Jacobus Arminius: On Predestination & Election (Part 2 of 2)
In Monday’s post, we introduced Arminius’ theology of election. We began by defining it as God’s eternal decree, according to His good pleasure, with its basis in Christ. We considered the important role of Trinitarian grace in Arminius, which takes all boasting away from man. Finally, we examined Arminius’ view of foreknowledge, which speaks to the fact rather than the cause of a given event. Thus established, we now consider what...
Jacobus Arminius: On Predestination & Election
During the month of June 2014, the Helwys Society Forum (“HSF”) is emphasizing General Baptist writers, works, and ideas. Free Will Baptists who take their spiritual heritage seriously must embrace the privilege and responsibility to know who our leaders were (and are) and what they taught (and teach). Thus far, Forum contributors have considered Thomas Helwys’ A Short and Plaine Proof and A Short Declaration of the Mystery of...
The Satisfaction of Sonship
by Frank Owens Two scenes. Two sons. Scene #1: One of the coldest winters in thirty years had sequestered the two of us in a Louisville apartment. Jesse was taking his first class in a new degree at Southern Seminary. We were also trying to turn student housing into a home for he and Tiffany. Every brush stroke and turn of the roller was a labor of love. I was a father satisfied with a son. Scene #2: We raised our voices with hundreds...
Thomas Helwys: A Short Declaration of the Mystery of Iniquity
Of all the works penned by Thomas Helwys, A Short Declaration of the Mystery of Iniquity is his most famous. A Short Declaration is Helwys’ interpretation of prophesies in John’s Apocalypse as taking place in England. Helwys uses apocalyptic imagery and prophesy to address the contemporary issues of his day [1]. Before dealing with the book’s specifics, an overview is helpful. The volume is split into four books. The first book lays...
Thomas Helwys: A Short and Plaine Proof
John Donne famously wrote, “No man is an island, entire of itself.” Likewise, no theology is formed within a vacuum, but rather emerges from within the context of human history. This is the same history in which God speaks, works, and incarnates Himself. We are called to remember the works of God (cf. Deut. 6:12; 1 Cor. 11:24; Rev. 2:5). For that reason, there is great value in studying history to try and understand how God has worked...
Surviving Seminary
by Zachery Maloney Being in seminary creates a number of tensions in one’s life, namely in the area of time-management. How do we balance various commitments? Balance is not really a word that we find in Scripture, though it certainly seems like a spiritual concern. If we’re all honest, most days end up imbalanced. The seminary student must accept the fact that the challenge of finding balance will never disappear, even beyond...
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