I came across an excellent article by Dr. James Willingham. A must read for both sides of the "Sovereign Grace" discussion. This is a response to an article, Southeastern (Baptist Theological Seminary) will be a Calvinist seminary over Danny Akin’s dead body (by William Thornton)
dr. james willingham says
October 19, 2012 at 2:29 pm
All Dr. Akin appears to be trying to do is to continue the working relationship between the so-called Traditionalists and the so-called Calvinists (really should read Sovereign Grace believers) begun back in 1787 in the Union of Separate and Regular Baptists. In that Union they agreed that preaching that Christ tasted death for every man (Hebs.2:9) would be no bar to communion. The reason for this was that there were a few of the Separate Baptists who believed that way (and I mean very few as most the Separate Baptists were just as firm in their commitment to Sovereign Grace as were the Regulars), and they had proved their commitment to Christ by going to prison as had other Baptists. As to the issue, Dr. Akin has himself signed the Abstract of Principles which was drawn up by a committee headed by Basil Manly, Jr., the son of the man who had led the Southern Baptist Convention in three educational conventions (1857,1858, and 1859 in organizing and establishing Southern Seminary which he had originally suggested to Baptists at the South back in 1835. The two very Sovereign Grace doctrines of so-called Calvinism (and I say so-called due to the tendency of some to identify a doctrine that they despise with someone’s name so that they can affirm it as a human teaching and not a biblical one which would put them contrary to God), Unconditional Election and Efficacious or Irresistible Grace are stated or implied in the Abstract and have their source in the very missionary and evangelistic minded Sandy Creek Confession of 1816 which Luther Rice the Father of Missions among Southern Baptists had led the Sandy Creek Baptist Association to adopt. He was chairman of the committee that drew up that Confession, and the last named member of the Committee was the clerk of the Association. And that was Basil Manly, (later Sr.).
Dr. Akin is honest and forthright. He does not ignore the facts. He clearly stated the truth, often overlooked by the Traditionalists today, that William Carey was a five point Calvinist. The fact that he made that statement impresses me, a lover of history and of Baptist history in particular, second only to my love for the word of God.
We have a massive task before us, the mission of evangelizing the whole earth. One does not have to understand all of the points of theology in order to be a witness for the Lord Jesus Christ. Even a child can point some one to Jesus, and many a child has done so. There must also be allowance for folks to develop and grow in their understanding of biblical teachings. Some have thought that the doctrines of grace are meat to be reserved for senior believers. During the long decline of this theology in the 20th century (aided and abetted by some who were determined to drive that theology out of the organization that believers in that theology had originally founded) a lot of the knowledge and know-how about preaching it was lost. Speaking out about one’s beliefs in such doctrines could get one in trouble for it. Having been taught and having learned the fear of God as the way to cope with the fear of man, I have sought to follow and preach what I believe the Bible teaches and what I believe is the original theology of Southern Baptists. I had one DOM who sought to get me fired. He also told me one day that I should stop preaching it, and I pointed to a book in his book case, Memoirs of Luther Rice, and said, “He says it's in the Bible and you had better preach it.” Later on, after he retired, he gave me that book, a rare treasure and a collector’s item.
In any case, there are only two five point Calvinists that I know of teaching at SEBTS. There could be more, but I only know of two, and they have said so in their writings and preaching. One is Dr. Nathan Finn and the other is, in my opinion, the A.T. Robertson of our day, Dr. Maurice Robinson. I pray for the latter to be able to get his volumes published on the first century authenticity of the pericope on the woman taken in adultery. Only a person with the meticulous care to check out the thousands of Greek MSS like A.T. Robertson would check out all of the 5000 Greek MSS, the early lectionaries, and the early church fathers. Dr. Robinson has done that very thing. A hurricane, Katrina, no less, could have interrupted the slow process of checking out every reference which the community of scholars do and were doing on Dr. Robinson’s work. Hopefully, one of these days we will see that work.
In the meanwhile we have a task at hand, and it behooves all of us to maintain the bond of unity in order to accomplish that work. I do not propose that any one change his preaching until he is persuaded otherwise. God can strike a straight blow with a crooked stick, and all of us, Sovereign Grace believers or Calvinists as some would have it and Traditionalists as well, are to some degree or other crooked sticks or as Paul said it, “I am the chief of sinners.” The term Separates and Regulars adopted in that union in 1787 was “United Baptists.” Fifty years later a church was founded in Missouri, the old Sardis United Baptist Church, which term indicated the result of that union and the articles of faith were Calvinistic without being overdone. I served as Interim for a church in Western North Carolina for 3 months, and it bore the title in its founding, Mt. Zion United Missionary Baptist Church. We are United Baptists, united in our mission to take the Gospel to the world, intending as, in my opinion, believers in grace to win the whole world (you should read Spurgeon’s Evening Devotions for August 6th and December 24th where he prays for the whole world to be converted in order to see a five point Calvinist bent on winning the whole world). I have nothing less as my aim and that for a thousand generations. Gloria in Excelsis Deo.
[The original article to which Dr. Willingham was responding can be found here:
http://sbcvoices.com/southeastern-w...er-danny-akins-dead-body-by-william-thornton/ ]
dr. james willingham says
October 19, 2012 at 2:29 pm
All Dr. Akin appears to be trying to do is to continue the working relationship between the so-called Traditionalists and the so-called Calvinists (really should read Sovereign Grace believers) begun back in 1787 in the Union of Separate and Regular Baptists. In that Union they agreed that preaching that Christ tasted death for every man (Hebs.2:9) would be no bar to communion. The reason for this was that there were a few of the Separate Baptists who believed that way (and I mean very few as most the Separate Baptists were just as firm in their commitment to Sovereign Grace as were the Regulars), and they had proved their commitment to Christ by going to prison as had other Baptists. As to the issue, Dr. Akin has himself signed the Abstract of Principles which was drawn up by a committee headed by Basil Manly, Jr., the son of the man who had led the Southern Baptist Convention in three educational conventions (1857,1858, and 1859 in organizing and establishing Southern Seminary which he had originally suggested to Baptists at the South back in 1835. The two very Sovereign Grace doctrines of so-called Calvinism (and I say so-called due to the tendency of some to identify a doctrine that they despise with someone’s name so that they can affirm it as a human teaching and not a biblical one which would put them contrary to God), Unconditional Election and Efficacious or Irresistible Grace are stated or implied in the Abstract and have their source in the very missionary and evangelistic minded Sandy Creek Confession of 1816 which Luther Rice the Father of Missions among Southern Baptists had led the Sandy Creek Baptist Association to adopt. He was chairman of the committee that drew up that Confession, and the last named member of the Committee was the clerk of the Association. And that was Basil Manly, (later Sr.).
Dr. Akin is honest and forthright. He does not ignore the facts. He clearly stated the truth, often overlooked by the Traditionalists today, that William Carey was a five point Calvinist. The fact that he made that statement impresses me, a lover of history and of Baptist history in particular, second only to my love for the word of God.
We have a massive task before us, the mission of evangelizing the whole earth. One does not have to understand all of the points of theology in order to be a witness for the Lord Jesus Christ. Even a child can point some one to Jesus, and many a child has done so. There must also be allowance for folks to develop and grow in their understanding of biblical teachings. Some have thought that the doctrines of grace are meat to be reserved for senior believers. During the long decline of this theology in the 20th century (aided and abetted by some who were determined to drive that theology out of the organization that believers in that theology had originally founded) a lot of the knowledge and know-how about preaching it was lost. Speaking out about one’s beliefs in such doctrines could get one in trouble for it. Having been taught and having learned the fear of God as the way to cope with the fear of man, I have sought to follow and preach what I believe the Bible teaches and what I believe is the original theology of Southern Baptists. I had one DOM who sought to get me fired. He also told me one day that I should stop preaching it, and I pointed to a book in his book case, Memoirs of Luther Rice, and said, “He says it's in the Bible and you had better preach it.” Later on, after he retired, he gave me that book, a rare treasure and a collector’s item.
In any case, there are only two five point Calvinists that I know of teaching at SEBTS. There could be more, but I only know of two, and they have said so in their writings and preaching. One is Dr. Nathan Finn and the other is, in my opinion, the A.T. Robertson of our day, Dr. Maurice Robinson. I pray for the latter to be able to get his volumes published on the first century authenticity of the pericope on the woman taken in adultery. Only a person with the meticulous care to check out the thousands of Greek MSS like A.T. Robertson would check out all of the 5000 Greek MSS, the early lectionaries, and the early church fathers. Dr. Robinson has done that very thing. A hurricane, Katrina, no less, could have interrupted the slow process of checking out every reference which the community of scholars do and were doing on Dr. Robinson’s work. Hopefully, one of these days we will see that work.
In the meanwhile we have a task at hand, and it behooves all of us to maintain the bond of unity in order to accomplish that work. I do not propose that any one change his preaching until he is persuaded otherwise. God can strike a straight blow with a crooked stick, and all of us, Sovereign Grace believers or Calvinists as some would have it and Traditionalists as well, are to some degree or other crooked sticks or as Paul said it, “I am the chief of sinners.” The term Separates and Regulars adopted in that union in 1787 was “United Baptists.” Fifty years later a church was founded in Missouri, the old Sardis United Baptist Church, which term indicated the result of that union and the articles of faith were Calvinistic without being overdone. I served as Interim for a church in Western North Carolina for 3 months, and it bore the title in its founding, Mt. Zion United Missionary Baptist Church. We are United Baptists, united in our mission to take the Gospel to the world, intending as, in my opinion, believers in grace to win the whole world (you should read Spurgeon’s Evening Devotions for August 6th and December 24th where he prays for the whole world to be converted in order to see a five point Calvinist bent on winning the whole world). I have nothing less as my aim and that for a thousand generations. Gloria in Excelsis Deo.
[The original article to which Dr. Willingham was responding can be found here:
http://sbcvoices.com/southeastern-w...er-danny-akins-dead-body-by-william-thornton/ ]
