World from Our Window has an excellent article quoting a passage from Joel Burke’s book Meet the Puritans on the benefits of reading books from the Puritan movement in the 16th and 17th centuries.

I must admit, I haven’t read a lot of Puritan works aside from John Bunyan (highly recommended), John Owen (highly recommended with a caveat; he is difficult to read) and selected texts from others of that period. I’ve been reading Jonathon Edwards, yet he wasn’t really considered a Puritan. He came along after their time, yet his works do reflect the Puritan mindset, theological leanings and pure devotion to God and His glory. Edwards is widely considered to be the greatest theologian ever born on American soil. I cannot dispute that claim.

Great teachers still teach long after their deaths. The Puritans were outstanding teachers and preachers of God’s word and we can still benefit from their collective wisdom today in this Postmodern world.

I thank God for books. They allow us to build upon the wisdom of generations gone by. I thank God that every new generation that rises up in the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ doesn’t need to re-invent the wheel, theologically and doctrinally. The bible is a huge volume of knowledge and wisdom. Its contents are not easily digested. It would take many lifetimes of intense study to master it. Yet, we don’t need to start with a blank page. The dead speak to us from the grave. Many men in church history have devoted their lives to mine the great truths of this holy volume. Take heed and learn!

Note: If you are interested in purchasing Puritan books check out this section from Monergism Books. Personally, I plan on getting the Puritan Paperback Bundle (bottom of page) at some point in the future.

Huh? You say.

I’ll let this excellent video excerpt from a CrossTV series explain.

Note: I originally found this video on the home page of Old Truth. I linked to the YouTube site because the video image is bigger. Thanks again to Jim Bublitz for providing us with such excellent material.

Jim over at Old Truth has an excellent article on this subject.  You must check out the YouTube video included in the post.  It gives an excellent illustration of what’s wrong with many small group bible studies today.  I think if we were all honest, we would admit some degree of guilt to this form of biblical interpretation.
Enjoy!

Now that I have your full attention, let me direct you to this wonderful post by John Hendryx over at the Reformation Theology blog.

John also runs what I simply call the Best. Website. Ever. – Monergism.com. It is the most incredible, comprehensive resource of Reformation Theology ever assembled in cyberspace. John has a keen understanding of the concept of monergism as opposed to synergism. He has an ability of explaining these high level theological systems in a way that is very easy to grasp. I highly recommend that you read every article he has written on the subject. John’s writings are only a drop in the ocean, however, compared to all the material from venerable dead theologians he has to offer. Many contemporary reformed theologians are featured there as well. The sheer volume of information available is likely to overwhelm you at first. Just pick a topic and dig in. Centuries of Godly wisdom and knowledge are to be found there. You must check it out!

Yeah, I know, this is yet another post linking to someone else’s work, but don’t give up on me yet. I’m still recovering from my illness. My energy level is still low, so I don’t stay up late blogging like I should. Maybe, I’m getting too old for this sort of foolishness… Naaah!

Believe it or not I have many writing projects on the burner including several mailbag questions I’m in the process of answering. I also plan on launching a series of posts explaining the 5 points of Calvinism. All this and much, much more will be coming to a monitor near you! Stay tuned!

OK, I’m done humiliating myself with cheesy self-promotion. You may continue on with your life now.

Good question.

I’ll let Dan Phillips (one of those smokin’ hot Pyromaniacs) provide the answer in this great post from his blog, Biblical Christianity. 

I found this excellent short article from Reformation Theology quoting Calvinist pastor Charles Simeon’s conversation with famed Arminian pastor John Wesley.

Simeon found common ground between them and fellow-shipped with Wesley on that turf.

Sigh… If only today’s Arminians were as Calvinistic as Wesley!

The problem in the 21st century is the turf we share with many of today’s ‘free-will’ advocates amounts to no more than a molehill.

Continue reading →