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Southern Baptist Convention presidential candidate J.D. Greear refuses interview with Louisiana Baptist state paper

What's up with Southern Baptist Convention presidential hopeful, J.D. Greear, refusing an interview with Will Hall, Editor of Louisiana's Baptist Message? According to Hall Despite making an appointment for a phone interview and after a substantive conversation, J.D. Greear declined to participate in a live question and answer session with the Louisiana Baptist Message about his run for the presidency of the Southern Baptist Convention. James David "J.D." Greear is lead pastor of The Summit Church, a mega-church in the Raleigh-Durham area of North Carolina. Greear also is Visiting Fletcher... Read more →

Gregory A. Wills: "Arminianism did not prosper in the Netherlands"

Gregory A. Wills summarily writes about the Synod of Dort's response to the Remonstrants, followers of Jacob Arminius. 'The Arminian Remonstrants summed up their doubts [i.e. concerning the purported teachings of John Calvin by Theodore Beza, et al] in five points. The Dutch church hosted the Synod of Dort, a gathering of the leaders of Europe's Reformed churches, which answered each point…These became known as the "five points of Calvinism."'1 Wills then writes, "Arminianism did not prosper in the Netherlands but attracted many followers in England and America." So far... Read more →

Mark Dever is (or was) a slobbering five point Calvinist

Though acknowledging about his church that he doesn't "for a moment care if they call themselves Calvinists" but instead cares whether they are Christ's disciples, Capital Hill Baptist Church pastor and founder of 9Marks, Mark Dever, reportedly said in a two-decade old Baptist Press article (7/30/96) he was a "slobbering five-point Calvinist." I describe myself to my congregation, though not on Sunday mornings, as a slobbering five-point Calvinist... Interesting indeed. I wonder if Dr. Dever is as publicly embolden concerning being a self-described slobbering five point Calvinist today as he... Read more →

Alabama Baptist association circular letter--"Christ Jesus made an atonement, general in its nature"

Below is a snippet from a circular letter published in 1843 for the North River United Baptist Association in 1843. Beginning in 1832, David Andrews an "Arminian" pastor was ousted from Bethel Baptist Church in Tuscaloosa and eventually led in the formation of the North River association. In the 1843 minutes, the circular letter is printed in full: But Brethren, pause and think back, and take a view of the situation of the churches in this section of country, some ten or twelve years ago, and contrast the condition of... Read more →

Heretic began Louisiana Baptist state paper

Louisiana Baptists' first denominational paper began in 1855 at Mount Lebanon, LA. Named Louisiana Baptist with Hanson Lee as its first editor, the paper was reportedly "ranked with the ablest religious journals of the south." Nonetheless, the paper suffered fatal ups and downs over the next two decades, changing owners several times, until it was sold to J.R. Graves in 1869 and subsequently discontinued. Almost ten years passed when Louisiana pastor, S.C. Lee heeded the call of Louisiana Baptists the state over of the need for a weekly newspaper to... Read more →

Alternate Presidential Candidate for #NeverTrump supporters Denny Burk, Russell Moore, and the ERLC

It's no secret that some high-profile Southern Baptists are pushing evangelicals toward a #NeverTrump position. Among the more aggressive top-tier influencers (especially among younger evangelicals) stand Denny Burk and Russell Moore, both Southern Baptists, both #NeverTrump members, both employees at entities owned by the Southern Baptist Convention--The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and The Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission respectively. Many Southern Baptists think their posturing toward #NeverTrump to be either misguided or unstudied. Below is one response to the third-party, write-in candidacy both Burk and Moore have recently promoted. First,... Read more →

Denny Burk: Principled if you don’t vote Trump, Unprincipled if you do

At least two high-profile Southern Baptists just can't get enough bashing Donald Trump supporters. One, obviously, is Russell Moore, who seems to fan the flame he's set to hotter and hotter temperatures. The latest piece Moore posted unexpectedly drew friendly fire from one of his own soldiers in the young, restless, and reformed base camp. It also solicited responses from what some may call more hostile critics (my own contribution may be found in a piece entitled "Is it time for Southern Baptists to get new leadership in Washington?"). The... Read more →

Is it time for Southern Baptists to get new leadership in Washington?

A new president of the greatest nation on earth will be sworn into public office in just over eight months. It's time. Eight years of Barack Obama's butchered policies and broken promises have choked to death the American spirit. He promised he'd unite us both racially and politically. However, only the most obtuse observer could deny that racially and politically, the United States of America has perhaps become more hostilely divided than in any known era of American history. Why Washington's Oval Office needs a new leader The President's latest... Read more →

Clinton Predictable. Trump Unpredictable. Ergo Clinton for President

Baptist pastor in Washington D.C., Thabiti Anyabwile, argues in a piece on The Gospel Coalition blog that it is apparently better to vote for predictable evil than unpredictable evil, the two evils represented by Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump respectively. In the current presidential election, that means since only two viable candidates exist, the defacto choice is between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton.1 And, for Anyabwile, it comes down to him voting for Hillary Clinton. "At this point, assuming Trump and Clinton are my only options, I'd vote for Clinton."... Read more →

Denny Burk on Russell Moore--"he has a way with words"

Trump criticizes Moore for being a bad evangelical! Boyce professor, Denny Burk, asks an interesting question(s) pertaining to Donald Trump's recent tweet questioning not only whether Russell Moore is a good representative of evangelicals, but also claiming Moore to be a "nasty guy with no heart." Burk rightly denies the latter but strangely affirms the former. Question: how can Russell Moore accurately represent a body of people (i.e. evangelicals) about which he emphatically claims he wants no part? Did Moore not publicly distance himself from evangelicals and evangelicalism? Did Russell... Read more →

"A soteriology without Calvinism is a path to bad religion and compromised churches." --Tom Nettles

"A soteriology without Calvinism is a path to bad religion and compromised churches." --Tom Nettles Claims like the above from aggressive Calvinists among Southern Baptists is precisely why I began this blog in 2006 posting non-Calvinist sources throughout the history of the Southern Baptist Convention, sources that High Calvinists like Nettles routinely ignore. For Nettles, the chief causal reason for the theological compromise on Scripture addressed by the Conservative Resurgence beginning in 1979 appears to be the loss of High Calvinism (i.e. T.U.L.I.P.) in the convention. And, too, according to... Read more →

Is Racism embedded all over the Southern Baptist Convention?

I've been trying to stay away from denominational politics. Honest! At times, however, it's impossible to stay on the wagon. Indeed as my good friend, Chris Gilliam, indicated in the Facebook thread (see below), one gets tired of the simplistic rhetoric. Below is a brief commentary I pecked out on my cell phone in response to an article detailing Russell Moore's indictment of widespread racism allegedly embedded within the Southern Baptist Convention. A Facebook friend asked me to post it on my blog so he could point his friends to... Read more →

Russell Moore: 'evangelicals who back Trump are unchristian'

Below is a brief commentary I penned on Facebook concerning what I perceive to be a unilateral campaign by the president of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, Dr. Russell Moore, to ensure Donald Trump is silenced as a presidential candidate. One of my good friends, Dr. Peter Wielhouwer, Associate Professor of Political Science at Western Michigan University, asked if I would place the piece on my blog so he could reference it. Hence, the commentary is pasted below in unedited format. ======================================================= Evangelical Leader Calls Trump's Christian Backers Unchristian... Read more →

Seminary president indicts Southern Baptists for funding shortfalls at International Mission Board

Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary president, Jeff Iorg, joins the chorus of high profile Southern Baptists (see here and here) who are publicly insisting the reason for the recent announcement of budgetary problems at the nation's largest and most prestigious missionary-sending agency in the United States, The International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention (IMB), is that rank-and-file1 Southern Baptists are "robbing God." In a short but pungent piece on the seminary president's blog entitled "Missionaries Are Coming Home," Dr. Iorg was anything but vague. "The basic problem causing... Read more →

IMB president's open letter and his "limitless" number of missionaries

Today, David Platt released an open letter to Southern Baptists. In it he described the process which led him to his "painful decision" announced this week about balancing the budget and the dismal spending patterns of the International Mission Board. "This is certainly not an announcement that I, in any way, wanted to make. At the most recent meeting of the SBC in Columbus, I shared with messengers how IMB spent tens of millions more dollars than we received last year. In our budgeting process over the last couple of... Read more →

Just what role did the trustees play in the International Mission Board's fiscal failure?

What role does the trustee board possess in overseeing an agency of the Southern Baptist Convention? Is the board primarily a support group for the agency's president and his administration? Do trustees of our convention agencies and/or entities function similarly to trustees of a local Southern Baptist church? A group possessing proxy empowerment to represent the church in real estate, banking, and other legal matters where the church's signature is required? Or, does the trustee body have more of an authoritarian role which includes writing, establishing, and maintaining agency policies;... Read more →

More dismissing fiduciary obligation of IMB administration and trustees

I recently expressed my lament over the recent announcement of the International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention (IMB). Not only is it hard to accept that at least since 2010, our missions-sending agency has outspent its predictable income by close to a quarter of a billion dollars, it also remains gut-wrenching to know IMB both sold off tens of millions of dollars of real estate and properties and depleted its cash reserves just to keep the doors open. Adding insult to injury, IMB officials announced it expects seasoned... Read more →

Six to 800 missionaries must come home apparently due to apathy of Southern Baptists

source Recently, International Mission Board (IMB) leaders announced a plan to scale back Southern Baptists' global mission effort by cutting personnel by approximately 15%. The plan was presented by President David Platt and his senior leadership team during an Aug. 27 "town hall" meeting, a meeting which included missionaries and staff and was available both on and off site (i.e. digitally). According to Baptist Press "Platt said the urgency of the plan is based in the reality that while Southern Baptist giving through the Cooperative Program and the Lottie Moon... Read more →

W.A. Criswell and Calvinism…Again

source When the Traditional Statement was released in 2012, it drew fire from many Calvinistic quarters across the evangelical spectrum not the least of which was Founders Ministries, then the largest network of Calvinists in the Southern Baptist Convention. Accompanying many of the criticisms of the document was an appeal for theological support from the late Pastor of First Baptist Church Dallas, Texas and Southern Baptist legend, W.A. Criswell. For example, Tom Ascol, the executive director of Founders Ministries, wondered aloud if Criswell would attach his name to the recent... Read more →

J.B. Nicholson, Jr.: 'Confessions of a Zero-Point Calvinist'

Undoubtedly, one of the most well-known Brethren believers remains the late Dave Hunt (1926-2013) who founded The Berean Call. Hunt's specialty was in the area of sectarian Christianity (i.e. "cults"), broadly establishing himself as an expert in the field and often debating "cult" leaders of almost every theological stripe.1 Sometime in the early 2000s, Hunt entered the theological battleground outside his studied specialty of Christian "cults" and began to critique a movement making waves across the evangelical landscape, including causing quite a stir among Brethren believers.2 The theological movement was... Read more →

Former vice president for news services fills editor vacancy at The Baptist Message

Baptist Press released today that former Baptist Press chief editor,* Dr. Will Hall, was unanimously elected editor of the state paper of the Louisiana Baptist Convention, The Baptist Message. Reportedly, Hall indicated his excitement for the "opportunity to contribute to the strong legacy of journalism that defines the Baptist Message. I also look forward to working with our government officials to promote public policies that reflect the values and interests of Louisiana Baptists." Few understand Baptist history, theology, and polity more than Hall. Undoubtedly, he makes a great follow-up choice... Read more →

Are Baptist bloggers the true “Baptist Press”?

Iowa pastor and blogger, Dave Miller, claimed in a rancorous blog he directed toward the personal credibility of veteran, award-winning journalist, Joni Hannigan, that Baptist bloggers like himself and those at SBC Voices constitute the real Baptist news agency of Southern Baptist Convention. "We are the true 'Baptist Press,'" he claimed, "exposing what needs to be exposed, discussing what needs to be discussed, and keeping people informed about what is really going on." Miller's comrade in online arms, JD Hall, mirrors similar sentiments about the significance of their self-praised blogging... Read more →

No difference between strict Calvinism and "Mahometanism" in viewing sovereignty?

Below are two descriptive selections from two 19th century sources, one selection of which describes Calvinism's view of sovereignty and the other Mahometanism's view (or, in today's term, Islam's view). The first is from an essay in Review & Expositor by famed Southern Baptist historian, A.H. Newman, entitled "The Calvinism of Calvin." The selection to be compared is from an entry entitled "Mahometanism" in Buck's Theological Dictionary (1838). A.H. Newman on Calvinism: "Before the first man was created God had established (statuerat) what he willed should take place (fieri) concerning... Read more →

God avenges Calvinist church by striking dead a non-Calvinist preacher

THE CHURCH IN PORTSMOUTH AND NORFOLK, VIRGINIA. In the year 1789, there were a few members in Portsmouth and its vicinity, who were of the Baptist society, but were members in the church at Shoulders's Hill. Through the instrumentality of Elders Elijah Baker, Thomas Armistead and others, there were several added in Portsmouth and Norfolk. After which, the members petitioned the Association, then held in the Isle of Wight, to send helps to constitute them into a church. Whereupon Elders John Meglamre and David Barrow were sent; who, when attending,... Read more →

North Carolina’s Friendship Baptist Association organized in 1861 as non-Calvinistic

On Oct. 25-26, 1861, a group of Baptist delegates from several churches met with the Valley Town Baptist Church on Valley River in North Carolina and organized the Friendship Baptist Association.1 Among the first orders of business was adoption of a confession of faith which all the churches forming the alliance could embrace. Below is the Confession of Faith originally adopted by the Friendship Baptist Association in 1861. 1. We believe in one only living and true God, and that there are three persons in the Godhead: the Father, the... Read more →

W.J. McGlothin-- "doubtful" whether The New Hampshire Confession of Faith "ought to be called Calvinistic"

William Joseph McGlothlin (1876-1933) was longtime Professor of Church History at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary before becoming President of Furman University in Greenville, SC in 1919.1 Educated at several institutions, including Southern seminary, studying theology under James P. Boyce's successor, F.H. Kerfoot, McGlothlin finally earned a PhD from the University of Berlin in 1902. He remains among Southern Baptists' most esteemed historians. Below is an excerpt from his text on Baptist confessions of faith, an excerpt containing his description of the New Hampshire Confession of Faith, the confession used in... Read more →

'Christ our Representative' by Christmas Evans

Christmas Evans (1766-1838) remains a legend among Welsh Baptists even to modern times. Below is a quote from one of his evangelistic sermons. Search the streets of Jerusalem; go to the garden of Gethsemane; inquire on the hill of Calvaiy. Who is willing to die for sinners to-day? There is the tree. There is the executioner, with hammer and nails. - Who will offer himself a sacrifice there, for the redemption of man? None but Jesus. None but Jesus was able ; none but Jesus was willing. “Here am I,”... Read more →

Sandy Creek Baptists viewed Reformed doctrine of election "troubling"

Emir Caner, President of Truett-McConnell College, writes an informative piece on the Sandy Creek tradition in the latest volume of the Journal for Baptist Theology and Ministry published by New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. Contra the view of many Southern Baptist Calvinists who dismiss virtually all theological distinctions between the Sandy Creek Baptist tradition and the so-called Charleston Baptist tradition, Dr. Caner suggests that "The Reformed definition of election was particularly troubling to those birthed out of a Sandy Creek (Separatist) heritage." He then quotes from famed Baptist historian, George... Read more →

Is every issue a gospel issue?

Below is a sampling from a young but obviously erudite theologian from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, Dr. Blake Newsom. In pursuing the question, What is the Gospel?, Newsom cuts through the literary wasteland in evangelical circles that tends to see all issues as "gospel issues" by flatly concluding "If everything is the gospel, then nothing is the gospel." Here's the entire contextual snippet: Of concern to this writer is that the gospel has become a buzzword in Evangelicalism. As is often the case with buzzwords, they lose their core... Read more →

Bob Jones, Sr. on Wine, Alcohol, Christian Drinking by David Brumbelow

My Texas pastor friend, David Brumbelow, has a great list of quotes on wine and the Bible at his site. Here's one quote from Bob Jones, Sr.: It is wonderful when God saves a drunkard which He sometimes does, but it is more wonderful still when God saves little children before they become drunkards, libertines, and degenerates.” -Bob Jones, Sr., Comments on Here and Hereafter, BJU Press; 1942. Read the entire article: "Bob Jones, Sr. on Wine, Alcohol, Christian Drinking" Also, David has written a definitive book on alcohol and... Read more →

Georgia Baptists receive $25m cash donation to retire massive debt

Just announced today on the Christian Index, the Georgia Baptist Convention received a grant in the amount of $24, 635, 300.13 from the Georgia Baptist Healthcare Ministry Foundation to pay in full the amount owed on the Georgia Baptist Missions and Ministries Center. Executive Director J. Robert White was understandably ecstatic. “I have been celebrating the payment of this debt with incredible joy...It still seems surreal." According to the Index, Dr. Frank Cox, Senior Pastor, North Metro Baptist Church, first publicly expressed the vision for the ministry center in 2001... Read more →

SBC Tomorrow: A Quick Update

Some hefty events have taken place since I last posted. In fact, I've only posted six times this year, one piece being the thoughts of a guest contributor. Nonetheless, I've forged some fairly strong conclusions about some of the more significant happenings in and around the Southern Baptist Convention, including but not limited to, my own place of employment. A lot of people have tried to "pick my brain" about Brewton-Parker College and the criticism surrounding the events of the last two months. And at times, I confess, it's the... Read more →

A final but hopeful plea for the healing of the Ergun Caner family by Bucky Kennedy

I would like to offer a final address toward the current circumstances regarding Ergun Caner specifically and then another issue generally. Ergun Caner had spoken with me several times after Braxton's death about lacking the energy or the will to get beyond the grief of Braxton's suicide. In early November, Ergun spent several days in ICU suffering from congestive heart failure and since then has been diagnosed with a heart condition that would have prevented him from continuing as the president of Brewton Parker C ollege. I was in the... Read more →

Ergun Caner steps aside as president: a man of God runs for his life

Undoubtedly among the most colorful characters of the exclusively oral prophets is Elijah from Tishbe of Gilead (1Ki 17:1).1 His name means "my God is Yah."2 Though a man of desert descent, Elijah became counselor to Kings. Perhaps Elijah remains most known for his public contest with the prophets of Baal and Asherah on Mount Carmel (1Ki 18:19-40). There the man of God posed a public challenge to over 800 false prophets as to who really was the true and living God. Samuel's enticing account captures the reader by every... Read more →

'Southern seminary founded to combat the great Arminian heresy'

"The founder of this seminary, whose portrait sits behind you, identified Arminianism as one of the three great heresies this institution was established to combat.” --President Al Mohler to Barry Hankins in interview-- "Oral Memoirs of R. Albert Mohler, Jr." Read more →

Spurgeon's ecumenism?

Certain brethren restrict their communion in the outward ordinance, and they think they have good reasons for doing so; but I am unable to see the force of their reasoning, because I joyfully observe that these brethren commune with other believers in prayer, and praise, and hearing of the Word, and other ways; the fact being that the matter of real communion is very largely beyond human control, and is to the spiritual body what the circulation of the blood is to the natural body,—a necessary process not dependent upon... Read more →

Does overseas missions strategy need reform? At least one SBC professor says it does

A piece by Will Hall in the Christian Examiner rehearses a journal article published in The Southwestern Journal of Theology by Midwestern professor of missions, Robin Dale Hadaway. Hall's article entitled "Prof calls for SBC overseas missions reform: Does drastic drop in IMB baptisms merit major remake?" lists among the changes Hadaway proposes: 1. Drop the two percent "reachedness" threshold and return to the original 20 percent or at least adopt a 10 percent baseline. "Exiting a people group that is more than two-percent evangelical," he said, "is the historical... Read more →

SACSCOC reaffirms Brewton-Parker College; drops probation

Below is the official press release pertaining to Brewton-Parker College and the Southern Association of Schools and Colleges. Since 2008, Brewton-Parker has had struggles with its accreditation status with SACSCOC, culminating in being placed on probationary status with SACSCOC in 2010. Dr. Ergun Caner was appointed president in December, 2013 and began his duties January, 1, 2014. Caner immediately began to work on the SACS issue knowing only a few months away in late April, a visiting team from SACSCOC would come for the final time before giving an up... Read more →

Lewis Duncan, Missouri Baptists, and General Atonement

1Lewis Duncan (1806-1852) was a native of Virginia, and born in Culpepper County, March 1st, 1806. Duncan grew up in moderate circumstances but nonetheless only received a partial common-school education. However, he managed to acquire a sufficient knowledge of the English branches to teach school. He professed conversion and was baptized in the spring of 1828. After his ordination to the ministry, Duncan quit teaching school. On October 16th, 1828, Duncan's family started for Missouri arriving about the middle of the following December and settling in Lincoln County where Lewis... Read more →

Georgia Baptists pass resolution on social media, cyber-bullying and teen suicide

Meeting at Ingleside Baptist Church in Macon Georgia, the 2014 Georgia Baptist Convention passed among others a resolution on cyber-bullying and teen suicide. Allen Rea, pastor at and messenger from Dunn Memorial Baptist Church, Baxley, GA submitted the resolution to the resolutions committee for consideration. It passed without opposition. RESOLUTION ON SOCIAL MEDIA AND CYBER-BULLYING WHEREAS, The Bible is clear concerning affirming positive, Christ-like interaction with all people whether verbally in person or using modern digital means such as social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter; and WHEREAS, the New... Read more →

Did Jesus tell Nicodemus he must be born again so he can believe the gospel?

I recently posted F.H. Kerfoot's editorial correction to James P. Boyce's teaching that regeneration precedes faith in the Ordo salutis published in Boyce's first edition of the Abstract of Systematic Theology (1887). Kerfoot was recommended to the trustees by Boyce himself to take over the theology chair at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. At first, Kerfoot became co-professor of theology alongside Boyce. However, that lasted only a short time due to Boyce's declining health. Thus, Kerfoot became the head of the theology department and served the chair of theology upon Boyce's... Read more →

Evangelical surprise: Billy Graham just may be a Calvinist!

On October 28, Dr. Rick Patrick, Senior Pastor, First Baptist Church, Sylacauga, Alabama posted a piece entitled "25 Traditional SBC Heroes" at SBC Today. Patrick named as the top contender for the number one hero amongst traditional Southern Baptists the Rev. Billy Graham. While one might quibble whether Graham deserves the no.1 hero seed, few would question whether Graham should make the hero lineup for traditional Southern Baptists. Within the comment thread, however, some extreme Calvinists (and perhaps others not so extreme) actually raised the question as to whether Billy... Read more →

F.H. Kerfoot on the Limited Atonement teaching of James P. Boyce: 'constant tendency of strong Calvinists is laying too much emphasis on the limitations’

The most obvious dissent F.H. Kerfoot recorded in his editorial work of James P. Boyce's Abstract of Systematic Theology seems to be his explicit rejection of strict Calvinism's insistence upon the doctrine of Limited Atonement. Whatever other theological qualms Kerfoot possessed concerning what Boyce had absorbed and embraced while at Princeton, all of them appear to take second place to Kerfoot's understanding of the atonement. So far as the future of Southern seminary and the seminary's student body were concerned, Kerfoot seemed convictionally fixed on teaching what he deemed the... Read more →

Our one peculiarity: "Baptists are individualistic"--W. W. Landrum

If Baptists have one peculiarity more pronounced than any other, it is the stress they lay upon the worth of a single soul. Baptists are individualistic. The church exists for the individual, and not the individual for the church. Presbyterians are rather familistic; the family they are disposed to regard as a religious unit. Methodists are tribalistic; the Conference is the religious unit. Episcopalians are nationalistic; they have a State Church in England and once had it here. Baptists are individualistic. They go forth to preach to every individual soul... Read more →

Redux: Southern Baptists Move Away from Rigid Calvinism: The Influence of F.H. Kerfoot

Below is a biographical piece on F. H. Kerfoot I forgot I originally posted almost eight years ago. I think it's vital info about Kerfoot relevant to the series of footnotes I'm presently posting from Kerfoot's editorial work on Boyce's Abstract of Systematic Theology republished in 1899. Note in the body of the piece my obvious unawareness that Kerfoot both challenged Boyce's position at several junctures and changed his wording at other key junctures to soften the strong Calvinism Boyce embraced in his textbook for future students at Southern seminary.... Read more →

F.H. Kerfoot's rejection of James P. Boyce's Federal Theology: "The reviser has always felt constrained to differ with the author"

In my last piece, I recorded the dissent F.H. Kerfoot noted concerning James Boyce's "regeneration precedes faith" doctrine almost universally proclaimed now by Southern Baptist Calvinists. Whether it's the young, restless, and reformed community or traditional "Founders" Calvinists, they routinely and almost invariably proclaim what R.C. Sproul famously calls the "cardinal point of Reformed theology." "When speaking of the order of salvation (ordo salutis), Reformed theology always and everywhere insists that regeneration precedes faith."1 In itself, this particular doctrine oozing from the neo-Calvinism resurgence accounts for a large part of... Read more →

F.H. Kerfoot says James P. Boyce "mistaken" concerning regeneration preceding faith

I recently ran across an essay Beeson Divinity School dean and professor, Timothy George, wrote in 1985 entitled "Systematic Theology at Southern Seminary." In the essay, George mentioned that perhaps the greatest accomplishment of James P. Boyce's chair of theology successor, F.H. Kerfoot, would be his editorial work on Boyce's magnum opus republished in 1899, Abstract of Systematic Theology. George also indicated some of the editorial comments Kerfoot included distanced himself from Boyce's strict Calvinism. I found George's claim facinating.3 Not having Kerfoot's edition nor any fortune in finding a... Read more →

Ron Vietti and Jim Crews' critics on Exposing Calvinism

Ron Vietti and Jim Crews (Vegas Campus) are co-pastors at Valley Bible Fellowship in Bakersfield, CA. Being the largest church in town, their recent exposé on Calvinism caused some Calvinists to experience complete meltdown. Vietti predicted with amazing accuracy the chatter splatter he would personally receive because of the stance he would take. But rather than focus on what some of the more hackneyed critics had to say, I'd like to turn our attention to an open letter written by Chad Vegas,1 Lead and Founding Pastor of Sovereign Grace Church... Read more →

Slip, slidin away: The Greasy Doctrine of Limited Atonement

Nineteenth century Baptist historian, David Benedict (1779-1874), details the forming of what is likely the very first Baptist church on American soil in Providence, RI by Roger Williams.1 Below are a few highlights one of which enlightens us concerning the theological shift that took place in the church while Williams was pastor. When they were out of the Massachusetts jurisdiction, they pitched in a place now called Rehoboth; but the men of Plymouth hearing thereof, sent to inform them that they were settled on lands within their territories. Now they... Read more →

F. H. Kerfoot softened James P. Boyce's strict Calvinism in first major edit

James P. Boyce is considered by many to be the "father" of historic Baptist Calvinism in America, especially Calvinism in the Southern Baptist Convention. Boyce's name is never far from those who speak of the theological "founders" of Southern Baptists. The president of Beeson Divinity School, Timothy George, wrote an essay in 1985 entitled "Systematic Theology at Southern Seminary" and published in Southern seminary's elder brother journal, Review and Expositor. In the section where he mentions the accomplishments of F.H. Kerfoot, Dr. George writes: Upon his death in 1888 Boyce... Read more →