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Dordt and Common Grace
The expression “common grace” has an historical connection to the Remonstrants. That has led some Calvinists to reject entirely the term “common grace,” and to make this a shibboleth of “true Calvinism” or “classical Calvinism.” Such a shibboleth is foolish and mistaken, both because folks like Matthew Henry, Thomas Manton, and Jonathan Edwards used the…
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Ponter and Paul on Sincerity (revisited)
David Ponter is a Unicornucopia of error in his attempt to challenge the “sincere offer.” My friend Paul has already provided a general response pointing out that a flaw of Ponter’s analogy is denial of omnipotence. Let’s take it a step further. Ponter’s idea is expressed through this analogy: David says to his friend Paddy,…
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Sincere Offer, Election, and Limited Atonement
My friend Paul has posted a response to David Ponter’s response to James Anderson’s comments on Limited Atonement and the Free Offer. It’s a very detailed and worth reading. Allow me to post some shorter thoughts on the topic, namely the objection: Is the “free offer” of the gospel really “sincere” if Jesus only died…
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Roots of the Samaritan Religion
A further evidence for the fact that Jeroboamic worship of the golden calves was an attempt to worship the Lord by images can be seen from the unusual post-exilic religion in the region of Israel, from which the Samaritan religion appears to have been derived. The account of that religion’s origin can be seen in…
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"Conservative" Ratzinger/ Benedict XVI and Evolutionism
When Ratzinger became pope, the the Times presented it this way, “The conservative Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger of Germany has been elected the 265th Pope and will be known as Benedict XVI.” Undoubtedly, Ratzinger is conservative compared to some German theologians both within his own communion (such as his former colleague, Hans Kung) and outside the…
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Facing the Shame
Upon reading a saddening post from the Bayly brothers, I would like to join in agreement with the point of his post regarding the necessity of fathers facing the shame that can come from dealing with family-on-family crime. I would like to bolster that with the moral example we are given in the case of…
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Why it is Important to Go Back to the Sources, Illustrated.
The following is a transcript of about four minutes from an informal radio debate from the Bible Answer Man program (source): James White: I think it was God’s purpose to preserve the children of Israel alive in Egypt. So it was his purpose to send Joseph and he did so by having him sold into…
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The Worship of the High Places
When we read in Scripture about the worship in the “high places,” some of us may automatically assume that this is a reference to pagan worship. That assumption is not fully justified. Although the people of Israel were not commanded to worship God in “high places,” nevertheless it seems that they did. The first clear…
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Response to Roman Apologetic Comment …
This comes from the comment box of Mark Shea’s post regarding Augustine, Scripture, and Nicaea. It’s not him commenting (as far as I know), but another member of his religion. Here’s the quotation: The Catholic (i.e. Universal) Church has Taught, and never wavered from [its] teaching on the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist…
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Bonaventure in English – Index
I cannot fully recommend the works of Bonavanture, sometimes referred to as “the Seraphic Doctor.” Some people have speculated that Bonaventure serves as one of the links between Augustine and Calvin in terms of Calvin’s doctrines of grace. I have not found very many English translations of Bonaventure’s works, and only one English biography of…