Does God hate the sin and love the sinner?
The Calvinist International
by Mark Jones
4y ago
“God hates the sin but loves the sinner.” To make sense of this statement one would have to have a fairly sophisticated understanding of how this can be both true and false. The statement assumes a certain context and then an explanation within that context. It reminds me of the phrase, “God helps those who [cannot?] help themselves.” The first question we must ask is, Who is the sinner? Are we speaking about a non-elect person? Are we speaking about a believer who is living by faith? Are we speaking about an elect person before they come to faith? Can God both love and hate the same person? I ..read more
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Man and Woman: A Biblical Systematic Anthropology
The Calvinist International
by Steven Wedgeworth
4y ago
Christian sex and gender conversations are back. They never really went away, but the past few weeks have seen a number of new essays and other contributions on the topic. Recently, Dr. Scott Swain added a helpful essay to this ongoing discussion. In it, he explains the variety of categories necessarily to fully understand men and women from a Christian perspective. Using both natural philosophy and biblical exegesis, Prof. Swain attempts to create a systematic theological understanding of the sexes “will better ground traditional roles” while also “further expand[ing] the vistas of mutual, pe ..read more
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Protected: Man and Woman: A Biblical Systematic Anthropology
The Calvinist International
by Steven Wedgeworth
4y ago
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Review of Aimee Byrd’s, Recovering from Biblical Manhood and Womanhood
The Calvinist International
by Mark Jones
4y ago
Aimee Byrd, Recovering from Biblical Manhood and Womanhood: How the Church Needs to Rediscover Her Purpose (Zondervan, 2020). Aimee Byrd has written a book with a specific focus: as a member in a confessional Reformed denomination (OPC), she asks her readers “to look at the yellow wallpaper in the church and to do something about it” (p. 19). The yellow wallpaper “manifests itself in much of the current teaching on so–called ‘biblical manhood and womanhood’” (p. 21). The yellow wallpaper motif, which runs throughout the book, is a reference to Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s book, The Yellow Wallp ..read more
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Melanchthon on the Church and the Word (5)
The Calvinist International
by E.J. Hutchinson
4y ago
In today’s selection, Melanchthon affirms both that the church has never ceased to exist, from its establishment in the time of Genesis all the way up to the present, and that it nevertheless has often been quite small. This he proves from, for example, the case of Noah. Still, God does not let the church utterly perish; he sends teachers through whom it is renewed. The identity of Melchizedek, whom Melanchthon mentions, has always been mysterious. Melanchthon says he is Noah’s son Shem.  There is also some interesting material on pagan religion below, that is, that many ceremonies practiced b ..read more
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Melanchthon on the Church and the Word (4)
The Calvinist International
by E.J. Hutchinson
4y ago
In today’s post, Melanchthon cites one more patristic source (Origen) as an example of how the church’s authority is rightly deployed.  He then proceeds to sketch his understanding of the relation of the church to the Word and to give his definitions of what the church (1) is not, and (2) is. The church at its most basic is not its officers or institutional structure. It is the company of believers gathered by and around the gospel and the sacraments. On the Church and the Authority of the Word of God (Continued) Origen adduces the apostles on the subject of the baptism of infants. For he says ..read more
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Melanchthon on the Church and the Word (3)
The Calvinist International
by E.J. Hutchinson
4y ago
In today’s post, Melanchthon begins to marshal patristic support for his understanding of the relative weight of various authorities in theology. Melanchthon’s high view of both Scripture and patristic antiquity are clear in what follows from his use of Tertullian, Irenaeus, and Basil.   On the Church and the Authority of the Word of God (Continued) Tertullian 1 says in Against Praxeas that the following rule should be maintained against all heresies: whatever is first is right, but whatever is later is counterfeit. 2 And, indeed, he calls that “first” which has certainly been handed down by t ..read more
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Melanchthon on the Church and the Word (2)
The Calvinist International
by E.J. Hutchinson
4y ago
This is just a short one for today. In this passage, Melanchthon sketches how one ought to affirm the supreme authority of Scripture without going overboard. His concern for antiquity echoes Zanchi’s wonderful statement that “I, certainly, do not depart from antiquity unless I have been compelled.” Of particular note in this regard is the example he uses, Michael Servetus. Though Servetus is usually associated with John Calvin, it is worthy pointing out that his status as persona non grata was a cross-confessional phenomenon; you might even call opposition to Servetus the ecumenical movement o ..read more
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Melanchthon on the Church and the Word (1)
The Calvinist International
by E.J. Hutchinson
4y ago
A new week; time for a new series. This one, which will last for a while, will be on Melanchthon’s treatise De ecclesia et autoritate verbi dei (“On the Church and the Authority of the Word of God”), first published in 1539. My translation, which will be the first into English (I think? I could be wrong.), will come from the 1560 edition as printed in Corpus Reformatorum 23, pp. 595ff. On the Church and the Authority of the Word of God It is common for there to be arguments as to how much weight should be given to the judgments of the church, the decrees of synods, and the words of ecclesiasti ..read more
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“By the Mystery of Our Savior’s Fasting and Temptation”: The Collect for Invocavit Sunday
The Calvinist International
by E.J. Hutchinson
4y ago
I missed last week (sorry!) but here is the Collect for this week (Invocavit Sunday) from the Order of Worship for the Reformed Church in the United States, to accompany the Gospel reading from Matthew 6.1-11 and 2 Corinthians 6.1-10. Invocavit Sunday THE COLLECT WE beseech Thee, O Lord, by the mystery of our Savior’s fasting and temptation, to arm us with the same mind that was in Him toward all evil and sin; and give us grace to keep our bodies in such daily discipline, that our minds may be always ready to resist Satan, and obey the motions of the Holy Spirit; through Jesus Christ, our Lord ..read more
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