Sailing the Last Voyage with Newton and Pascal
To be called a "Pelagian" is about the worst insult that a Calvinist can hurl at you. So who was Pelagius? And how did his contemporaries react to it? Specifically, Pelagius was from Roman Britain; what did they think of it? Let's start with this, from Peter Salway's Roman Britain: One incident, in which the …
Continue reading "What the Britons Thought of Pelagius and Grace"
Recently received the following in the "electronic mailbag": Is there an essay, site, or book that describes the theological differences between the 1928 and 1979 prayer books? I have found one reference, "How Episcopalians Were Deceived," but not much else. I was raised (and remain) a Methodist. I developed an interest in the history of …
David Virtue lays the unpleasant mess out: By any criteria, it has become one of the most disastrous and devastating ecclesiastical battles since the formation of the Anglican Mission in the Americas (AMIA) and the later birth of the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA). It may well be the greatest single spiritual blot on …
Continue reading "Egos Inflatable to Any Size: The ACNA-AMiA Fiasco"
Albert Mohler documents the rise of the "Clergy Project": The Clergy Project’s own statement is even more blunt, describing itself as “a confidential online community for active and former clergy who do not hold supernatural beliefs.” Most people, believers and unbelievers alike, are no doubt in the habit of thinking that the Christian ministry requires …
Continue reading "Atheists in the Pulpit? The Last Step, but Not the First"
So we now have Mitt Romney as the Republican nominee for President. It's an odd thing in many ways, not because the party grandees threw their lot in with him--that's par for the course. It's odd because they were able to get it past the people who supposedly dominate the party--the "Religious Right", those dreadful …
Continue reading "Mitt Romney and the Religion of the Middle Class"
...or at least one of them: the burial of Manfred von Richthofen, the "Red Baron", on 22 April 1918, at Bertangles, France. He was buried by the Australians, as is clear from the uniforms. I don't know whether the chaplain, doubtless holding the 1662 BCP, was English or Australian, but the Anglican Church in Australia …
Continue reading "Cassock and Surplice Anglicanism's Finest Hour…"
My parting attempt at humour notwithstanding, the long and involved debate with Anglican Ablaze's Robin Jordan isn't as "over" as one would like. For his part he has sounded the trumpet against the monstrous regiment of Charles Finney. For mine, I'd like to take this another direction, because, as I said, I don't think the …
Continue reading "Calvinism, Perseverance and Assurance: Some Further Analysis"
Those of you who have followed my recent posts on Calvinism (this and this) and even my exposition on Origen and the literal sense of Scripture know that these have elicited a vigorous rejoinder by Robin Jordan of Anglicans Ablaze. With the responses from same and now his own blog post on the "slippery slope" …
Continue reading "Going Downhill with Anglicans Ablaze's Robin Jordan"
As a follow-up to my earlier post on Calvinism—and a partial response to Anglicans Ablaze’s Robin Jordan—I wanted to supply more details on my contention that Calvinism “…is the fastest road to universalism in Christianity.” Following is a part of Robert Morey’s Death and the Afterlife, where he discusses and ultimately refutes universalism. I heartily …
Fr. Victor Novak's recent article in VirtueOnline about Calvinism, Catholicism and the Thirty-Nine Articles opens an interesting subject for disparate groups such as Anglicans, Baptists and Pentecostals: why is there so much attraction these days for Calvinism in places where it was either non-existent or not well represented? Let's start with Fr. Novak's article. He …
