvinism are not identical.”

[Read more…] about Titus 2:11 in Calvin

  1. In this discussion we need to bear in mind that Calvin’s position and that of later Calvinism are not identical. See Clifford, Atonement and Justification, pp. 69–110. [↩]
  2. Donald G. Bloesch, Jesus Christ: Savior & Lord (Downers Grove: InterVarsity, 1997), 168. [↩]

Filed Under: Exegesis, Theology Tagged With: all, Calvin, Calvinism, Donald Bloesch, justification, Reformed, Titus, Titus 2:11

Titus 2:11 in Context

April 30, 2007 by Phil Gons

“For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people (Ἐπεφάνη γὰρ ἡ χάρις τοῦ θεοῦ σωτήριος πᾶσιν ἀνθρώποις)” (Tit 2:11). This text is a favorite of Arminians and pseudo-Reformed men like Donald G. Bloesch, who asserts, “The Calvinist position, especially as transmitted through Reformed orthodoxy, stands in palpable conflict with the New Testament witness.1 Titus 2:11 assures us that ‘the grace of God has appeared for the salvation of all men.’”2

I don’t think a contextually sensitive reading of this passage will support such a naïve statement. While the context may not decisively rule out the interpretation Bloesch takes, several factors point in the direction of the following interpretation and demonstrate the gross misrepresentation of Bloesch’s statement.

[Read more…] about Titus 2:11 in Context

  1. In this discussion we need to bear in mind that Calvin’s position and that of later Calvinism are not identical. See Clifford, Atonement and Justification, pp. 69–110. [↩]
  2. Donald G. Bloesch, Jesus Christ: Savior & Lord (Downers Grove: InterVarsity, 1997), 168. [↩]

Filed Under: Exegesis, Theology Tagged With: all, Arminianism, Calvin, Calvinism, Donald Bloesch, justification, Paul, Reformed, Titus, Titus 2:11

“New Perspectives on Paul”

November 25, 2006 by Phil Gons

Justification in PerspectiveI just finished reading what is probably the best summary and most mature exposition of the contours of N. T. Wright’s theology of justification that I have read so far: “New Perspectives on Paul” by N. T. Wright, the final essay in the new volume Justification in Perspective: Historical Developments and Contemporary Challenges (2006), edited by Bruce L. McCormack. Wright responds to the numerous critiques that have been leveled against him over the past several years. The result is a more carefully nuanced and cogently expressed discussion of the central issues.

One thing I found very interesting was Wright’s assertion that the essence of his views on Paul was pre-Sanders. In other words, Wright didn’t rely on Sanders for his ideas. Rather, Wright came to his convictions independently—many of Sanders’s central points merely confirming what Wright had already been thinking (245–46).

[Read more…] about “New Perspectives on Paul”

Filed Under: Books, Reviews, Theology Tagged With: Bruce L. McCormack, covenant, ecclesiology, justification, N. T. Wright, New Perspective, New Perspective on Paul, Reformed

By Faith, Not By Sight

November 24, 2006 by Phil Gons

by-faith-not-by-sight.jpgRichard B. Gaffin Jr., By Faith, Not by Sight: Paul and the Order of Salvation. Paternoster, 2006. 114 pp.

[rate 4.5]

I’ve been reading portions of Richard Gaffin’s new book, By Faith, Not By Sight: Paul and the Order of Salvation (WTSBooks), and have found it helpful. Particularly insightful are his comments on (1) justification and the center of Paul’s theology and (2) the concept of eschatological justification.

The Center of Paul’s Theology

This selection summarizes his position well:

[Read more…] about By Faith, Not By Sight

Filed Under: Books, Reviews, Theology Tagged With: By Faith Not By Sight, eschatology, imputation, John W. Mahaffy, justification, order of salvation, Reformed, Richard Gaffin, righteousness, union with Christ

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