Davenant is not an Amyraldian

Atonement discussions can often be improperly prejudiced from the onset. Initially when I became Reformed the two options were limited expiation or Arminianism. I didn’t agree with Arminianism, so naturally I went with limited expiation. Later I learned that within “Calvinism” there were other options, most notably “hypothetical universalism” which is equated [...]

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Circumcision and the Holy War

Circumcision is a prelude to the destruction of Sodom (Gen. 17), as the circumcision of Moses’ son is a prelude to the destruction of Egypt (Exodus 4:24-26). The Israelites took unleavened bread with them out of Egypt and went to The Mountain; Lot also took unleavened bread (Genesis 19:3), but did not go to The [...]

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Moderate Calvinism in England

The personal views of the Reformers are no less convincing. John Hooper (1495-1555) affirmed that Christ died “for the love of us poor and miserable sinners, whose place he occupied upon the cross, as a pledge, or one that represented the person of all the sinners that ever were, be now, or shall be [...]

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Pierced For Our Transgressions

I’m celebrating Thanksgiving a day late this year, as my parents have been in Florida. This being the case, I’ve pretty much had a free day. There are only about a handful of people on campus, mostly international students, and all of my roommates are gone. I should be working on class [...]

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Wayward Leadership

One of the problems with the internet (and I’m aware that I’m open to my own criticism here!) is that people often take it upon themselves to be authorities, when in fact they’d often do better to be students for a while. This is a problem in the church as well, as oftentimes men [...]

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The Land

I was listening to a debate between Gregg Strawbridge and a hyper-Preterist over the nature of the resurrection. Strawbridge said that the resurrection of the body was important because of God’s concern for all of creation. The hyper-Preterist responded that this ought to imply the redemption of rocks and dirt, which everyone knows [...]

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On Dort, Again

It seems that my historical presentation of Dort has been called into question. I have been accused of the worst sort of historical revisionism, trying to pull the wool over people’s eyes in an attempt to introduce something new. This is all based on the premise that “everyone knows” what Dort taught. [...]

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Ursinus on the Sufficient/ Efficient Distinction

Zacharius Ursinus explains what the Heidelberg Catechism means by its 37th question and answer in his fine commentary. The Catechism reads:
Question 37. What dost thou understand by the words, “He suffered”?
Answer: That he, all the time that he lived on earth, but especially at the end of his life, sustained in body and soul, [...]

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Limited Atonement

As Dabney points out, the very term “atonement” is unclear. What do we mean by this word? It comes from the older English, literally at-one-ment, which would imply reconciliation. We can also recall various “atonement models,” which include Christus Victor, the ransom theory, and penal substitution. Dabney, as well as Warfield, [...]

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Dabney on Unlimited Expiation

Dabney is certainly sympathetic to the Amyraldians. He doesn’t agree with Hodge’s criticisms, though he does believe that the Amyraldian solutions fail to achieve what they set out to do. For Dabney, the “limitation” of the atonement (this is a word he doesn’t much care for either) comes in the covenant of redemption [...]

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