Please click on the link to view Christopher T. Bounds, “The Scope of The Atonement in the Early Church Fathers,” Wesleyan Theological Journal 47.2 (Fall 2012) 7-26. Here is the author’s conclusion: In conclusion, while Thomas Oden in…
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Matt O’Reilly, Entire Sanctification in the Early Church
[Please note that SEA does not necessarily endorse Wesley’s doctrine of Entire Sanctification, but it is a position that SEA members can hold.] I’ve often heard that John Wesley’s emphasis on Entire Sanctification (or Christian Perfection)…
The Early Church on Corporate and Not Unconditional Election
From William W. Klein, “Election,” in the Dictionary of the Later New Testament and Its Developments, edited by Ralph P. Martin and Peter H. Davids, we learn that the New Testament authors, apostles, and their…
Micah Currado, “Early Church Fathers on the Freedom of the Will and Romans 9”
Please click on the link to view “Early Church Fathers on the Freedom of the Will and Romans 9.” The early church resoundingly affirmed the liberty of the will, in spite of the well-known philosophical option…
Early Church Father Jerome on Free Will
From the Letters of St. Jerome, CXXXIII: It is in vain that you misrepresent me and try to convince the ignorant that I condemn free-will. Let him who condemns it be himself condemned. We have been created endowed…
Calvinists Now Appealing to the Early Church as a Historical Witness?
This document looks through some common quotes from the Church fathers that some Calvinists have used to attempt to argue that an embryonic Calvinism existed in their thoughts. Unsurprisingly enough, a little context seems to…
On Man’s Free Will: What the Early Church Believed
“On Man’s Free Will: What The Early Church Fathers Believed” [Quotes are from The Ante-Nicene Fathers, ed. Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson; 1885-1887; repr. 10 vols. Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson, 1994. They are cited in A…
The Early Church and Calvinism
This is a detailed study of Calvinism in light of the earliest Christian writers (Ante-Nicene Church Fathers). It demonstrates that the primary features of Calvinism were not taught by the Ante-Nicene Fathers but were actually considered heretical by these early Christian writers (often connected to various forms of gnosticism). Numerous quotes from these Ante-Nicene writers are provided for the reader to carefully consider.
Andrew Sullivan, “Harmony of the Arminian Faith: A Proposal to the Global Methodist Church” (Full Thesis)
Please click on the attachment to view Andrew Sullivan, “Harmony of the Arminian Faith: A Proposal to the Global Methodist Church.” John Wesley left the people called Methodist a trio of doctrinal…
Mark K. Olson, “Early Methodist Christology”
Christmas is a season we celebrate the incarnation. The 18th century saw the rise of anti-Trinitarian theologies that undermined belief in Christ’s deity. Some scholars argue that John Wesley held a deficient view of the…
Vic Reasoner, “Primitive Methodism and the Twenty-First Century Church”
An undisciplined Methodist is a contradiction in terms. Methodism is as much a spiritual discipline as it is a system of theology. Here are three priorities we can adapt from primitive Methodism in order to…
Richard Coords, “Church Splits”
Church Splits occur when a significant portion of a church leaves to form a separate church. Calvinism is a common cause of such splits. It usually occurs when a new pastor is hired and conceals…
Daniel LaLond Jr., “Moody Church’s Dr. Lutzer Out Of Step With Founders”
Unknown to his supporters, the respected pastor of Moody Church in Chicago, Dr. Erwin W. Lutzer, annuls key biblical texts with strange, unorthodox interpretations. By doing so, this modern evangelical icon promises paradise to the…
Early Arminian Baptist Thomas Grantham on God’s Permission vs Decree (1678)
Here is early English Arminian Baptist church planter and preacher Thomas Grantham on God’s providence and permission, from his 1678 work Christianismus Primitivus: Sect. XIII. Nothing can be done without God’s Providence, though contrary to…
Accepting/Rejecting Calvinism (Pt. 13: Calvinism, Church History, and Prevenient Grace)
This is from a series of posts which was copied with permission from Jordan Apodaca’s blog, “Thoughts & Anti-Thoughts,” which can be accessed here: https://jordanapodaca.wordpress.com/ This particular post, which allows comments, can be accessed here: https://jordanapodaca.wordpress.com/2017/08/01/acceptingrejecting-calvinism-pt-13-calvinism-church-history-and-prevenient-grace/…
Accepting/Rejecting Calvinism (Pt. 1: The Early Years)
This is the first in a series of posts which was copied with permission from Jordan Apodaca’s blog, “Thoughts & Anti-Thoughts,” which can be accessed here: https://jordanapodaca.wordpress.com/ This particular post, which allows comments, can be…
Loraine Boettner’s Botched Church History
The Church history of Loraine Boettner (1901-1990), as such intersects with Calvinism, is a world of fantastical claims not at all grounded in reality. From the Grace Online Library, Boettner is quoted as insisting, “It…
Church Fathers on Libertarian Free Will
Clement of Rome: (Knew Peter and Paul personally. He was the third or fourth bishop of Rome. Tradition has identified him with the Clement who is mentioned in Philippians 4:3) “For no other reason does…
Jack Cottrell, “Did The Early Christian Fathers Teach Calvinism?”
The following appeared on non-Calvinist scholar Jack Cottrell’s Facebook page (dated July 25, 2011): QUESTION: Some say that the doctrines of Calvinism did not begin with John Calvin, nor even with Augustine (died A.D. 430).…
Steve Witzki, Early Christian Writers on Apostasy
In the attached article, Steve Witzki surveys the thought of the early church on the topic of apostasy, concluding: “It seems rather apparent that the Ante-Nicene Fathers believed that a Christian could sever their saving…
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Sermon Video: Jack Hibbs, “God’s Good – Good Sovereignty (Romans 9:14-29)”
Video: The Adventures of Sir Calvin the Almost Gallant
Mark K. Olson, “From the Beginning to the End: John Wesley’s Doctrine of Creation”
Jonathan McLeod, “A Response to James White on 2 Peter 2:1”
