When General Baptists Became Particular Baptists
What happened in May 1755, significantly altered the early years of what would become southern Free Will Baptists, and nearly dealt their churches a lethal blow. Prior to the events that will be discussed below, Free Will Baptists were one of the most successful Protestant groups in the southern United States. That certainly changed in the following years. In May of 1755, Calvinist John Gano arrived at the General Baptist church near...
George MacDonald: Life, Works, Legacy
I was 14-years-old the first time I saw the name George MacDonald. It appeared in C.S. Lewis’ Surprised by Joy (1955). It didn’t make an impression initially, but as I read Lewis more, MacDonald’s name became unavoidable. “Whoever this MacDonald was,” I surmised, “he clearly made a profound impact on Lewis.” This may be your experience too: if you’ve heard of MacDonald at all, it’s been by way of Lewis. After all, he has been one of...
Book Review: Killing Calvinism
Some books elicit interest due to their subject matter. Others do so because of their literary quality. For me, the title Killing Calvinism (Cruciform Press, 2012) was enough to arrest my attention. As a Baptist pastor with strong convictions about the doctrine of salvation, new books on theological systems frequently pique my interest. Regardless of our spiritual sensibilities about “systems,” we all tend to have them. Written by...
Theological Triage
Discrediting Christianity is not too difficult these days: “Why work too hard or get our hands too dirty, when applying the labels Fundamentalist and Evangelical will do the trick of sending those pesky Christians back to the hills where they belong,” some think. These are the tactics of many media outlets. There is no denying that the Church is at odds with the things of this world. Though the world despises the Gospel, Christians...
Arminius on the Sanctification of the Believer
While Arminius is often known for his disagreements with Calvinism’s five points, many other aspects of his theology are often neglected. One such issue is the doctrine of sanctification. Both Arminians and Calvinist ignore his teachings as if he never spoke of it at all. Yet this issue defines much of so-called Arminianism today. So what does Arminius teach about sanctification? To answer this question, let us first examine what...
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