Shapers of Christianity

These twelve biographies originally appeared in the Banner of Truth Magazine. Some of the material can also be found in Nick Needham's church history series. They have value, however, as a collection and I enjoyed reading them all in one session. They give a sweep through the length and breadth of Christian history and are wrtitten succinctly, knowledgeably and judiciousy. Each one is brief and to the point but guarded in what it commends. A great book for anyone with no church history and anyone with a vast knowledge too. Great book.

Needham on Dabney at the Evangelical Library

As intimated, we had a very good time with Dr Nick Needham who gave the second of this Autumn's lunch time zoom lectures for the Evangelial Library. About 20 tuned in. It will be up on YouTube in due time. He poke about the Civil War and Dabney's very southern and today unacceptable views on slavery. Perhaps the most interesting part, however, was atthe end where he touched on three areas where Dabney and other 19th century American Calvinists questioned the 17th century scholastic Heritage of Turretin and others.

First, thhere was the doctrine of concursus, that is the view that God exerts an almost physical energy in causing sinful actions albeit without causing the sin in those actions. Dabney and the 19th century American Calvinists rejected this as a subtle distinction that created more problems than it solved. It was better, they argued, to say that God allowed rather than in any sense causing sinful actions and to leave room for n elment of mystery,

Secondly, they rejected the scholastic view of divine simplicity. The scholastics said that God's essence and his attributes were identical. Dabney and the others regarded this as an extravagantly philosophical notion with little or no biblical grounding. this view risked destroying any real or meaningful distinction between the various divine attributes, potentially making God into a sort of pantheistic essence in which all differences were dissolved

Thirdly, and perhaps most interestingly, they rejected the scholastic doctrine of God being woihtout passions. The scholastics taught that all biblical ascriptions of emotion to God shouold be understood as figures of speech. What they really described were simply pure acts of divine will. For example, if God is said to love us, this does not denote any emotional affection of loving. It is just a metaphor denoting God's act of will aimed at bestowing good upoin us. Hodge reacted especially strongly to this, arguing that it ripped the very heart out of the whole biblical revelation of God, turning him into a sort of big brain in the sky devoid of feeling. Dabney shared Hodge's view. His critique was not barely negative. he proposed a positive alternative. Although God does not have emotions in the way that we do, since our emotions are continually ebbing and flowing and continually subject to change. Yet there is in God's nature a genuine, meaningful divine equivalent or counterpart to human emotion. Dabney called these divine emotions active principles. That is not passions in the sense of fluctuations or agitations but affections of his will actively distinguishable from the cognitions of his intelligence. They are truly ooptiv (ie expressing a wish or a desire). However anthropopathic the statements made concerning God's repenting, his wrath and pity and pleasur, his love or jealousy, we should do violence to Scripture if we deny that he means to ascribe to himself active affections in some mode suitable to his nature. Allied to this Dabney also rejected the scholastic view that God can in no sense be said to react or respond to his creatures, that all God's choices, attitudes and actions flow exclusively from his unmoved will. This is simply unbiblical for Dabney, who aargued that the most that can be truthfully said is that God's creatures cannot cause him to do anything, as though he responded by sheer reflex, whether he wnted to or not. However, Dabney went on to say that if we are faithful to Scripture we must affirm that the actions of creatures can truly be said to be the occasion if not the cause of divine attitudes and

actions. Our sins really do occasion God's displeasure; our misery really does occasion God's compassion. Yet the divine displeasure and compassion are willed by God rather than extorted from him. Dabney says the Scriptures mean what they plainly say. Some seem so afraid of recognising in God any susceptibility to a passive nature that they virtually set Scripture aside and pin to God, whose activities of intelligence and will are so exclusively from himself that even the relation of objective occasion to him is made unreal and nothing is allowed except a species of coincidence or pre-established harmony. They are afraid to accept what the Bible seems so plainly to say - that God is angry because men sin.

Dabney stood very firmly in the stream of 19th century American Calvinism that was ready to weigh in the balance the scholastic Calvinism of the 17th century and find it seriously wanting in several ways. In this Dabney shows us how a 19th century reformed theologian, following the example of the 16th century reformers, could practice a critical reverence toward tradition even his own confessional tradition.

A Busy Monday

Monday was a very full day. Things start quite early these days. There were other things to do in the morning as well and then at 1 pm we had the next Evangelical Library lunch time lecture from Nick Needham on Robert L Dabney. An excellent piece of work. I will give a full report soon. I am sorry not more were able to hear it. After that we had a committee meeting and that was worthwhile. Finance continues to be an issue. Things are healthy enough at the moment but on current trends, it won't be long before we are in trouble. Current trends are making it difficult. Then after that I met up with a pastor friends of mine from West London and we visited a home in Golders Green where a couple are troubled about recent phenomena in the home. It turned out that Ihad met the lady before in another connection. We talked and then we prayed |(me in English, my friend in the family tongue). They kindly gave us gifts even though we were there only a short time/ I hope this will lead to further contact and a spiritual blessing on the famiily. It was nice too to have a coffee and catch up with my friend who I first met years ago through EMF

As I walked home through the park, there was a glorious sunset. My mother used to tell me that God was too good to me (she feared I would take it for granted). God certainly is very good. Then after tea I had a Bible study on salvation with two Iranian kurd refugees who come to the church. One of them has recently been transferred to Luton nd had caught the train to Cricklewood. I am encouraging hiom to attend a church in Luton but he like us, he says. anyone I was able to pass on part of the gift I'd just received to hm to cover his significant costs. The Bible study was okay bit all in translation. Their English is not great and my Farsi non-existent.

I then relaxed watching University Challenge (Cardiff beat St Andrews - not a Celt in either team!). We also watched a bit of TV - DI Ray and the ITV News.

10 Shapers of Christianity

Spending the week listening to Nick Needham has reminded me that in 2022 and 2023 Nick did a series of articles in the Banner of Truth Magazine on Shapers of Christianity. I think there were 12 all told. Here are ten

1. 705 Irenaeus of Lyons (fl 175-195)
2. 706 Gregory of Nazianzus (AD 330-390)
3. 707/8 Anselm of Canterbury (AD 1033-1109)
4. 709 Theophylact of Ochrid (1050–1109)
5. 710 John Wycliffe (c 1320-1384)
6. 711 Peter Martyr (1499-1562)
7. 712 Tikhon of Zadonsk (1724–83)
8. 713 J Gresham Machen (1881-1937)
9. 716 Frances Turretin (1623-1687)
10. 717 John Wesley (1703-91)

(The other two were - 719/20 Benjamin Breckinridge Warfield 1851–1921 and 721 Philip Schaff 1819-1893)

William Robertson Smith and B B Warfield

https://banneroftruth.org/us/about/banner-authors/b-b-warfield/

George Reid, Public domain USA, via Wikimedia Commons

The last two subjects in the series of ten biographies were the Scots heretic William Robertson Smith 1846-1894 and the American theological giant B B Warfield 1851-1921.

In 1889 Spurgeon wrote in The Sword and Trowel

"The Free Church of Scotland must, unhappily, be for the moment regarded as rushing to the front with its new theology, which is no theology, but an opposition to the Word of the Lord. That church in which we all gloried, as sound in the faith, and full of the martyrs’ spirit, has entrusted the training of its future ministers to two professors who hold other doctrines than those of its Confession. This is the most suicidal act that a church can commit. It is strange that two gentlemen, who are seeking for something newer and better than the old faith, should condescend to accept a position which implies their agreement, with the ancient doctrines of the church; but delicacy of feeling is not a common article nowadays, and the action of creeds is not automatic, as it would be if consciences were tender. In the Free Church there is a Confession, and there are means for carrying out discipline; but these will be worth nothing without the personal action of all the faithful in that community. Every man who keeps aloof from the struggle for the sake of peace, will have the blood of souls upon his head."

Smith (along with A B Bruce to some extent) was the man who brought Free Church students under liberal teaching and was at least removed from office.

Thomas Carlyle (1795–1881), though not really evangelical or orthodox himself, offered his own assessment of what was going on, saying, “Have my countrymen’s heads become turnips when they think they can hold the premises of German unbelief and draw the conclusions of Scottish evangelical orthodoxy?”

As for B B Warfield the focus was on his stand for inerrancy, his view of Darwin and his far-sightedness in dealing with racism.

Some quotes

The mystical tendency is showing itself in our day most markedly in a wide-spread inclination to decline Apologetics in favour of the so-called testimonium Spiritus Sancti. The convictions of the Christian man we are told, are not the product of reasons addressed to the intellect, but are the immediate creation of the Holy Spirit in his heart. Therefore, it is intimated, we can not only do very well without these reasons, but it is something very like sacrilege to attend to them. Apologetics, accordingly, is not merely useless, but may even become noxious, because tending to substitute a barren intellectualism for a vital faith.

Christian men, under the pressure of their race antipathy, desert the fundamental law of the Church of the Living God, that in Christ Jesus there cannot be Greek and Jew, circumcision and uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, bondman, freeman.

Warfield quoted William James with approbation saying 

And here religion comes to our rescue and takes our fate into her hands. There is a state of mind, known to religious men, but to no others, in which the will to assert ourselves and hold our own has been displaced by a willingness to close our mouths and be as nothing in the floods and waterspouts of God. In this state of mind, what we most dreaded has become the habitation of our safety, and the hour of our moral death has turned into our spiritual birthday. The time for tension in our soul is over, and that of happy relaxation, of calm deep breathing, of an eternal present, with no discordant future to be anxious about, has arrived. Fear is not held in abeyance as it is by mere morality, it is positively expunged and washed away.

Dr Needham ended by saying

The treasure-trove of Warfield’s writings shows us one of the finest intellects that ever lived, expounding the many-sided truths of biblical Christianity with profound scholarship and in crystalline prose. When (if I may so put it) I have nothing better to do on a Sunday afternoon, I know I can use my time to excellent effect in picking up and perusing a volume of Warfield, whether on the Divine Messiah of Old Testament prophecy, the emotional life of Jesus, or any of a hundred other topics. 

10 Church Leaders in the 19th Century

1. Friedrich Schleiermacher 1768-1834
2. Samuel T Coleridge 1772-1834
3. Edward Irving 1782-1834
4. Félicité de La Mennais 1782-1854
5. John Henry Newman 1801-1890
6. John W Nevin 1803-1886
7. Soren Kierkegaard 1813-1855
8. Albrecht Ritschl 1822-1889
9. William R Smith 1846-1894
10. B B Warfield 1851-1921

Nevin, Newman and Ritschl

Yesterday it was the American Presbyteran theologian, John Williamson Nevin (1803-1886), the Anglican turned Roman Catholic, John Henry Newman (1801-1890) and German liberal theologian Albrecht Ritschl (1822-1889) from Nick Needham. Dr Needham like Nevin but he fell out with Charles Hodge and William Cunningham over how to understand the Lord's Supper. Hodge ended up claiming that Calvin's view of the real presence was not really Reformed and an uncongenial foreign element that was extreme and dubious. Hodge seems to have somehow been unaware of Calvin's views.

Alexander Whyte was a fan of Newman's early sermons printed up in eight volumes and never repudiated by Newman. Whyte quoted favourably this statement

"Dr. Newman's sermons stand by themselves in modern English literature; it might be said, in English literature generally. There have been equally great masterpieces of English writing in this form of composition, and there have been preachers whose theological depth, acquaintance with the heart, earnestness, tenderness, and power have not been inferior to his. But the great writers do not touch, pierce, and get hold of minds as he does, and those who are famous for the power and results of their preaching do not write as he does. His sermons have done more perhaps than any one thing to mould and quichen and brace the religious temper of our time; they have acted with equal force on those who were nearest and those who were furthest from him in theological opinion."

I found it hard to get a handle on Ritschl. I'll need to look at that again.

Schleiermacher, Coleridge and Kierkegaard

A good chunk of yesterday was spent at the London Seminary. They have a week of special lectures with Nick Needham. Nick has not been well enough to travel but is delivering the lectures on 19th century church history remotely. That worked quite well with very few glitches. The main audience (half online, half in person) is the students but there are a few of us others also sitting in. Nick, an excellent lecturer, is doiung tbings biographically and yesterday we considered Freidrich Schleiermacher (1768-1834), Samuel T Colerdige (1772-1834) and Soren Kierkegard (1813-1855). All very interesting.

Two quotes for you

Herman Bavinck

"Schleiermacher has exerted incalculable influence. All subsequent theology is dependent on him. Revelation in nature and revelation in Scripture form, in alliance with each other, a harmonious unity which satisfies the requirements of the intellect and the needs of the heart alike."

W G T Shedd

"Now as the defender and interpreter of this decidedly and profoundly theistic system of philosophy, we regard the works of Coleridge as of great and growing worth, in the present state of the educated and thinking world. It is not to be disguised that Pantheism is the most formidable opponent which truth has to encounter in the cultivated and reflecting classes. We do not here allude to the formal reception and logical defence of the system, so much as to that pantheistic way of thinking, which is unconsciously stealing into the lighter and more imaginative species of modern literature, and from them is passing over into the principles and opinions of men at large. This popularised Naturalism - this Naturalism of polite literature and of literary society - is seen in the lack of that depth and strength of tone, and that heartiness and robustness of temper, which characterise a mind into which the personality of God, and the responsibility of man cut sharply, and which does not cowardly shrink from a severe and salutary moral consciousness .... The intensely theistic character of the philosophy of Coleridge is rooted and grounded in the Personal and the Spiritual, and not in the least in the Impersonal and the Natural. Drawing in the outset, as we have remarked above, a distinct and broad line between these two realms, it keeps them apart from each other, by affirming a difference in essence, and steadfastly resists any and every attempt to amalgamate them into one sole substance. The doctrine of creation, and not of emanation or of modification, is the doctrine by which it constructs its theory of the Universe, and the doctrine of responsible self-determination, and not of irresponsible natural development, is the doctrine by which it constructs its systems of Philosophy and Religion."

Five Good Books Recently Read

One tries to keep reading. Here are five I've recently got through and enjoyed. First, Nick Needham's superb fifth volume on church history. This time we are in the wonderful eighteenth century. Much of it I knew but a great deal I did not. I particularly enjoyed the section on Bengel the commentator. I don't recall seeing the bald statement that Wesley was happy about women preachers anywhere else. I bought Footnotes on spec when I saw going cheap in a local bookshop. A great bargain, it travels various parts of Britain in the company of Dickens, Blyton and others in a partly random series of trips. Its chief strength is that it is very well written. Most engaging. I got the book on animals in the same manner as the Fiennes' book. I thought it was part of another series but it is not. I would think it is fairly easy to write such a book but very enjoyable to read (if you ignore the evolutionary stuff).

When my father-in-law demobbed his vast library most of it went to Newcastle but I did get hold of the five volume Vos Systematic Theology. Recently I thought I had better start reading it and so took up Volume 1. It is hard going in parts but mostly just keeps going. There is no prolegomena so the first volume covers Scripture, God and his decree. I have already started on Volume 2. I actually paid full price for the McCall short stories in a different booksop (I'm not a complete skinflint - though rather impulsive). I've not read any Smith for ages and enjoyed these spy stories immensely, although the final story which touches on theology had a very disappointing section attempting to explain what orthodox catholic Christians believe about the Holy Spirit. It is unnerving when you see what a hash he makes of it, having been so impressed with everythhing else. I might hunt down some more McCall Smith; there's loads of it. I thought this was an interesting quote from one of the stories

Sides are often arbitrary - the result of historical accident: friendship can be much more important than allegiance and membership, and can, sometimes, outrank other, lesser loyalties. Where you are born, and the flag that flies over your birthplace, may turn out to be far less important than the promptings of the heart within.

Day Off Week 11 2023

Couldn't really settle to anything today and so rather frittered my time. Up early taking a fridge.freezer and a dish washer to be dumped with one of my deacons (no, we didn;t dump him). Not so p[rodiuctive agter that, mainly reading.

Day Off Week 9 2023

More like a regular day off this week. I am reading the papers for the Affinity Study Conference next week. I have also made a good start on the latest volume of Nick Needham's church history - great stuff as ever. I also slipped out for a burrito and a coffee in West Hamsptead, where I bought a book - A short history of the word in 50 animals.

Nick Needham on Luther

Nick Needham answering questions with Edward Malcolm seated

It was great to be at the Protestant Truth Society Conference today with about 50 or 60 others at the college and seminary in Finchley. I wanted to go to something on Luther this month and this was a good choice I'm sure. In the chair was Edward Malcolm of the PTS and the speaker was Nick Needham, pastor of the Reformed Baptist Church in Inverness and lecturer in church history at HTC in Dingwall. Nick is always worth hearing and he was very good today on the material and the formal principle of the Reformation, that is justification by faith and Scripture alone. Perhaps the first message on the formal principle was superior but both were excellent papers. We also had good question sessions following the two papers.

That first message included two excellent quotations that I will include in separate blogs.

Met Tab Summer School 2017

I've not been to the Metropolitan Tabernacle in a little while but this year looked an attractive programme so I decided to go and was there for most though not all of it.
I was a little disappointed with Ibrahim ag Mohammed's first session on the vast and vital subject of Priesthood of all believers (OT) but the second from the New Testament (4 beauties and 8 duties) was fine. I only caught one of Roland Burrows' set of anecdotes from the Reformation period but that was a lovely session to be in on.
Dr Masters began with Reformations in the Bible but by the time I heard him he had given up on that theme and so we had messages on sincerity (Ephesians 6) and on John 17. Dr Masters has a way of presenting his material that slates half of evangelicalism and usually most of the Reformed constituency too. It has its strengths and you certainly can't listen in a complacent way.

I was surprised to know Vishal Mangalwadi was going to be speaking. It is unusual to see someone in the Met Tab pulpit without a tie but he carried it off in his attractive and apparently meandering conversational style. I must read his Schaeffer style book which has sat on my shelves too long.
Several found him the highlight but I would have to opt for the three messages from Dr Nick Needham on the Reformation, first on the two kingdoms then on Reformation seeds (giving more credit to Erasmus than is usually the case) and finally on the seeds that got lost, pointing out how Baptistic Zwingli, Luther and others were, early on.
Interesting things seen - Chris Cooper approaching a man at the front who didn't get the memo and so raised his hands in worship during the first hymn. It's good to have a clear policy. Also, poor Nick Needham being harassed by some poor man who had quite a shock when Nick suggested that Anabaptists were not Protestants.
I felt slightly more at home here than in the Barbican. The bookshop seemed to be in a slight time warp. I couldn't find anything to buy - always disappointing experience. The depth and breadth and consistency of the work at the Met Tab is stunning. As at the EMA most of the hundreds of faces were unknown to me, although there were a few familiar faces, including that of my father-in-law who made a flying visit and kindly treated me to lunch at the nearby Imperial War Museum.

Grace Baptist Assembly 2015 02

 

We have had an excellent day here in Swanwick. In the morning we were in the hands of Dr John Hall who passionately called on us to stick with our Baptist principles. He reminded us of the elegance and simplicity of the Baptist position, which has never been seriously argued against. Rather, taking other positions merely leads to other expedients not found in Scripture. There was plenty of time for discussion and that proved quite useful.

In the afternoon we had our business session. We were told that a record 148 people have been at the conference (including six day visitors) from 72 churches. Some 62 churches have registered for assembly, some 39 of them represented by a total of 56 messengers. We discussed a statement of Christian ethical standards that may be adopted. We agreed to meet next year May 24-26 here in Swanwick.

Later in the day we had one of the best sessions of assembly, the news time. Jeyakanth spoke about Sri Lanka, Trevor Routley about Argentina and Will Niven about Albania, all of whom had encouraging things to say though not without qualification (Buddhist thuggery and charismania). We then had six reports from different men in Britain, again mostly encouraging though not without a downside. The areas covered were Basildon, Highbury, Leyton, Halifax, Gloucester and Hyde Heath.

Nick Needham preached in the evening session. Another fine exposition of the cross, this time in terms of sacrifice. Such a blessing to hear. Beforehand he spoke of Reformed Baptist work in Scotland, where there are several small churches (Inverness, Perth, Dundee, Penicuik and two in Glasgow as well as some BU churches).

REcordings of the messages should already be up on the GBA website here.

Grace Baptist Assembly 2015

It is great to be at the GBA once again in Swanwick. The turn out is a bumper 140. Our chairman Noel Ramsey from Wensleydale kicked us off with a look through that chapter beloved of Baptists Acts 16, focusing on Lydia and the Jailer. Later we had a report on the work among Reformed Baptists in Canada from a sometimes quite impassioned (Burlington based) Carl Muller. After our evening meal Nick Needham preached a very helpful sermon on redemption. 
 

Grisham The Confession

Having read one or two John Grisham's some years ago and being an obsessive I try to read all he writes. I think this is the latest. I took it on the plane to Kenya. It focuses on the death penalty as apparently practiced in Texas and makes for a very good and easy read. You get both a good story and a mildly stimulating opportunity to think over some of the issues with regard to that matter. A bonus for me was perhaps that the hero is a clergyman (a Lutheran minister). That gave Grisham (a Baptist I believe but decidedly liberal) opportunity to say one or two interesting things that I might share in a separate blog. It also helped with the title, I guess. I also spotted a brief namecheck for Nick Needham (a detective mentioned at the beginning and end adn nothing to do with the Inverness pastor adn church historian).

Grace Assembly 08 Day 2

Our second day of assembly, our only full day, began with a well attended prayer meeting led by Mark Richards from Chesham.
We spent the morning on the perennial matter of Christian unity. Before coffee Daniel Webber from the EMF laid before us four important principles
1. Belief in the essential unity of all true Christians and churches
2. The need for all Christians and churches to do what they can to give expression to the unity they have in Christ
3. In a fallen world all visible expressions of unity are subject to certain limitations
4. The use of a sliding scale approach to visible Christian unity – the more we have in common with others the greater the measure of co-operation that is possible
He then showed how these principles may be applied on the individual, church and church leadership levels.
After coffee we looked at a series of questions that arise in this area, such as how we express our unity with other churches. We talked specifically about Gospel Partnerships and Affinity as well as more general matters. John Harris chaired with a panel made up of Jack Jenner, Dr Robert Oliver, Daniel Webber and Tom Forryan from Watford. Contributions were also made from the floor. It was a decent time.
After lunch I bought some Thorntons chocolate and had a group photo on the lawn. The weather here has been quite pleasant. I then chaired the business session, which we got through okay with one or two important decisions, especially to meet again next year at High Leigh Conference Centre in Hoddesdon, May 19-21.

*

We recommenced at 5 pm with a reports session with Selveraj Jeyekanth who was introduced by Gerard Hemmings from Amyand Park. Selveraj is a converted Hindu who has known quite a ministry in Sri Lanka, being used to plant a large number of churches among the poor of that war torn and tsunami scarred island.
After supper Nick Needham gave his second paper – this time on heaven. Again very fresh he turned us to 1 Corinthians 13, expounded it and then focussed our minds, firstly, as a real place and the goal of the Christian life. Such a realisation would wean us from worldliness and the fear of death. Secondly, it is a world of perfect knowledge and love. He closed with a chiefly evangelistic application. The message was laced with quotes from Chrysostom, Gregory the Great, Richard Baxter, Jonathan Edwards, C S Lewis, A W Pink, etc.
The evening closed with a question panel. We looked at Christian education, new frontiers, etc. A good day indeed.

Grace Assembly 08 Day 1

On Wednesday Eleri took me to the tube in Golders Green and I headed to St Pancras International. I’d not been there since it became the home of Eurostar. All very nice – more like an airport now I guess, though that’s a two-edged sword. A packed train got us to Derby in good time. Derby was more finished than when I was there last but the railway station is a good way from the city centre and the faceless homogeneity of it all made me feel slightly resentful of the northified accents everywhere. I eventually found a packed bus heading in the right direction. The woman driver, who called me ‘duck’ was very nice about getting me to the Hayes Conference Centre in Swanwick. Around half way she stopped the bus and went to give a carrot to a horse in a field – to the delight of the mostly elderly passengers.
Anyway I reached the Hayes in good time. Dr and Mrs Oliver spotted me and gave me a lift up the long drive. We couldn’t get into our rooms until after lunch so we milled about and then ate lunch together and went to our rooms later. We have managed to get up to a hundred with day visitors so it’s a decent number. We’re rather on the grey side and pretty mono-cultural sadly but there are reasons for that.
Jack and Alison Jenner were our hosts so Jack preached from Philippians 2 for the first session. Later on we had a news reports session featuring Simon Calvert from the Christian Institute (who also did a late night session after 9.30 pm); Eric Cousins from the Particular Baptist Trust, etc; John MacDonald from GBM; Trevor Routley from Argentina, who spoke about the desperate need for Reformed teachers in that country. Also we had Barry King an American from Arkansas who has been in London for a few years now helping the Grace Association with replanting churches. He’s quite a case. His best story was of going to Watford and no-one turning up but preaching anyway. Somehow that led to someone who lived nearby coming that evening, someone who had been praying for something to happen. It is difficult to know if his optimism is down to culture, personality or theology but it is a good thing.
In the evening Nick Needham spoke on hell. There is something slightly brutal looking about Nick but he speaks with very clearly enunciated English and with subdued passion that is quite compelling. With quotations from Augustine, Anselm, Luther, Calvin, etc, he took us through the orthodox doctrine adding some fresh things and some necessary correctives. He dealt with objections to the doctrine based on both the justice and the mercy of God. His burden was evangelistic in some ways but with no emotionalism he urged believers to live in the light of the doctrine.
After Simon Calvert I caught the end of the football. Poor Chelsea.

Tradition & the Fathers

It's a privilege to be so near London Theological Seminary and the John Owen Centre, Finchley. I was there again today (despite a local bus strike) to join around 30 others for a day seminar with Dr Nick Needham.

Nick pastors Inverness Reformed Baptist Church and lectures in Church History at Highland Theological College. He is the author of a series of popular books on church history published by Grace Publications Trust (a group I'm closely involved with) - 2000 Years of Christ's Power (3 of a projected 5 or 6 volumes have appeared). 

The day was entitled Learning from Tradition and the Early Church Fathers and consisted of two papers and discussion, either side of an excellent lunch. AM Nick began with an anecdote about an American Fundamentalist burning a library of works by the fathers, then showed how different this was to the attitude of Luther, Calvin, the Puritans, Gill and Spurgeon. It should not be the attitude of Protestants today. By way of example, he showed how (in spite of Dan Brown and co) the deity of Christ was accepted before Nicaea, where hardly anyone backed Arius. Similarly, the idea that the canonical Gospels were accepted quite late is untrue.

In the afternoon, we looked more broadly at learning from tradition. Following Jaroslav Pelikan (and Heiko Obermann) Nick urged us to be like the Reformers and reject the Roman view of tradition (T2) and follow tradition where we feel it is biblical (T1). We ought not to be like the anabaptists who argued that we should reject all tradition (T0). The idea has been well expounded in the book The shape of sola scriptura by Keith A Mathison. The example here was of seeing how the fathers concentrate on the person of Christ whereas we often move too quickly to his work.

Ken Brownell chaired and there was good discussion. Nick is a fine scholar with his feet on the ground and he answered our questions with grace and insight. With the resources we have today it is realistic to propose more delving into the patristic field where there are clearly rich pickings.

Perhaps the most interesting line of thought opened up for me was the observation that the fathers (pre-Christendom) were in a position more similar to ours (post-Christendom) than the Reformers.