# Which Theologian Believes/Believed Closest To Your Own Beliefs?



## Username3000 (Feb 20, 2018)

With which theologian/preacher/pastor do you share doctrinal beliefs most closely?

Put another way, which man do you most 'agree' with in terms of theology and doctrine?

Don't include your own pastor; rather, men who most of us would know. 

Did this person help you arrive at those beliefs; or, did you come to them a different way, and then discover his teaching afterward?


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## Ryan&Amber2013 (Feb 20, 2018)

J.R. Miller


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## Dachaser (Feb 20, 2018)

E.R. CROSS said:


> With which theologian/preacher/pastor do you share doctrinal beliefs most closely?
> 
> Put another way, which man do you most 'agree' with in terms of theology and doctrine?
> 
> ...


Though he was not seen as mainly a Theologian, would say Charles Spurgeon.


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## RamistThomist (Feb 20, 2018)

Gregory of Nazianzus in terms of high theology. 

Basil of Caearea in terms of practical stuff.

Photios of Constantinople in terms of theological method.

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## Ask Mr. Religion (Feb 20, 2018)

E.R. CROSS said:


> With which theologian/preacher/pastor do you share doctrinal beliefs most closely?


Berkhof



E.R. CROSS said:


> Did this person help you arrive at those beliefs; or, did you come to them a different way, and then discover his teaching afterward?


Yes. Reading Berkhof while studying for my STL degree led me out of Rome. Most say he "channeled" Bavinck, to which I would agree, but Bavinck (and Calvin) came much later in my studies. Looking back, and ignoring what Providence would be, I doubt I would have came to the same conclusions as early as I did had I took up Bavinck's massive tomes first. I appreciate the terseness and density of Berkhof, or men like Turretin, who was second in my reading after Berkhof while drowning on the other side of the Tiber.

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## beloved7 (Feb 20, 2018)

Spurgeon
White
Washer

Honorable mention, even though there are obvious differences as he was a Presbyterian, would be RC Sproul.


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## Stephen L Smith (Feb 20, 2018)

Martyn Lloyd-Jones [Greatest overall influence; LOVE his teaching]
Herman Bavinck [Wonderful dogmatic theology]
Geerhardus Vos and Greg Beale [Historic Redemptive theology]
Jonathan Edwards [Giant of a pastor, scholar, philosopher]

But could add many Puritans. We are blessed with many outstanding books now.


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## Stephen L Smith (Feb 20, 2018)

beloved7 said:


> Washer


I recently told a friend of mine to add the Puritan Thomas Brooks to Paul Washer's writings. Then when you need more help with a cleansing sanctification you just need a 'Washer' in the Brooks'

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## Username3000 (Feb 20, 2018)

Personally, it is Paul Washer for me. 

David (beloved7), are you aware of any theological differences between Spurgeon and Washer?


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## beloved7 (Feb 20, 2018)

E.R. CROSS said:


> Personally, it is Paul Washer for me.
> 
> David (beloved7), are you aware of any theological differences between Spurgeon and Washer?


Hard to say, Spurgeon's doctrine is very transparent and well documented. Washer is a shock preacher so it's kind of apples and oranges. I do like Washer though, very convicting.


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## Ray (Feb 20, 2018)

Well as I’m learning and growing I enjoy engaging and learning from these particular pastors:
Rev. Joel Beeke. “HRC”
Rev. Todd Ruddell “RPCGA “
Rev. Matthew McMahon “RPCGA”
Rev. Angus Stewart. “ PRCNA”
Rev. Brian Schwertly “WPCNA”
Rev. Greg Price “RPNA”

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## Username3000 (Feb 20, 2018)

beloved7 said:


> Hard to say, Spurgeon's doctrine is very transparent and well documented. Washer is a shock preacher so it's kind of apples and oranges. I do like Washer though, very convicting.



Granted, he does preach those kind of sermons, but he also preaches and teaches so much more. 

I encourage you to listen to more of him online. I have found so many things that show a more rounded Paul Washer. Conference sermons, interviews, small group teaching. Those are the things that make him my favourite preacher and teacher.


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## Von (Feb 21, 2018)

Paul (of Tarsus).

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## Pergamum (Feb 21, 2018)

William Carey and Andrew Fuller are my heroes.


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## Von (Feb 21, 2018)

Pergamum said:


> William Carey


Would you say that you shared doctrinal beliefs BEFORE you became a missionary - in other words he influenced you in that sense? Or did he become more of an influence as you were continuing in the mission field?


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## Ben Zartman (Feb 21, 2018)

Albert N. Martin
There's only one or two teeny bits on which I disagree with him, after listening to scores of his messages on Sermon Audio and recordings of his Academy lectures.

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## earl40 (Feb 21, 2018)

First Calvin, surprised I am the first here, and Luther with the obvious exceptions on his view of The Lord's Supper and various other trappings of his past with Rome which stuck to him.

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## Scott Bushey (Feb 21, 2018)

Ray said:


> Well as I’m learning and growing I enjoy engaging and learning from these particular pastors:
> Rev. Joel Beeke. “HRC”
> Rev. Todd Ruddell “RPCGA “
> Rev. Matthew McMahon “RPCGA”
> ...



As far as contemporaries go, I would agree with these choices. From the dead guys, I would say Turretin, Hodge and Bavinck.


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## TylerRay (Feb 21, 2018)

E.R. CROSS said:


> With which theologian/preacher/pastor do you share doctrinal beliefs most closely?
> 
> Put another way, which man do you most 'agree' with in terms of theology and doctrine?
> 
> ...


I don't know of any one man with whom I agree on every point. That being said, the most helpful books on my shelf have been Turretin's _Institutes_, Bavinck's _Dogmatics_, and A. A. Hodge's _Outlines_.

As far as living men, Rev. Todd Ruddell's sermons were perhaps the most formative influence on my views, along with a Ruling Elder at a church I used to belong to named Vaughn Hamilton.

I've also been greatly helped and influenced by the late Dr. William Young, and by Rev. Matthew Winzer's contributions here on the Puritan Board.

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## JOwen (Feb 21, 2018)

Samuel Rutherford, Wilhelmus à Brakel.

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## RBachman (Feb 21, 2018)

1. Berkhof for Theology (His systematic theology was the purgative my wife & I were first given when we left the arminian/premil disp camp forever!
2. Knox for attitude & courage and the right posture for facing God's opponents (I think of him frequently when praying 'Thy Kingdom Come')
3. Dabney for courage and also theology
4. Bunyan for Piety and Humility
5. Mueller (Muller) for my doctrine of Prayer
6. Taylor for my doctrine of self-sacrifice, missions, and personal calling (currently studying)
7. Machen (of course for Greek, but the more I read about him and his life the more I like him as an example for living)

As I get older I am focusing less on the nuts and bolts of theology and more on the nuts and bolts of a sanctified life lived as a verb in modern society. So my 'bigs' are the guys who had solid theology, and were able to get out there and get dirty and bloody being used by God to build His kingdom. 

Maybe it is a subtle form or idolatry, or a reaction to the superhero craze, but I wish more young Christians knew about these guys and their lives and just their raw unfettered courage to be used by God no matter what the cost. These are some of the true superheros humanely speaking, and their superpower was humility & faith. And as far as I know, only Taylor had a costume.

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## chuckd (Feb 21, 2018)

JOwen said:


> Samuel Rutherford, Wilhelmus à Brakel.


Ok, "JOwen."

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## Dachaser (Feb 21, 2018)

Besides Spurgeon, *I* would say learned much from Hodge, James Montgomery Boice, and also Wayne Grudem. *Though I* would add that *I* do not agree with Dr Grudem views on continuing prophecy, nor eternal subordination.


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## SeanPatrickCornell (Feb 21, 2018)

Jim Renihan or Richard Barcellos


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## Post Tenebras (Feb 21, 2018)

RC Sproul and RJ Rushdoony and my library reflects these two far beyond all others.


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## timfost (Feb 21, 2018)

Charles Hodge
Berkhof
Calvin

(In that order)


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## Regi Addictissimus (Feb 21, 2018)

The author of the Epistle to the Hebrews for his sublime Christology.
Thomas Watson for his poetic way of expounding doctrines and Scriptures.
John Owen because him and I are both meticulous when our focus is on a topic.
J. C. Ryle for his devotional nature and high regards for sanctification.
Martyn Lloyd-Jones has become like a dear friend. I start most days off by listening to a sermon of his.
There are so many more that have been instrumental in my life. Hodge, Witsius, Calvin, and Bavinck deserve a mention as well.

Reactions: Edifying 1


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## ZackF (Feb 21, 2018)

Of the long time ago guys, Augustine is the most influential on me. The following contemporary men who come to mind have been used by God in my life. Not deliberately but it says something that these are all L'Abri folk. They are in chronological order.

1. Os Guiness(i know, he's not a theologian proper): A began reading him when I was still RC in the late 90s and early 2000s. He appealed to what I liked about Catholicism but he was a convinced evangelical and wasn't afraid to say so though he expressed embarrassment and frustration at many silly trends at the time. Along with his compassion for aimless modern man, he was the first modern Protestant, after CS Lewis, who convinced me that Protestantism today wasn't intellectually bankrupt.

2. Francis Schaeffer: He furthered my confidence that not all Protestants checked their brain and orthodoxy at the church door. He was interested in and insightful with culture, history and had reasons for the way things are today. He cared about 'little people.' 

3. Jerram Barrs: While Covenant Seminary has been the subject of controversy in recent years, I can't think of any man who'd not be a better pastor, husband, father or Joe Six-Pack Christian by reading/studying Barrs. I don't agree with him on everything, like his 2nd commandment views, but most of his pastoral theology is spot on. He's not a formally trained guy like a lot of the CCEF folks but he gets people. I know I would care much less for the lost, be a more judgmental man, pray less and worse, fear men more and God less, and be less enamored of the Law and Gospel if God had not used him in my studies.

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## Flowers (Feb 21, 2018)

I'm surprised that Jean Calvin isn't more mentioned here. He's my #1. Here's my list:

Calvin for exegesis
Bonhoeffer for spiritual disciplines, obedience, character, and courage
Luther for creativity
Frame for systematics
Calvin again for ecclesiology
Ridderbos for New Testament
Augustine for passion and antiquity
Kline for Old Testament
Pratt for honorable mention
Edwards for preaching
Clowney for Christ centered hermeneutics


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## Steve Curtis (Feb 21, 2018)

Pink first convinced me of the sovereignty of God
Next, Boettner and Warfield turned a dyed-in-the-wool dispensationalist into a Presbyterian.
Thereafter, Hodge, Calvin, Berkhof, and Vos (in that order) fleshed out my theology.

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## Von (Feb 22, 2018)

kainos01 said:


> Boettner and Warfield turned a dyed-in-the-wool dispensationalist into a Presbyterian.


Which of their works on eschatology is the best?


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## Myson (Feb 22, 2018)

BayouHuguenot said:


> Gregory of Nazianzus in terms of high theology.
> 
> Basil of Caearea in terms of practical stuff.
> 
> Photios of Constantinople in terms of theological method.


I'm just starting to get into the Patristics and would love the details of what you mean! Maybe send me a dm and we can go from there on specifics and places to start? Thanks!


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## RamistThomist (Feb 25, 2018)

Myson said:


> I'm just starting to get into the Patristics and would love the details of what you mean! Maybe send me a dm and we can go from there on specifics and places to start? Thanks!



I am actually going to post a list on PB.


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## greenbaggins (Feb 25, 2018)

Geerhardus Vos for me, hands down. I consider him the best theologian since the apostle Paul. As great as Calvin was, I think Vos surpassed even him. At any rate, I find myself most in line with Vos.

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## ZackF (Feb 25, 2018)

Myson said:


> I'm just starting to get into the Patristics and would love the details of what you mean! Maybe send me a dm and we can go from there on specifics and places to start? Thanks!



Jacob is certainly more well-read and more recently read in the Fathers. I look forward to his list. If you haven't already I'd look for a second hand copy of this little edition of the ante-Nicene apostolic fathers as a good place to start.

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## Reformed Covenanter (Feb 25, 2018)

Ray said:


> Rev. Angus Stewart. “ PRCNA”



It is good that you are enjoying my friend, Rev. Stewart's preaching. I am not Protestant Reformed, but I occasionally attend meetings/events at his congregation. He is a great preacher.

With respect to the OP, it is hard to answer because I disagree with nearly all of the men by whom I have been most influenced. Still, I will make a stab at it (in no particular order):

1. Samuel Rutherford (excepting his voluntarism)
2. Francis Turretin (excepting the evangelical feast days)
3. Thomas Aquinas (except for the popish bits)
4. Augustine (except for the popish bits)
5. John Calvin (excepting the evangelical feast days)
6. John Owen (except for Independency)
7. James Dolezal (except for baptism)
8. Peter Sanlon (except for ecclesiology; he was converted through my current congregation)
9. William Perkins (except for advocating the death penalty for theft)
10. J. G. Vos (except for eschatology)
11. Herman Bavinck (except for common grace)
12. Thomas Boston (though I am not sure about his defence of the _Marrow_)
13. Thomas Houston (except for tolerating fake wine in communion)
14. Charles and A. A. Hodge (except for the WMO and creation)
15. B. B. Warfield (except for creation)
16. Henry Bullinger (excepting the evangelical feast days)
17. Martin Bucer (excepting the evangelical feast days)
18. Louis Berkhof (except for eschatology, the WMO, and common grace)
19. Herman Witsius (there were a few oddities in his _Economy of the Covenants_ but I have forgotten what they were; perhaps some of his views on republication, though I am a moderate republicationist)
20. R. L. Dabney (except for racism, American slavery, the WMO, and church-state relations)
21. D. A. Carson (except for baptism and the Sabbath)
22. Herman Hoeksema (except for eschatology, the covenant of works, divorce and remarriage, and church-state relations)
23. John Murray (except for the WMO and rejecting the covenant of works)
24. Meredith Kline (except for the Klineanism)
25. J. C. Ryle (except for ecclesiology and hypothetical universalism)
26. John Brown of Haddington (except for not compelling church attendance and some loose statements that sounded a bit like hypothetical universalism)
27. Geerhardus Vos (I am not sure about some aspects of his Biblical Theology)
28. Lorraine Boettner (except for his preterism)
29. Greg Bahnsen (except for his presuppositionalism and some of the exegesis used to defend theonomy)
30. Alexander McLeod (perhaps too hard on John Adams and he made under-nuanced statements on textual criticism)
31. James Renwick Willson (except for insisting on lining out the psalms)
32. John Flavel (perhaps too favourable to the Glorious Revolution)
33. William Ames (except for Independency)
34. Jeremiah Burroughs (except for Independency)
35. Michael Horton (except for Klineanism, imprecatory psalms, and eschatology)
36. Mark Jones (except for his antagonism to exclusive psalmody)
37. Various Eastern Fathers that I have read (except for their synergism)
38. William Symington (perhaps too favourable to the 1859 revival in Scotland).
39. J. I. Packer (except for ecclesiology and concessions to ecumenism)
40. John Gill (except for baptism and hyper-Calvinist leanings)
41. David Engelsma (same issues as Herman Hoeksema).
42. Martyn Lloyd-Jones (except for ecclesiology and gifts of the Spirit)
43. John Stott (except for ecclesiology and compromise on eternal punishment)
44. James Durham (except for some historicist interpretations)
45. Robert Baillie (except for being unnecessarily polemical against the Independents)
46. George Gillespie (except for Christ's mediatorial kingship)
47. Alexander Henderson (except for Christ's mediatorial kingship)
48. Robert Letham (except for his criticisms of Thomas Aquinas, creation, and EO sympathies)
49. Peter Jensen (except for ecclesiology; his son is my assistant minister)
50. James Ussher (except for Royalism and hypothetical universalism)
51. Ezekiel Hopkins (except for ecclesiology and passive obedience)

That is all that I can think of for the time being.

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## RamistThomist (Feb 25, 2018)

Reformed Covenanter said:


> It is good that you are enjoying my friend, Rev. Stewart's preaching. I am not Protestant Reformed, but I occasionally attend meetings/events at his congregation. He is a great preacher.
> 
> With respect to the OP, it is hard to answer because I disagree with nearly all of the men by whom I have been most influenced. Still, I will make a stab at it (in no particular order):
> 
> ...



Evidently you put some thought into this. I like it.

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## RamistThomist (Feb 25, 2018)

Reformed Covenanter said:


> except for the WMO



What does WMO mean?


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## arapahoepark (Feb 25, 2018)

BayouHuguenot said:


> What does WMO mean?


Well meant offer.

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## Reformed Covenanter (Feb 25, 2018)

I should also add that I disagree with Charles Hodge and R. L. Dabney on the Lord's Supper, as they rejected Calvin's position.


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## Reformed Covenanter (Feb 25, 2018)

I also added John Murray and Meredith Kline to my list.


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## JimmyH (Feb 25, 2018)

Obviously I have some homework ahead of me if I want to catch up to many of the more knowledgeable participants in this thread. Though I have dabbled in Calvin's Commentaries, and have STs by the 'big guys', Bavinck, Berkhoff, Hodge among others, I haven't really gotten into them yet.
At present Martyn Lloyd-Jones and D.A. Carson have been the most influential on my view of theology. In his commentary on Romans Douglas Moo says, in the Bibliography, the section on Commentaries used, Moo says of MLJ ;
"His very relevant homiletical applications grow out of insightful, theologically informed exegesis, and the reader can see from the notes how much his exegesis has informed my own thinking about the text."
High praise from a noted theologian/teacher.


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## Jake (Feb 25, 2018)

Daniel, is there one person that you find you don't disagree with on any one thing?  To be fair, my list would probably be similar if I were to try to make it, but now I'm genuinely curious. The Westminster Divines or Scottish Commissioners perhaps?


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## Reformed Covenanter (Feb 25, 2018)

Jake said:


> Daniel, is there one person that you find you don't disagree with on any one thing?  To be fair, my list would probably be similar if I were to try to make it, but now I'm genuinely curious. The Westminster Divines or Scottish Commissioners perhaps?



The Westminster divines represented a fairly broad range of opinion, so there will probably be some things in most of their writings with which I would not concur. I have updated the list to include more of the Scottish commissioners. I have to say that I do not recall reading anything in James Fergusson or David Dickson that I took issue with, but, then again, I have not read that much of their writings.


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## Stephen L Smith (Feb 26, 2018)

greenbaggins said:


> Geerhardus Vos for me, hands down. I consider him the best theologian since the apostle Paul. As great as Calvin was, I think Vos surpassed even him. At any rate, I find myself most in line with Vos.


I thought Vos was like walking on your left leg; Bavinck like walking on your right leg. Both legs are best

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## Stephen L Smith (Feb 26, 2018)

ZackF said:


> Os Guiness(i know, he's not a theologian proper):


His book "the dust of death: The Sixties Counterculture and How It Changed America Forever" (now out of print) had a profound impact on my thinking in my youth.


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## greenbaggins (Feb 26, 2018)

Reformed Covenanter said:


> 23. John Murray (except for the WMO and rejecting the covenant of works)
> 27. Geerhardus Vos (except for some aspects of his Biblical Theology)



Daniel, I can understand all of your caveats except for these two. Why do you think that Murray rejects the CoW just because he rejects the terms? I'm not sure I agree, for instance, with T. David Gordon's analysis. Murray's description of the Adamic administration leaves almost all of the pieces of the CoW intact. He just doesn't like the name. 

With regard to Vos, which aspects of his Biblical Theology do you take issue with? 



Stephen L Smith said:


> I thought Vos was like walking on your left leg; Bavinck like walking on your right leg. Both legs are best



Interesting analogy. Vos stands on his own two feet, in my opinion.  However, I would not want to be without my Turretin, Hodge, Warfield, Calvin, Shedd, etc., either.


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## TylerRay (Feb 26, 2018)

greenbaggins said:


> Why do you think that Murray rejects the CoW just because he rejects the terms? I'm not sure I agree, for instance, with T. David Gordon's analysis. Murray's description of the Adamic administration leaves almost all of the pieces of the CoW intact. He just doesn't like the name.


I know this isn't addressed to me, but I wanted to ask--isn't it true that Murray not only disliked the term _Covenant of Works_, but that he _denied that Adam's relationship with God was covenantal in nature?_


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## greenbaggins (Feb 26, 2018)

Tyler, my analysis is that Murray didn't like the term "covenant" to describe the Adamic situation. So he would say that the Adamic relationship with God was not covenantal. However, the terms of the relationship wind up being pretty much the same as the standard descriptions of the CoW. Murray basically committed the word-concept fallacy, in my opinion.

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## Doulos McKenzie (Feb 26, 2018)

I think my views are pretty well summed up in the writings of the greatest Reformer: his majesty Michael Servetus

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## greenbaggins (Feb 26, 2018)

Doulos McKenzie said:


> I think my views are pretty well summed up in the writings of the greatest Reformer: his majesty Michael Servetus



BURN HIM QUICKLY!!!

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## Username3000 (Feb 26, 2018)

Is a man who was burned at the stake for a heterodox view of the Trinity and of Christ a worthy source of comedy?

That man had an eternal soul, and he is even now, as we speak, experiencing something of his eternal destination.

Would we not be better off deriving our enjoyment from the ale house or the theatre than from the circumstances of Servutus' life and death?

It is only by God's grace that you or I are not ourselves the punch line of that joke.


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## greenbaggins (Feb 26, 2018)

E.R., he meant it as a funny line. I thought it was funny. I responded in kind. It's fine if you don't think it is funny. 

On your position, though, we could not laugh at any of the Darwin Awards. We couldn't laugh at Haman in the Bible. Do you think it is possible that laughing at such foolishness is one of the ways God's grace keeps us from going down that road?

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## Username3000 (Feb 26, 2018)

greenbaggins said:


> E.R., he meant it as a funny line. I thought it was funny. I responded in kind. It's fine if you don't think it is funny.
> 
> On your position, though, we could not laugh at any of the Darwin Awards. We couldn't laugh at Haman in the Bible. Do you think it is possible that laughing at such foolishness is one of the ways God's grace keeps us from going down that road?



I don't find Haman funny.

The 'Darwin Awards' don't involve people being burned at the stake and going to hell. Entirely different categories.


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## greenbaggins (Feb 26, 2018)

E.R., I wasn't drawing a direct comparison between the Darwin awards and Servetus. I was saying that your position would not allow us to laugh at either. I find Haman funny, and I believe rather strongly that the Bible paints him in a funny light. 

However wrong it was for Servetus to be burned at the stake, there is more to the story, and there is rather strong evidence that Servetus had a martyr complex, and basically goaded the entire world (the Romanists and the Lutherans all congratulated Geneva on executing him) into executing him. This is strongly foolish behavior.

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## Reformed Covenanter (Feb 26, 2018)

greenbaggins said:


> Daniel, I can understand all of your caveats except for these two. Why do you think that Murray rejects the CoW just because he rejects the terms? I'm not sure I agree, for instance, with T. David Gordon's analysis. Murray's description of the Adamic administration leaves almost all of the pieces of the CoW intact. He just doesn't like the name.



While I admit that somethings that T. David Gordon said may be a bit over the top, I would agree with Tyler that John Murray's position is a significant modification of traditional covenant theology. Moreover, if you do not view the arrangement with Adam as a covenant of works you run huge exegetical problems when confronted with the text of scripture (Romans 5 and Galatians 4, for instance). And I do not think that it is going too far to suggest that he was a seminal influence on Shepherdism and the Federal Vision. 



greenbaggins said:


> With regard to Vos, which aspects of his Biblical Theology do you take issue with?



I am trying to read/re-read most of his major works this year (I read the first two volumes of Reformed Dogmatics 12-18 months ago). I have not read _Biblical Theology_ since 2004, when my levels of comprehension were much lower than they are now. I recall reading in his inaugural lecture that the modern practice of Biblical Theology was "born under an evil star", which raises questions about its utility as a theological method. I certainly do not like the direction some of his disciples have taken Biblical Theology, as I think they undermine the ethical authority of the Old Testament and lend weight to the idea that biblical authors have different theologies. But I will be able to say more after further reading.


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## beloved7 (Feb 27, 2018)

I was expecting to see RC Sproul on here a lot more than so far. He was one of the most brilliant theologians I have ever seen, and I'm not even a Presbyterian! Seriously though, Ligonier Ministries has been an enormous blessing.

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## Reformed Covenanter (Feb 27, 2018)

greenbaggins said:


> With regard to Vos, which aspects of his Biblical Theology do you take issue with?



I edited that bit, changing it to "I am not sure about some aspects of his Biblical Theology", which more accurately reflects my position.


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## Gforce9 (Feb 27, 2018)

beloved7 said:


> I was expecting to see RC Sproul on here a lot more than so far. He was one of the most brilliant theologians I have ever seen, and I'm not even a Presbyterian! Seriously though, Ligonier Ministries has been an enormous blessing.



David,
I agree that R.C Sproul was a very smart guy, a good theologian and that Ligonier is a blessing. My best guess for this lack of showing is that he was too covenantal for many Baptists and too independent for many Presbyterians (St. Andrews is an independent Presbyterian church, which is an oxy-moron and, for an ordained Presbyterian minister and theologian, this is problematic). He held a few controversial views (who doesn't?), but my place in glory will be a lawn seat compared to his front row seat.......

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## Rev. Todd Ruddell (Feb 28, 2018)

TylerRay said:


> I don't know of any one man with whom I agree on every point. That being said, the most helpful books on my shelf have been Turretin's _Institutes_, Bavinck's _Dogmatics_, and A. A. Hodge's _Outlines_.
> 
> As far as living men, Rev. Todd Ruddell's sermons were perhaps the most formative influence on my views, along with a Ruling Elder at a church I used to belong to named Vaughn Hamilton.
> 
> I've also been greatly helped and influenced by the late Dr. William Young, and by Rev. Matthew Winzer's contributions here on the Puritan Board.



Dr. William Young is also one of my contemporary favorites.

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