Robin Barfield writes in Evangelicals Now: “What is your ideal Bible study? It may be one where your young people give you all the correct answers, quietly nodding as you dispense wisdom, and you get through all the questions you had prepared. I want to suggest that this may be the worst possible study!”[1] As… Continue reading Not a great Bible study but not necessarily the worst possible
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Concupiscence, contraception and pastoral carelessness
In his chapter of Ruined Sinners to Reclaim, Stephen Wedgeworth outlines his understanding of a Protestant doctrine of concupiscence before landing on two areas of application, both are around sex and sexuality. The second is about same sex attraction but the first is about contraception. Whilst he doesn’t go so far as ruling out contraception… Continue reading Concupiscence, contraception and pastoral carelessness
Only one person gets to impute their righteousness
I’ve recently picked up again on discussions about paedobaptism. One of the things that came through in responses that although I suspect still a minority, there are a significant number of people who believe that the baptised child does have faith, not merely might have faith. It is worth noting that the two things are… Continue reading Only one person gets to impute their righteousness
Responding to the full argument of the Evangelical Times article on reformed charismatics
I’ve recently engaged with an article from Evangelical Times where the author claimed that he needed to escape from the so called Calvinistic charismatics.. As mentioned before, I did contact ET and make two requests, first that they would publish a response giving the New Frontiers/Reformed Charismatic side of things to enable a fair hearing. … Continue reading Responding to the full argument of the Evangelical Times article on reformed charismatics
More on sin, desire and the normal Christian life
This week I’ve introduced a discussion to the blog around sin and desire first in reference to how we approach Romans 7 and secondly by beginning to look at a particular doctrinal controversy around “concupiscence” or desire. Significant to the conversation is what John has to say both in 1 John 1:8-9 and 1 John… Continue reading More on sin, desire and the normal Christian life
Theological debate is not always binary
I’ve noticed a tendency in terms of contemporary hot potatoes to assume that, or at least act as though, the debate is binary. I’m thinking specifically of the complementarian/egalitarian, EFS and Concupiscence debates. What I mean is this. Often a specific theological position is developed in response to a perceived error, this may not be… Continue reading Theological debate is not always binary
Coming up this year
This is a little bit of a news update on what I’ve got planned for Faithroots this year. Whilst one aspect of the site is a blog which enables me to offer commentary from a Christian perspective on current events and from a reformed, charismatic perspective on issues within The Church, that is in fact… Continue reading Coming up this year
Why paedobaptism cannot count as a mark of the church
It is usually said that the marks of a true church are the preaching of God’s word and the sacraments properly administered. The Church of England’s 39 articles puts it this way: The visible Church of Christ is a congregation of faithful men, in which the pure Word of [1]God is preached, and the Sacraments… Continue reading Why paedobaptism cannot count as a mark of the church
In defence of the Reformed Charismatics
At the back end of last year I offered a brief response to an article in Evangelical Times called “Why I escaped the so called Calvinistic charismatics”. The article seemed primarily to be focused on New Frontiers, the family of churches which our church is part of. I wrote to the newspaper asking for permission… Continue reading In defence of the Reformed Charismatics
Do you need to repent of your desires?
I recently mentioned a controversy that has been brewing primarily within reformed academic circles about a doctrine known as concupiscence. The word refers to strong desire and is often explicitly lined with sexual desire. I’ve not really commented much on this yet but thought it was worth sharing some preliminary comments here. Late in the… Continue reading Do you need to repent of your desires?
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