William Perkins Conference Final Paper

Our final paper was from Greg Salazar, currently studying for his PhD in Cambridge. He had four main points and spoke on

1.The Puritan defence of the sole authority of Scripture as against Roman Catholicism

Here he touched on the centrality of the Bible, the Catholic assault on the sole authority of Scripture and the Puritan response.

2. The Puritan defence of the centrality of preaching against conformists

Here he touched on attempts to supplant the centrality of preaching by emphasising the sacraments and reading Scripture and prayers

3. The Puritan defence of  the pursuit of holiness against antinomianism

Here he spoke of the Puritan pursuit of holiness and the influence of Emmanuel College, prophesyings, lectureships, etc. He also spoke of the assault on this position by Tobias Crisp, John Saltmarsh and others and the counter response from Samuel Rutherford.
He made four final applications
1, Be zealous for the authority of God's Word and on guard against supplemenetal authorities
2. Be convinced of the centrality of preaching and the folly of alternative forms of grace
3. Look for God's smiling face in frowning providences
4. Pursue disciplined holiness in community and be on guard against antinomian tendencies
(Sorry not to have posted this final report earlier)