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Augustine – Christ's Words in John 6 are Figurative
The following are some quotations from Augustine on the question of whether Christ’s words in John 6 are figurative. I’ve numbered the quotations for ease of reference, if anyone wishes to remark on them in the comment box. Augustine’s writings are quite extensive, so I don’t promise that this is a complete list of all…
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The "Little Extra" of Believing the Word of God
Over at the interesting, and often thought-provoking, non-Calvinist blog “Diglot” (anonmyously authored), I found the following statement: I think that today’s Christianity in large part has fused the basics of the Christian gospel message together with many peripheral beliefs. When you become a Christian in today’s Western culture, you are not merely “accepting Christ” but…
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Sola Scriptura in Cyril of Alexandria's "Against Those Who are Unwilling to Confess that the Holy Virgin is Theotokos"
The Orthodox Research Institute has published an English translation of Cyril of Alexandria’s work, “Against Those Who are Unwilling to Confess that the Holy Virgin is Theotokos.” It’s not a huge tome, weighing in at about 50 pages of English text. Nevertheless, I think it serves to illustrate the Sola Scriptura approach of Cyril. Most…
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Does "Politics" Get to Trump God's Law?
Here’s a quick thought: in a “democratic” country with a lot of Christians, at least some of those interested in political power will seek to cater to the Christians. Thus, topics that interest Christians like “Freedom for Christians to worship and evangelize,” “marriage as defined by the Bible,” “fornication is evil,” and “killing babies is…
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The Introduction to "The God of Calvinism" (and Mr. Ruggiero's biography of Calvin)
As we continue our review of, “The God of Calvinism,” we come to the introduction. The introduction begins by framing the position that Louis plans to take: I made the decision to research this subject in March 2003, shortly after I debated Reformer James R. White on the subject of irresistible grace. As a result…
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"Why You Should Read This Book" Section of "The God of Calvinism"
Moving on in our review of Louis Ruggiero’s “The God of Calvinism,” we come to a prefatory section entitled, “Why You Should Read This Book” (pp. IX-XI). Part of this section also appears as the reverse cover material. The section starts out by alleging that Calvinism “maligns God’s character,” but then goes on to malign…
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Ergun Caner's Introduction to Louis Ruggiero's Book
Continuing my review of Mr. Louis Ruggiero’s book, The God of Calvinism, I come to the foreword by Ergun Caner. I had previously analyzed the auto-biographical aspects of that forward (here) so let me continue on to discuss the substance of Ergun’s statements. Ergun writes: Though this seems like quite a simple doctrine, in our…
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Louis Ruggiero's "The God of Calvinism"
Louis Ruggiero (aka LouRugg) has written the dangerously-titled book, “The God of Calvinism: a Rebuttal of Reformed Theology.” Ironically, the book has as front-matter before the (first) dedication “A Prayer at West Point Chapel.” The prayer reads: Make us choose the harder right instead of the easier wrong, and never to be contented with a…
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Quasi-Interview with Carl Trueman on Rome as "Default"
Someone recently quoted Dr. Carl Trueman to me in this way: “Every year I tell my Reformation history class that Roman Catholicism is, at least in the West, the default position. Rome has a better claim to historical continuity and institutional unity than any Protestant denomination… in the light of these facts, therefore, we need…
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Critique of Bishop Olmsted's Response
Bishop Olmsted, responding to blogger criticism of his decision to remove the “Catholic” designation from St. Joseph’s hospital because it took the life of a child in defense of the life of the child’s mother, stated: I really don’t read the blogospheres. I try to pray each day to find my identity in Jesus Christ.…