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Wyatt Graham

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Reformed Theology

One Reason Why Pettiness Is Regarded as Piety

March 9, 2022 by wagraham 1 Comment

Herman Bavinck once wrote, “There is so much narrow-mindedness, so much pettiness among us, and the worst thing is that this is regarded as piety.” Bavinck was referring to two Christian groups the separatist churches of the Grievers and Seceders. Both groups left the state church, but they could not get along. 

Why? Not because of matters of orthodox doctrine. Both had it. But because of pettiness and narrow-mindedness. It is the old problem of Donatism, of a drive for purity that that cuts itself off from other people. We often feel holier than the body of Christ. 

But Jesus accepts us just as we are by faith. And so the body of Christ should welcome one another just as Christ welcomed us (Rom 15:7). To do anything less is to miss the mark of Christ’s love and formation of his body, the church.   

One reason why we often become petty and narrow-minded as Bavinck says is because we do not understand how God’s Spirit gifts the created world and people in it, even of unbelievers or believers whom we disagree with. We think we are at the centre of it all. We are not because any truth or goodness that we find in this world has its origin in God.  [Read more…] about One Reason Why Pettiness Is Regarded as Piety

Filed Under: Culture, Theology Tagged With: Holy Spirit, Natural Theology, Reformed Theology

Know Nature to Know Scripture

May 21, 2021 by wagraham 1 Comment

“For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it,” reasons Paul before saying, “just as Christ does the church, because we are members of his body” (Eph 5:29–30).

Paul here moves seamlessly from the nature of human bodies to the supernatural grace of Christ’s for the church. Paul then continues moving from nature to grace by defining the church as those who are “members of his body.” By members, Paul means parts of the body: a hand, a foot, an eye, and so on. 

Nature explains grace. That’s why God made everything. [Read more…] about Know Nature to Know Scripture

Filed Under: Theology Tagged With: Natural Theology, Reformed Theology

A Reformed Harmony between Church and Civil Authority (The Leiden Synopsis)

May 8, 2021 by wagraham 3 Comments

After the Synod of Dordt (1618-1619), faculty from the University of Leiden spent years disputing reformed orthodoxy to create a synopsis that defined the norm of reformed orthodoxy.
 
During these disputations, Johannes Polyander (1568–1646) rejected the Roman Catholic position, as expressed in the Council of Trent and elsewhere, that “clerics are entirely and unconditionally exempt from the yoke of the political magistrate” (§50.21).

[Read more…] about A Reformed Harmony between Church and Civil Authority (The Leiden Synopsis)

Filed Under: Theology Tagged With: Political Theology, Reformed Theology

Episode 35: Malcolm Yarnell on Confessionalism, Anabaptists, and Being Baptist

March 9, 2021 by wagraham 1 Comment

In this episode, Malcolm Yarnell and I discuss confessionalism, anabaptists, and being baptist. I hope you enjoy this episode!

Make sure to subscribe to the podcast on Spotify and/or Apple Podcasts. Also, see the host page at Anchor and the Youtube page. And bookmark this page to see every episode. [Read more…] about Episode 35: Malcolm Yarnell on Confessionalism, Anabaptists, and Being Baptist

Filed Under: Podcast Tagged With: Anabaptism, Baptist Theology, Reformed Theology

How Did 16th and 17th Reformed Theologians Interact with Post-Reformation Roman Catholics?

January 24, 2021 by wagraham Leave a Comment

In Beyond Dordt and De Auxiliis, a number of Reformed and Catholic scholars discuss, as the subtitle notes, The Dynamics of Protestant and Catholic Soteriology in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries. 

While it may be tempting to assume that Reformed and Roman Catholic theology completely drifted apart after the Reformation and Council of Trent, Beyond Dordt puts that assumption to rest. Each chapter in the work uncovers the complex relationship between Reformed and Roman Catholic debate during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. And the conclusion is that the Reformed and Roman Catholics knew each other’s works, interacted with each other, and often did so for polemical and non-polemical reasons.  [Read more…] about How Did 16th and 17th Reformed Theologians Interact with Post-Reformation Roman Catholics?

Filed Under: Books Tagged With: Reformed Theology

Six Ways That John Calvin Speaks about Free Will

August 26, 2020 by wagraham 3 Comments

John Calvin speaks about free will in the following six ways:
 
1. Adam had free will and freely chose to sin.
 
2. Adam lost free will because free will requires the mind to deliberate and to discern good from evil before choosing one of these ends. In this sense, free will no longer exists in humans because our natures have become corrupted.

[Read more…] about Six Ways That John Calvin Speaks about Free Will

Filed Under: Theology Tagged With: Reformed Theology

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Wyatt is the Executive Director of The Gospel Coalition Canada. He enjoys his family and writing. You'll generally find him hiding away somewhere with his nose in a book.

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