In 2016, there was an eruption in conservative Evangelical and Reformed theologians surrounding the doctrine of the Eternal Functional Subordination of the Son (EFS). There’s no need to rehash what has already been said, as that has been summarized helpfully elsewhere. Needless to . . . Continue reading →
Biblicism
What Socinianism Is And Why You Should Know
The term “Socinianism” has recently appeared in various theological discussions, especially as it relates to topics such as the doctrine of the Trinity and biblicism. At the same time, many have little familiarity with the history or definitive marks of Socinian thought. . . . Continue reading →
Calvin Contra Biblicism
Nearly half a century after R. T. Kendall published “Calvin and English Calvinism to 1649,” the debate of “Calvin versus the Calvinists” rages on. Kendall’s was not the first attempt at pointing out supposed discontinuity between Calvin and his successors, of course. . . . Continue reading →
And We Wonder Why
“How can the profusion of lying images of Jesus not undermine faith in the church’s witness…especially for children? What’s the cognitive effect of seeing a dozen versions of Jesus? Continue reading
The Antidote to Biblicism
The error of biblicism is expressed by those who say, “Well, you have your verses and I have mine!” – as if all verses carry equal weight.
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American Presbyterians’ “Bible-onlyism”
THE POINT HERE IS NOT SO much the problems of recent Catholic and evangelical statements (though we do dissent from those affirmations). Rather our concern is with the understanding of religious traditions and their truth claims that undergirds not simply such statements . . . Continue reading →
Postmodern Confessionalism?
The relationship between biblical authority and ecclesiology has always been interesting. The Reformed commitment to sola Scriptura was never biblicism, as if it were solo Scriptura.1 The Reformed tradition from its outset was at the same time devoted to the Bible’s ultimate . . . Continue reading →
Heidelcast 208—Taking Calls On Church Discipline For Doctrinal Error, Final Salvation Through Works, Divinization, Justice, Ecstatic Worship, And Providence
This episode might be what some would call a “humdinger” if only because we were able to fit in all six calls and give some answer to each. Daniel called to ask how the church should respond when a lay member adopts . . . Continue reading →
Review: Five Things Theologians Wish Biblical Scholars Knew
Hans Boersma, Five Things Theologians Wish Biblical Scholars Knew (Downers Grove, IL, InterVarsityPress, 2021). Introduction The idea behind this book is good. The author is right to say that no one approaches the biblical text without a prior commitment to metaphysics. Nevertheless, . . . Continue reading →
Muller On The Sources Of Biblicism
The rise and development of Socinianism in the seventeenth century cannot entirely account for the variant trinitarianisms of the age, including the English debates of the 1640s and 1650s, the variant language and historical perspectives of the Cambridge Platonists, and the doctrinal . . . Continue reading →
New Resource Page: On Biblicism
Biblicism is not the attempt to be faithful to Scripture (i.e., to be biblical). Rather, in its extreme form, biblicism is the attempt to read Scripture in isolation. It is the attempt to read Scripture in isolation from the rest of Scripture . . . Continue reading →
How Did Some Evangelicals Come To Teach The “Eternal Subordination Of The Son”? Biblicism
Further, I am sincerely heartened by Fred’s optimism. I hope he is right. The best-selling evangelical textbook on systematic theology now includes a clear affirmation of the eternal generation of the Son and has removed the appendix that cast doubt on it. . . . Continue reading →
Trueman: Might You Be A Socinian And Not Know It?
Cut some of the leading evangelical writers of the last decades and they bleed Socinus—without even knowing his name. For example, Wayne Grudem’s Systematic Theology, the most widely read text of its kind in English-speaking conservative evangelical circles, rejects eternal generation of . . . Continue reading →
Augustine Contra Biblicism
Or if anyone should think this is untrue, I am not going to quarrel about it. After all, I am clearly dealing with Christians, who rejoice over their knowing the holy Scriptures without human guidance; and if that is the case, it . . . Continue reading →
John Owen Defended Eternal Generation Against The Socinians
He Also Opposed Biblicism
Now, if Christ be not begotten of the essence of his Father, he is only a metaphorical Son of God by way of allusion, and cannot be called the proper Son of God, being only one who hath but a similitude to a proper Son Continue reading →
More Conference Audio: Biblicism Versus Sola Scriptura
Here is the fifth installment of the audio from the conference, So You You Say You Want A Reformation? hosted by Bethlehem Bible Church in West Boylston, MA. This is one of the Saturday morning talks, on aspects of the QIRC (quest . . . Continue reading →
Audio: With Back To The Reformation Podcast On The Value Of The Reformation For Evangelicals
Recently I talked with Matthew and Onnig of the Back to the Reformation podcast about the value of the Reformation for contemporary evangelical churches, about what biblicism is (hint: it does not mean “to be biblical”), about American religious history and the . . . Continue reading →
One Way To Escape Biblicism
Much of recent American Reformed theology has been caught up for some time in a distorted form of biblicism that has fallen into the trap of trying to reinvent the theological wheel in areas where doing so is fraught with danger—in particular, . . . Continue reading →
Turretin Defended Divine Simplicity Against The Socinians
Is God most simple and free from all composition? We affirm against Socinus and Vorstius I. The Socinians agitate this controversy with us since they deny that simplicity can be attributed to God according to the Scriptures and think it should be . . . Continue reading →
Maybe It Comes Down To Method?
We understand that some strands of Baptist and evangelical life have not typically learned the habit of creedal thinking but have tended to emphasize independent Biblicism and personal exegesis. Perhaps that lies at the root of much of this dispute. But this . . . Continue reading →