Meet The Puritans

Puritan Reformed Journal 2:2 (July 2010)

Posted on 05. Aug, 2010 by Danny Hyde.

Now available.

Table of Contents

BIBLICAL STUDIES

Our View of the Old Testament—David Murray

The Father’s Love for His Son—Bartel Elshout

The Age of the Spirit and Revival—Joel R. Beeke

SYSTEMATIC AND HISTORICAL THEOLOGY

Jerome Zanchi on Union with Christ and Justification—J. V. Fesko

Calvin on Sovereignty, Providence, and Predestination—Joel R. Beeke

Puritan Studies in the Twenty-First Century: Preambles and Projections—Randall J. Pederson

Reformed, Puritan, and Baptist: A Comparison of the 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith to the 1646 Westminster Confession of Faith—Paul M. Smalley

A Half Reformation: English Puritanism According to Samuel Rutherford—Michael Brown

EXPERIENTIAL THEOLOGY

The Puritan Doctrine of Preparationism—Cor Harinck

The Content and Context of Jacobus Koelman’s Remarks on Thomas Hooker’s The Soules Humiliation—Pieter Rouwendal

Jonathan Edwards and A Divine and Supernatural Light—Kevin C. Carr

An Uncommon Union: Understanding Jonathan Edwards’s Experimental Calvinism—William M. Schweitzer

PASTORAL THEOLOGY AND MISSIONS

William Ames and the church’s Worship: A Puritan’s Analysis of a Contemporary Question—Jonathon Beeke

Handling a High Mystery: The Westminster Confession on Preaching Predestination—Daniel R. Hyde

John Owen’s Principles of Nonconformity—James E. Dolezal

Consider Christ in Affliction: An Open Letter to True Believers—Joel R. Beeke

”Surely It is Worth While”: William Carey’s Personal Application of His Enquiry—Nathan A. Finn

CONTEMPORARY AND CULTURAL ISSUES

On Theological Writing—Ryan M. McGraw

William S. Plumer on Pastoral Writing—Ryan M. McGraw

The First Amendment’s Religion Clauses: The Calvinist Document that Interprets Them Both—Leah Farish

BOOK REVIEWS

Herman Bavinck, Reformed Dogmatics, vol. 4—Roger Nicole

Iain M. Duguid, Daniel—Lane Keister

Cornelis P. Venema, Children at the Lord’s Table: Assessing the Case for Paedocommunion—Ryan M. McGraw

Jason Zuidema, Peter Martyr Vermigli, and the Outward Instruments of Divine Grace—Carl Schouls

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The Apostles’ Creed in the Reformed Catechisms

Posted on 12. Jul, 2010 by Danny Hyde.

In some form or fashion, the Reformed catechisms of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries exposited the basic summary of Christian doctrine known as the Apostles’ Creed whether by reciting the Creed in the text of the catechism (e.g., Genevan Catechism, Heidelberg Catechism) or expositing the doctrines but not mentioning the Creed per se (e.g., Westminster Shorter and Larger Catechisms). If you would like to see how these four Reformed catechisms divide and exposit the Creed in what I hope is a helpful chart, I’ve uploaded a .pdf here. Incidentally, this material comes from my preparation for a course I am teaching at Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary in August on “The Theology of the Patristic Creeds.” For info on that course, go here.

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Perkins on Retaining the Descent Clause

Posted on 08. Jun, 2010 by Danny Hyde.

What did the Puritans think about the clause in the Creed, “He descended into hell?” For that answer you need to read Chad Van Dixhoorn’s PhD thesis, which we hope will be in-print in the near future. For one example, listen to how one of the fathers of English Puritanism, the great Cambridge theologian, William Perkins,wrote of the benefit of retaining “He descended into hell” in the Apostles’ Creed. He spoke of the benefit of being truly catholic in our theology:

Neverthelesse considering that this clause hath long continued in the Creede, and that by common consent of the Catholike Church of God, and it may carrie a fit sense and exposition; it is not, as some would have it, to be put forth.”

—An Exposition of the Symbole, 1:231, col. 2

—Cited in Daniel R. Hyde, In Defense of the Descent: A Response to Contemporary Critics (Grand Rapids: Reformation Heritage Books, 2010), 67.

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It’s On Its Way!

Posted on 02. Jun, 2010 by Danny Hyde.

I just saw that the PhD thesis of our own, the very Reverend Doctor Mark Jones, will be in-print very soon. Details here.

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New Book on Christ’s Descent Into Hell

Posted on 12. Apr, 2010 by Danny Hyde.

The Apostles’ Creed claims that Christ “descended into hell,” but do we really believe that? Should we believe that? In this book, Daniel R. Hyde analyzes this controversial claim, bringing valuable light to this long confessed doctrine. He presents the arguments raised against the descent clause, discusses the various understanding of it throughout church history, explains how the Reformed churches have adopted it, and demonstrates the benefits of retaining it as a point of our Christian confession today. For those who question why Christians would believe in the descent of Christ, In Defense of the Descent is an informative and helpful guide.

Now available for pre-order and will be available as of April 15th from Reformation Heritage Books where you can also read chapter 1 as a .pdf here.

Endorsements:

“For creedal and confessional Christians, the clause in the Apostles’ Creed ‘he descended into hell’ is important, but sometimes puzzling. Even as intelligent lay folk often struggle to articulate a brief, cogent, accurate reply as to its precise meaning, they may not fully appreciate the history of discussion behind the phrase, or the origins and function of its inclusion in what is probably still, liturgically, the most widely used creed in the Reformation churches. Daniel Hyde has come to the rescue with a brief, helpful, historical, biblical, and pastoral treatment of this clause, and the crucial theological truth it is designed to propound and protect. I warmly commend it to the Christian reader.”

— Ligon Duncan, Senior Minister, First Presbyterian Church, Jackson, Mississippi and Adjunct Professor of Theology, Reformed Theological Seminary

“Every pastor knows that sinking feeling when the congregation recites the ‘descent into hell’ clause of the Creed. What do we say to them? Written for laypeople and pastors alike, this slim volume not only gives us a good answer; it offers a terrific summary of broader Christian reflection. Danny Hyde convincingly argues that, far from an idle question, our Lord’s descent into hell is a precious facet of the gospel.”

—Michael S. Horton, J. Gresham Machen Professor of Systematic Theology and Apologetics, Westminster Seminary California (Escondido, CA)

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Birds of a Feather …

Posted on 11. Apr, 2010 by Mark Jones.

Removed for copyright reasons.

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Bruce Waltke and Evolution

Posted on 05. Apr, 2010 by Mark Jones.

Removed for copyright reasons.

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Review of “A Treatise on Earthly-Mindedness”

Posted on 23. Mar, 2010 by Ryan McGraw.

Jeremiah Burroughs, A Treatise on Earthly-Mindedness (1649, repr., Orlando: Soli Deo Gloria Publications, 2006). 259 pages.

In his introduction and recommendation of this book, Dr. R. C. Sproul wrote, “My guess is that few people will ever pick up this book and read it. Its theme and content are too alien to modern Christianity to evoke much interest” (pg. vii). Without the awareness of many, modern Christianity has gradually become earthly-minded, shifting its focus away from the glories of heaven without being aware of it. When people do not know that a problem exists, they do not seek a remedy for that problem. This book both diagnoses the problem of worldliness and offers medicine to treat the disease.

In a sense, the title of this book is misleading. The treatise on earthly-mindedness only occupies the first third of the book. The rest of the book is divided into two sections. The first teaches us how to live our lives as those whose citizenship is in heaven, and the second teaches us how to walk with God throughout our lives.

Among many things, one thing that struck my heart closely in this book was Burroughs’ evaluation of anxiety. The Scriptures forbid believers to have anxiety over the things of this life (Luke 12). This is one of the most difficult points of practical godliness for many, if not most, of God’s people, whether they are currently under trials or not. Burroughs argued that the only causes of anxiety are the fear of some evil coming upon us, and the fear that we shall not have the means or ability to prevent that evil (pg. 12). Some people become completely miserable if they have nothing but the promises of God to protect them. All believers shall struggle with anxiety, but if we allow our anxiety to grow unchecked, we are implying that we have relinquished the care of God over us and have decided to take things into our own hands. If this is convicting (as it should be), Burroughs offers many helps and encouragements from the Scriptures. He is a physician who always wounds before he heals, but though he wounds deeply, he always provides what is necessary to heal his patients.

There are at least two sections that I intend to return to often in this volume. Section 1, chapter 8, provides “Five Directions How to Get our Minds Free from Earthly-Mindedness,” and section 2, chapter 22 contains, “Seven Directions How to Get a Heavenly Conversation.” The entire third section on “Walking with God” is very comforting as well, and the latter parts of this section provide many practical helps on how to persevere with comfort and joy in our daily devotional lives.

This book originated as a series of sermons that Burroughs preached for the profit of his congregation. His friends published the sermons after his death and noted that they had been “twice preached”—once in the practice of the preacher, and once in the hearing of the congregation. In my experience, Burroughs stands out even from among the great men of his age.  He is always simple and easy to follow, always profitable, and always eager to comfort God’s people and promote peace between men and God as well as between men and men.

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Introducing Ryan McGraw

Posted on 15. Mar, 2010 by Danny Hyde.

Meet the Puritans is pleased to announce that Rev. Ryan McGraw, pastor of Grace Presbyterian Church in Conway, South Carolina, has joined us. You can read more about Ryan’s family, education, and publications at his author page here.

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Puritan Reformed Journal 2:1

Posted on 06. Mar, 2010 by Danny Hyde.

The latest volume of the Puritan Reformed Journal (January 2010) is now in-print and available for purchase. You can read the full Table of Contents here, but I’d like to highlight a few articles and book reviews of note for this blog:

“Hot Protestants”: A Taxonomy of English Puritanism—Ian Hugh Clary

John Bunyan and His Relevance for Today—Pieter Devries

Samuel Petto (c. 1624–1711): A Portrait of a Puritan Pastor Theologian—Michael G.Brown

James Durham (1622–1658) and the Free Offer of the Gospel—Donald John MaClean

Thomas Watson: The Necessity of Meditation—Jennifer C. Neimeyer

Was Samuel Rutherford a Mystic?—Robert Arnold

John Owen and the Third Mark of the Church—Stephen Yuille

Jeremiah Burroughs onWorship—James Davison

David Berkley, Travel Through Cambridge: City of Beauty, Reformation and Pioneering Research (Book Review)—Kenneth Magnuson

Jeffery K. Jue, Heaven Upon Earth: Joseph Mede (1586–1638) and the Legacy of Millenarianism (Book Review)—Mark Jones

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