Conference in Cambridge

Williams, Bejon, Howard,Watkins

On Saturday I was in Cambridge for a conference organised by Tyndale House. We were in C3 an impressive state of the art church building, complete with a glitter ball, something we somwhow manage without here in Childs Hill. About 120 were there with others online. The day was split up into four sessions. Tony Watkins began with a gentle reminder of the importane of the Old Testament. Then the dynamo that is Peter Williams presented an eclectic paper on archaeology and names and other helpful matters to help us with the Old Testament. He actually had us reading Moabite! Not an every day experience at all. After lunch we had two more helpful papers on genealogies (James Bejon) and the Assyrian invasion of 701 BC (Caleb Howard). There was also a Q&A at the end. I hardly knew anyone there but it was nice to talk to one or two (a young man from a Grace Baptist church, a lady and her home schooled children, an American student new to Cambridge). I picked up some of ther brilliant magazines and a free book too. They are doing great work. Check out their website here.

Oxbridge

Tejvan Pettinger, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

One of the news items today has been about how few students from the north or from lower income families or ethnic minorities go to Oxford or Cambridge. Apparently if you take five elite schools - Eton, Westminster, St Paul's Boys and Girls and state-funded Hills Road Sixth Form College in Cambridge, together they sent 946 pupils to Oxford and Cambridge 2007-2009. By contrast, 2,000 lower-performing schools combined sent a total of 927 students to the two universities, getting less than 6% of available places (this is according to the Sutton Trust). Many of these schools sent no pupils at all, or on average fewer than one per year.

One can understand the frustration. One of my regrets in life is not having gone to Oxford. I did try, with no encouragement from my school. My parents were keen but clueless. I sat an entrance exam and was then interviewed for Lincoln College. They liked the idea of having a boy from a Welsh comp there but in the end it was too much of a risk and they said no. (There were 19 of us trying for 11 places I recall). And they were right. In almost every way I would have been totally out of my depth and it would have been a wretched three years on the whole. Coping with Aber and all that brought was bad enough.

It is all very well talking about outsiders going to Oxbridge but it really is no simple matter. It is not enough to simply tell the universties to be more open to diversity. A public schoolboy in this country today is a million miles away from the average kid in parts of South Wales or certain parts of the North of England and it is foolish to try and pretend that is not the case. It is not something we need to lose too much sleep over either. Us plebs do okay, thank you.

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) 

William Perkins Conference Penultimate Paper

It was nice to meet J Stephen Yuille today and to hear him give the penultimate paper on Perkins as a Contender for the faith. Observing that although he is called the father of Puritanism Perkins is a Reformer rather than a Puritan, He was an apologist both for the truth and for the Church of England. He gave us 15 reasons why we should read Perkins and these points were something similar to what follows

1. His unwavering commitment to the truth of Scripture in contrast to ancient and modern scepticism

2. His exegetical method which puts the lie to other accepted but flawed methods of interpretation

3. His conviction that the principal work of the Holy Spirit is to illumine what is in Scripture rather than to mystically bring about some immediate knowledge of God within

4. His emphasis on preaching as the thing that we should emphasise - an excellent corrective again to some of the ideas that are prevalent in our present time

5. His plain style of preaching which provides a glimpse into the Reformed conviction that Scripture both informs and transforms and delivers us from ceaseless homiletical innovation

6. His experiential preaching which addresses the matter of Scripture and so provides a paradigm for preachers who want to bring the mind into contact with the real meaning of Scripture. (He was careful to distinguish law and gospel throughout Scripture and to preach both).

7. His detailed description of the doctrine of predestination and his preaching of the gospel which is a corrective to those who say they admire him but fail to show the same balance. (Unlike some of his successors he never lost sight of the free offer)

8. His delight in Christ as an all sufficient Saviour which is a great tonic for those who say that Christ is the answer but do not believe it and offer all sorts of alternatives.

9. His portrayal of Christ our righteousness which provides relief to the sinner aware of his sin and of his need of a Savour.

10. His handling of the doctrine of justification and sanctification which brings light to the current and recurring debates over the relationship between the two.

11. His realism as to the difficulties of the Christian life which is a refreshing cordial to those trapped in the false teaching of a two tier Christianity.

12. His theological acumen provides a great theological, exegetical and philosophical example to us of how to handle doctrine in a balanced way.

13. His repudiation of the Spirit/matter dualistic view which is the answer to the temptation to follow a disembodied pietism.

14. His view of theology as the science of living blessedly forever which is a great antidote to enlightenment ideas that make theology a mere academic exercise. (Perkins quotes Psalm 144:15 again and again)

15. His defence of the wholesome doctrine of love speaks to a church that still struggles to harmonise faith and love, etc.

William Perkins

The enterprising American Joel Beeke is currently publishing the complete works of William Perkins in 10 volumes (we've reached volume 4 so far). Meanwhile the Library at PRTS has been christened the William Perkins Library (a prize exhibit is apparently a set of Perkins writings owned by Spurgeon then A W Pink who made extensive notes in them). As part of this drive he has brought 55 mainly Americans and Canadians to Britain for a short tour that includes this conference in the historic Round Church in Cambridge to which there has been a general invite (free of charge!).

As it turns out I have a niece who lives in Histon near Cambridge (her husband is a PhD student) so I was able to come and stay with them last night and they have just treated me to a meal out. So not only am I getting to see them but I am also enjoying what so far has been an excellent conference.

On Friday night Sinclair Ferguson spoke on Perkins as a Plain preacher making four points - his influence (including a fascinating anecdote from South Korea in the nineties); his understanding of preaching; his emphasis on the plain style and his grids (as described in the Banner paperback edited by SF The Art of prophesying).
Joel Beeke opened this morning on Perkins the largest case of conscience,which is assurance. Dr Beeke is an authority on this subject and he helpfully told us about what Perkins had written and why.. Like Dr Ferguson he began with some biographical background material stressing Perkins' powerful influence. He then explained his doctrine of assurance, itemising his several writings on this subject and finishing with a summary of Perkins little book A case of conscience, the greatest that ever was: How a man may know whether he be the child of God or no (6 folio pages). You can access this here.
In the second part of the morning my esteemed father-in-law Geoff Thomas spoke on the pursuit of godliness in the ministry of Perkins. He highlighted 1. How Perkins pursued godliness (Through conversion, stud, following providential leadings [for example among prisoners] and by becoming a minister) 2. How preaching encourages godliness 3. Three essential marks of godliness (the faith that saves [knowledge, assent, trust – with which there must be a right beginning, credible fruit and a life of trusting the Lord] the repentance that saves and a new saving obedience, which includes an outward and inward obedience and a seeking to promote better affections).
So good stuff. Numbers have been good too with the 55 swollen to perhaps twice the size.

A night away

Having the most wonderful wife in the world is a real boon at times. Last Friday she took me off to a lovely hotel in the country just for 24 hours to celebrate my last birthday. We just had a couple of meals at the hotel where we stayed (The Red Lion, Whittlesford Bridge, Cambs, near Duxford) had a quick look at Audley End House and "did" Saffron Walden before heading back but what a great time.

Wolsey and Pygot, Martyrs

William Wolsey was a Constable at Upwell, near Wisbech. He was deprived of his office when one of the Justices noticed that, although Wolsey was a regular worshipper at the parish church, he used to absent himself at the Mass. He had obtained a smuggled New Testament in English and by reading it had become convinced that the Roman doctrine of the Mass was erroneous. In Foxe’s Book of Martyrs, John Foxe records that Wolsey was told that as a layman he should not meddle in the Scriptures. John Fuller, Chancellor of the Bishop of Ely, lent him a book by Thomas Watson, Bishop of Lincoln. Wolsey took the book and read it, marking his disagreements in the text. Fuller asked him to ‘rule his tongue’ and he would see that he was let off. However, Wolsey declared that he must speak and be witness to the truth.

Robert Pygot was a painter from Wisbech who was summonsed for not attending church.

He and Wolsey were sent to prison at Ely to face the commissioners who could try them for heresy. On 9 October 1555 they appeared before a Commission comprising Dr Fuller and the Dean of Norwich, John Christopherson. When questioned about the Mass they made the following answer: “The sacrament of the altar is an idol and the natural body and blood of Christ are not present in the said sacrament.” They refused to recant their denial of the sacrament, believing this was not heresy, but the truth, and were condemned to death.

A week later, on 16 October, they were executed by burning on the Cathedral Green at Ely, the same day Latimer and Ridley were martyred at Oxford. The sentence of condemnation was read and a sermon preached then they were led out to the stake. With them were burnt copies of the Bible in English, and Wolsey and Pygot seized copies of these, reciting Psalm 116, and imploring all present to say, ‘Amen’. And so, records Foxe, they ‘received the fire most thankfully.’
(Taken from here)

Ely

We are away for a few days and en route we noticed we were in Spurgeon country. We couldn't find the place where he was baptised (which we have been shown many years ago) but we saw that we were four miles from Ely and paid a visit. We enjoyed seeing the cathedral and Cromwell's house. The tiny plaque to the martyrs is a reminder of how real Christians tend to be remembered as opposed to the establishment. The music is Bach as played by Jan Akkerman on Focus in Time.

Speaking at Historic Venues

On Saturday there was another opportunity to preach in Trafalgar Square with Biblical Gospel Ministries. I preached alongside several others on John 3:16. The opportunity to pass on TBS Bibles and to witness was a blessing. A Christian worker I know happened to be passing through the square and she stopped to listen, which was nice. I have had that sort of thing happen before. Slightly surreal.

Then yesterday (Monday) I was speaking again on 1662, this time in Cambridge for PTS. The meeting took place in the Round Church, which I was told is the second oldest building in the city. We were only around 20 or so but I knew some of those present (Gearoid Marley of PTS, William Wilson from Norwich and someone I was in CU with all those years ago in Aber. Her husband chaired and had taken the trouble to look in here to have some material for introduction purposes). Beforehand I was able to meet up with a girl from the church here who is studying at Clare College who kindly showed me round before heading to a lecture on Old English riddles (We enjoyed seeing the portrait of Hugh Latimer in the Great Hall). I was also able to meet up with Ian Hamilton, minsiter of CPC, who would have been in the meeting but who was speaking that same night to the Chinese Fellowship. 

Excursus

After lunch I headed off in the car to Quinta Christian Centre where I had agreed to give a seminar on holiness for the CICCU (Cambridge Inter-collegiate Christian Union). It's about 95 miles and there is no obvious route so I ended up taking quite an interesting pathway. About 120 were at the conference and 20 of them came to the seminar, which was great. I'm not used to students really. By my age they look like children but when they speak they are obviously young adults and I had some really nice chats both in and out of the seminar. Ian Hamilton was doing the main talks. No time to talk to him as he had just been told that the man who had agreed to give a seminar on the Trinity couldn't show up so was substituting.

Focus University

Others have noticed this but the Irish fellow O'Leary from Cambridge on University Challenge does bear a passing resemblance to the young Dutchman Thijs Van Leer of Focus, as the above suggests. Are they related? Should we be told?

Marcus Loane Biographer

When I was at the Banner Conference in Leicester in the Spring I picked up a copy of their reprint of Archbishop Marcus L Loane's They were Pilgrims. It contains four biographies of short-lived missionaries. I knew about Brainerd, Hugh Martyn and M'Cheyne before but Ion Keith-Falconer (1856-1887), the amazing Arabist who became a missionary in Aden on the Gulf, was new to me.

Last week at the EMA I noticed that Christian Focus have republished Loane's Oxford and the Evangelical Succession (1951) and Cambridge and the Evangelical Succession (1952). The first looks at Whitefield, Newton, Thomas Scott, Richard Cecil (1748-1810) and Daniel Wilson (1778-1885) who became Bishop of Calcutta. The latter two are just names to me and so I'm finding their stories very interesting. The second book looks at Grimshaw, Berridge, Venn and Simeon.
Somewhere I'm sure I have Masters of the English Reformation - Yes, there it is, an ex-library copy in hardback from 1955. It looks at Bilney, Tyndale, Latimer, Ridley and Cranmer.
Born in 1911, Loane is a good writer and the biographical sketches (about 40 pages each?) are a good length. I notice he also has books on Bunyan, Baxter, Rutherford and Alexander Henderson (Makers of Religious Freedom in the Seventeenth Century also known as Makers of Puritan History) Robert Barnes, John Bradford, John Frith and John Rogers (Pioneers of the Reformation in England), Martyn, Zinzendorf and J B Lightfoot (Three faithful servants), Archbishop Mowll, H C G Moule and J C Ryle, etc. This is quite apart from his many other books.

More here.