Baptists, The Definition Of Reformed, And Identity Politics (Part 3)

If the objective, historical evidence is as clear as I claim about the historic definition of the word Reformed, why does this debate even exist? Again, the roots of this debate are partly to be found in the way Baptists think of themselves and others, particularly in the USA. Continue reading →

Baptists, The Definition Of Reformed, And Identity Politics (Part 2)

In part one, we began a survey of Reformed statements to demonstrate how the Reformed and the Baptists are two different traditions with distinctly separate understandings of redemptive history. Theodore Beza’s personal confession of faith (Confession De Foi Du Chretien, 1559) was . . . Continue reading →

Baptists, The Definition Of Reformed, And Identity Politics (Part 1)

It is a widely held belief among a relatively large number of Baptists and not a few Presbyterian and Reformed (P&R) folk that Baptists can be Reformed. Indeed, it is widely held among those in the Baptistic traditions that they (as distinct . . . Continue reading →

Video: The Abraham Paradigm

Friday and Saturday of this past week I had the privilege of speaking to congregation of Covenant Presbyterian Church (OPC) and to their guests in Ft Worth, TX on “The Abraham Paradigm.” They were very gracious and patient with me. It is . . . Continue reading →

John Owen Did Not Read Hebrews Like A Baptist (Part 4)

In volume three, where Owen begins his commentary proper on the text of Hebrews, he makes illuminating remarks on Hebrews 3:1–2, about how he understood the movement of redemptive history and the comparison and contrast that Paul makes in Hebrews between Moses . . . Continue reading →

John Owen Did Not Read Hebrews Like A Baptist (Part 3)

It is a small thing—so small that it might go unnoticed—but as in Exercitation VI, in Exercitation XIX where Owen considered the “State and Ordinances of the Church Before the Giving of the Law,” he consistently spoke of the “Jewish church.”1 To . . . Continue reading →

John Owen Did Not Read Hebrews Like A Baptist (Part 2)

In his exercitation on “the oneness of the church” Owen argued seven points. Each and all of them were in the service of what Reformed theology calls the unity of the covenant of grace. For Owen and the mainstream of Reformed orthodoxy, . . . Continue reading →

John Owen Did Not Read Hebrews Like A Baptist (Part 1)

It is the habit of some of our Particular Baptist friends to imply, suggest, or even to say plainly that the great English Reformed theologian John Owen (1616–1683) was practically Baptist in his covenant theology.1 He is arguably one of the greatest theologians . . . Continue reading →

Devlet Kiliseyi Taklit Etmeli Mi?

K isimli bir okuyucumuz bana yazarak şu soruyu sordu: “Eğer Tanrı’nın Sözü kadınların öğretmesini ve yetki kullanmasını yasaklıyorsa, devlet neden aynı ilkeyi izlemesin?” Bu güzel ve ilginç bir soru. Elçi’nin 1 Timoteos 2:11-13’te kadın-erkek ilişkilerine dair öğretisini 613 emir (mitzvoth) yerine yaratılışa . . . Continue reading →

Hepimiz Gerçekten İbrahim’in Çocukları mıyız?

Geçenlerde duyduğum bir şey, üç büyük Batı dini hakkında sıkça dile getirilen bir iddiayı düşünmeme neden oldu: Yahudilik, Hristiyanlık ve İslam. Hepimizin sık sık “kitap ehli” ve aynı sıklıkta da “İbrahim’in çocukları” olduğumuz söylenir. Bazen bu iki ortak noktaya dayanarak, birbirimizi ortak . . . Continue reading →

Abraham, Moses, and Baptism

I am in the midst of an interesting discussion of baptism with a friend. This friend has Baptist convictions, yet he understands Reformed theology better than many of the Reformed. He is quite sympathetic to historic and confessional Reformed theology. For example, . . . Continue reading →