# Francis Turretin!!



## OPC'n (Nov 6, 2012)

I ordered a 3 vol set of books called Institutes of Elenctic Theology by Francis Turretin! I'm excited to start them soon. One page a day is what I'm going to do since I know he's an extremely hard read, and I have a short attention span. However, I'm going to do what John Gill told me to do in order to train my brain to concentrate on reading. Anyway, I got them second hand so the price was great! I think the previous owner didn't even read the book bc it looks brand new  Anyone here have these books? Did I make a good choice in buying them?


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## toddpedlar (Nov 6, 2012)

Turretin is excellent - you'll enjoy it. Very wordy, but very thorough.


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## py3ak (Nov 6, 2012)

Sarah, you made a wonderful choice in buying them. Turretin sets out the mainstream of Reformed Orthodoxy in opposition to Lutherans, Roman Catholics, Socinians, and some other errorists. As such, if you can have only one reference to find out what the Protestant Scholastics thought, Turretin is probably the best of what is available in English for that purpose. 

The language is dense and elliptical, so you have to watch the context closely, because many times you will have to supply a phrase from a sentence or two back in order for the sentence you are reading to be complete. But once you are aware of that and watching for it, it becomes a great pleasure to read. On every question that is raised he will either affirm, deny, or distinguish. Then he will clarify what the question and answer involve, and will answer objections. Therefore the text does require a good bit of attention, but will richly repay it in solid instruction.

I wish that on topic 3, question 18 he would have affirmed instead of distinguishing, and Dr. Mark Jones believes that on topic 20, question 8 he could have made the explanation more Christocentric, and of course he takes up an infralapsarian position; but these few defects do not make the work anything less than one of the most valuable theological systems ever put together.


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## OPC'n (Nov 6, 2012)

Oh good! So far two ppl like him.  I'm going to buy a large notebook in which to take notes. I'll have to start reading it before I know exactly what you mean by using a previous sentence to complete another sentence, Ruben. Does he say things backwards?


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## moral necessity (Nov 6, 2012)

Excellent!
They are on my list to get some day as well.

Blessings in your reading...


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## py3ak (Nov 6, 2012)

No, it's not that he says things backwards, but that he might leave out a verb or a phrase in a sentence, because he expects you to carry it over from a sentence that came before. Also the pronoun reference is not always obvious. Take v.2, p.237: the start of paragraph XVI is, "Those do not agree in substance." I believe the antecedent to "Those" is found in paragraph XV, where he speaks of the covenant of works and the covenant of grace. But what came immediately before was actually "the Old and New Testaments broadly viewed" - but that is not the reference of "those". So that's why you have to be alert to the context to see what he refers to, or what he might leave out because it has been or will be mentioned.


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## CharlieJ (Nov 6, 2012)

Sarah, what an ambitious choice! I hope it goes well. I have one piece of advice. Since Turretin breaks his work down into such self-contained units (topics, questions), rather than reading one page a day, maybe read one of those small divisions. That way you're sure to get a logical unit.


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## OPC'n (Nov 6, 2012)

py3ak said:


> No, it's not that he says things backwards, but that he might leave out a verb or a phrase in a sentence, because he expects you to carry it over from a sentence that came before. Also the pronoun reference is not always obvious. Take v.2, p.237: the start of paragraph XVI is, "Those do not agree in substance." I believe the antecedent to "Those" is found in p. XV, where he speaks of the covenant of works and the covenant of grace. But what came immediately before was actually "the Old and New Testaments broadly viewed" - but that is not the reference of "those". So that's why you have to be alert to the context to see what he refers to, or what he might leave out because it has been or will be mentioned.



Oh ok i get it now!





CharlieJ said:


> Sarah, what an ambitious choice! I hope it goes well. I have one piece of advice. Since Turretin breaks his work down into such self-contained units (topics, questions), rather than reading one page a day, maybe read one of those small divisions. That way you're sure to get a logical unit.



I was just looking at it and had the same idea


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## jandrusk (Nov 6, 2012)

Pray for me. I'm coveting your acquisition of Turretin.


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## OPC'n (Nov 7, 2012)

jandrusk said:


> Pray for me. I'm coveting your acquisition of Turretin.



you can borrow mine when I'm done reading them..........so in a decade or so


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## joejohnston3 (Nov 7, 2012)

OPC'n said:


> jandrusk said:
> 
> 
> > Pray for me. I'm coveting your acquisition of Turretin.
> ...



That is how I felt when I got " A Puritan Theology..." So many great books to read and so little time!!!!


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## Theogenes (Nov 7, 2012)

Sarah,
Turretin is excellent! I've read the three volumes and have it on my reread list since that was about 10 years ago, now. Happy reading! Enjoy the feast!


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## jandrusk (Nov 9, 2012)

OPC'n said:


> jandrusk said:
> 
> 
> > Pray for me. I'm coveting your acquisition of Turretin.
> ...



Thanks, God willing I should still be above ground.


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## OPC'n (Nov 9, 2012)

lol that made me laugh


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