Sponsors
Recent comments
Current discussions
Top 10 Tips for Sleep Deprived Prayer (4 comments)
Taking ‘crazy’ one step closer to ‘can do’ (2 comments)
Stress-throwers and stress-absorbers (0 comments)
Recent posts
10 in 2 by Ben Pfahlert (6 comments). In January 2010 I set myself a goal that has transformed my diary, my thinking, my reading and the … more
Taking ‘crazy’ one step closer to ‘can do’ by Guest blogger (2 comments). Guest blogger Mikey Lynch, one of the directors of The Geneva Push, talks about the network's approach to … more
Top 10 Tips for Sleep Deprived Prayer by Jennie Baddeley (4 comments). There are so many reasons for losing sleep it's not really worth listing them. You're either getting enough sleep or you're … more
Stress-throwers and stress-absorbers by Jean Williams (0 comments). Are you a stress-thrower or a stress-absorber? A stress-thrower blames things on others and expresses stress in anger; a … more
‘Missional Lifestyle’: Education by Nicole Starling (11 comments). This is the fifth in Nicole's series on ‘missional lifestyle’. Read parts 1, 2, 3 … more
Why do we pray for others? by Scott Newling (1 comment). Learning to pray for others is one of the first things we learn as Christians: we see it commended … more
Forgiveness and repentance (part 8): Does God only forgive us when we repent? (ii) by Mark Baddeley (17 comments). (Read parts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7.) Does … more
The power of example by Peter Sholl (3 comments). Mexico in the 1940s was a country trying to come to grips with the 20th century. While discoveries of oil and … more
Forgiveness and repentance (part 7): Does God only forgive us when we repent? (i) by Mark Baddeley (29 comments). (Read parts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6.) We have been … more
The gospel to Greeks by Karen Beilharz (0 comments). For the past three Saturdays, we've been looking at contributions to the old Briefing ‘People in Ministry’ column, … more
Tony Payne
Paul is one of the Staff Editors at Matthias Media. He is married to Cathy and has three fantastic kids. He loves student ministry, reading, writing music and playing the saxophone, and is looking forward to meeting Jesus face to face.
Sola Panellists
Some other sites
we like (Why these?)
- Matthias Media
- The Briefing
- 9Marks
- Albert Mohler
- Anglican Church League
- challies
- David Ould
- ENTRUST
- EQUIP book club
- Girl Talk
- Gordon Cheng's Blog
- The Gospel Coalition
- Jean Williams's blog
- Justin Taylor
- Lionel Windsor
- Monergism
- Moore College
- MTS
- Nicole Starling's blog
- Phillip Jensen
- Pyromaniacs
- The Proclamation Trust
- Reformers' Bookshop
- The Simeon Trust
- The Ugley Vicar
I should add that I wish I had come across the re-print of Parker’s Portrait earlier, as I now see how much later biographical sketches are dependent on him.
He really gives you an excellent feel for Calvin, above all as a Bible man, with plenty of quotes from Calvin himself.
One slight disappointment is that he does use footnotes and thus does not tell you where each quote comes from.
I had also come to the same conclusion I later discovered Ligon Duncan expressed, which is that Parker does have some Barthian qualms about Calvin on predestination and also reads him as a conservative Barthian on his doctrine of Scripture.
I should also put in a plug for Moore College’s annual School of Theology “Calvin@500”.
Their blurb says that
DATES: 16th and 17th September
Speakers:
Lastly, St Andrew’s Cathedral in Sydney has organised a one-day conference on “Calvin and the Holy Spirit” (scroll down the link for more info).
2-5pm Saturday
25 July 2009
Speakers:
Perhaps the lack of comments shows the lack of interest, or maybe you all beat me to the punch. But I did remember one more fascinating side issue - Justin Taylor’s question on the origin of TULIP - the acronym - not the five points of Calvinism it picks up.
This flushed out a great article by Ken Stewart (direct link to pdf), which I would urge anyone who uses the acronym to read. That, and a little further research by commenters on Justin’s thread revealed that it seems there’s no evidence of the acronym TULIP being used much before 1900. Stewart’s survey also shows that people before weren’t especially in favour of the term ‘limited’ either, preferring ideas like particular redemption. But read his article for yourself.
If you want to listen to Calvin preaching, you can download one of his sermons in mp3 format from http://www.theologian.org.uk (which has a special 500th birthday edition in honour of Calvin - with other goodies on there too). There’ll also be an article in the next Themelios journal on union with Christ in Calvin on Ephesians.
Hi Lee and thanks for your link. I love the fact that you read one of his sermons too. I only wish we’d recorded ours. Thanks for your ministry at The Theologian…
Now here’s a link to Michael Horton’s top five books on Calvin.
the only birthday ,the christian world should be celabrating publicly is, our lord and saviour’s Jesus Christ. John calvin’s 5 point tulip theory is largly not biblical, also John calvin does not get a mention in the bible, and the vast majority of the christian world today does not accept or recognise calvin’s 5 point theory.
I would enjoy to read your thoughts sandy.
Hi Darren, and thanks for posting.
No one is making you celebrate Calvin’s birth or his teachings. Please feel free to ignore him if your conscience so dictates.
However, what verse or principle of the Bible can you give me for forbidding the celebration of a birthday or an anniversary? I would have thought that it was a matter of Christian liberty. There’s an old saying which says, “Do not forbid what God does not forbid, and do not command what God does not command.”
Of course, we should not imply that Calvin was perfect, and if you had been at St Michael’s you would have heard us make this point on several occasions.
In regards to Calvin and TULIP, you may have noticed that I did not say it was his theory, although it flows from the strong view of God’s electing sovereignty which he taught. And of course Calvin was not mentioned in the Bible! Neither is the internet or computers, but we discuss and even benefit from them too!
Lastly, on the merits or otherwise of TULIP, I would have thought you needed to demonstrate why it is not biblical, rather than just assert it. And certainly the argument that many Christians don’t accept it is not a very strong argument. Since when did we determine truth by how many votes it could attract? (See 2 Tim 4:3-4!)
Unfortunately for this discussion, I am going away on some annual leave where I am away from the computer, and so will not be able to comment much further. If I can manage it, I will post a link to the audio files, so people can assess for themselves how well my material on TULIP interacted with God’s Word.
Thank you very much for posting such a wealth of timely resources.
It is quite unfortunate that many moder-day “christians” misuderstand John Calvin just as much as the rest of the world have.
Michael Jensen writes about this in an article printed in The Australian, which can be visited here: http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,25685534-7583,00.html
Whatever faults John Calvin had, he was still a man used mightily of God to show us the God-Centredness of God’s Word… the God-Centredness of His creation… the God-Centredness of life, death, salvation, damnation, victory and defeat… John Calvin helped point us to the Centrality of Christ in All Things, exactly as Scripture proclaims:
“For by Him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by Him, and for Him: And He is before all things, and by Him all things consist.”
BB Warfield has written, “The Calvinist in a word, is the man who sees God. He has caught sight of the ineffable Vision, and he will not let it fade for a moment from his eyes—-God in nature, God in history, God in grace. Everywhere he sees God in His mighty stepping, everywhere he feels the working of His mighty arm, the throbbing of His mighty heart… In every modification of what is, that takes place, His hand is visible, as through all occurrences His “one increasing purpose runs”. Man himself is His—-created for His glory, and having as the one supreme end of his existence to glorify his Maker, and haply also to enjoy Him for ever. And salvation, in every step and stage of it, is of God.” (http://www.reformationtheology.com/2006/07/what_is_calvinism_by_b_b_warfi.php)
May more and more of today’s “christians” see Christ as Scripture reveals Christ, just as Calvin reminded us to.
Please enjoy this article by Pastor John Samson about Calvin: a mere man born 500 years ago, but whose intensely Biblical vision of Christ we all need especially today. (http://www.reformationtheology.com/2009/07/john_calvin_born_500_years_ago.php#more)
Thank you and God bless!
hi sandy
for mine “christian” liberty is about celebrating christ and not trying to advertise John calvin and his doctrine. which is not biblical. for example the L in tulip is heresy to say the least, how so? 1tim 1:15 christ died for sinners [plural], who are sinners? rom 3:23 for “all” have sinned.
1tim 2:4 God wants all to be saved,john 3:16 God loved the world not many or some.
or john 12:32 when christ is lifted up on the cross he draws all men to himself.
Darren, if you want to throw the heavy charges of heresy around so easily I am not sure there’s much value in trying to discuss these matters - especially via the format of a blog.
If you think it is enough simply to quote the verse you have without entering into the exegetical questions of what each verse means in its context and how to read Scripture in light of Scripture and so on, then we have even less chance of a fruitful discussion.
Christians on both sides over disputes about predestination know it’s more than just quoting a few ‘proof texts’. The best form of interaction will try to engage with the alternative view in its strongest form, rather than damning it with the easy charge of heresy and thinking that quoting a couple of verses has substantiated such a crime.
I wish you well, but as I said, I am off for some annual leave.
hi sandy
i trust you will have a good holiday. I am happy to discuss the bible further with you. but as far as translations are concerned, they have been taken care of, hense we have the bible in english. I would also add that I have no interest in “man inspired” books or lofty letters out side the bible.
looking forward to chatting with you
Commenting rules
If you would like your comment to be considered for publication, please observe the following rules:
Failure to adhere to these rules will result in your comment being quietly deleted.
If you want to give us feedback but don't want your comments to appear on the blog, DON'T use the form below. Instead, please send us an email or click on the button below.
Your Comment
Commenting is not available in this weblog entry.