@NathanNwanji @1689Dogmatician e.g. Reformed has ALWAYS meant confessional, and it's always relative to that time. There's no reason to all-the-sudden change the meaning. That said... that meaning has been under attacking since before Charles Hodge (whose doctrine of the Supper placed him outside the camp).
@NathanNwanji @1689Dogmatician The term Reformed is temporally relative to the codification of the confession. Zwingli wouldn't be Reformed by any standard today, but we categorize him as such in the books. Later Calvin (Sabbath)? Sure. Early Calvin? No. During his own day? Yes. Two words: Gallican Confession.
@1689Dogmatician This is really important. I'm Presby, and while I try to avoid social media, most of what I end up doing is defending Reformed Baptists from my Presbyterian brethren.
Should be simple: DO YOU OR DO YOU NOT HOLD TO ONE OR MORE W/O EXCEPTION FROM THE FOLLOWING SET (WCF/BC/1689)?
@cody_floate@ZachHollifield 100%. It's really annoying, but I'm Presbyterian (mentally OPC, but in PCA), so my take is "are you on the session?" YES or NO. Shame PCA kicks out elders the moment they're finally becoming mature enough to do the job. They go by term, so... we're really inconsistent.
We quote and source the Puritans so often, but we less often think of who they quote and source. I’ve now read 300 pages of Goodwin’s Works and kept a note of those he most often cites. In order of frequency, Goodwin mentions:
1) Beza
2) Wolfgang Musculus
3) Calvin
4) Aquinas
True story...
Wife: I bought all these shirts today.
Me: How much were they?
Wife: It was on sale! Oh, there's a package on the porch for you.
Me: Ask me how much it was.
Anything beyond this is Fesko's "genius theologian" problem. You don't get to change "Reformed" to have any other meaning. Heaven knows I have my problems with Fesko, but wow that was a good article. https://t.co/6pl8ybeNN6
Reformed means that you personally confess an ecclesiastically-used Reformed confession w/o exception.
I'm a strict six-forms of unity guy, and haven't been a 1689er since 2014. Yes, they're Reformed.
Those with exceptions who sit with me in PCA pews? They are NOT Reformed.
What Do You Mean When You Say That Someone is NOT Reformed? A Thread 🧵
I like to start with the word Reformed itself, because words have meanings. It comes from the word Reformation, specifically the Protestant Reformation of the 16th Century.
This is not likely what's happening. WTS did the same thing. The best example of the idea of Todd Rester. His sermons are based on strong Biblical exegesis, but he speaks within confessionally Reformed catholicity. Even my man Oliphint is clearly on board with this.
At the very least, Reformed Baptists need to be aware of this intentional shift away from an exegetical theology in their seminaries.
They need to see this for what it is, and respond to it with a clear, direct knowledge of it, whatever their conclusions will end up being.
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Exegesis is final, but it must be done within confessionally Reformed catholicity. This is the DNA of "Reformed". It's not "no true Scottman", it's "XX and XY have meaning". People don't get to self-identify as "Reformed" when they deviate from the confessions.
FULL. STOP.
Perhaps people think that catholicity should NOT take precedence? They're OK to think that. I'm only concerned with confessional, Reformed catholicity, which, by definition, has their priorities straight.
Take this message as me formally recanting my Biblicism from years ago.
So, yeah, I don't see why people are triggered by the two theism books by @MattMBarrett. They're fully compatible with confessional (Reformed) theology. Watered down? Yes, but that's the point. It's for a popular audience. It's a great way to get started on Anselm and Aquinas.
We attended a congregation up the street during Christmas, and this other PCA minister explicitly stated a place, in the middle of the sermon, where he felt the Confession was wrong. Yikes. I can see why he transferred from OPC recently. #WeDontHaveOPCHereAnymore
This from @jjcassidy hits home. I never heard of a "confessional exception" until a year after we were PCA members. My head is still spinning -- I mean this literally. I become lightheaded when I remember when I learned what my kids are being exposed to. https://t.co/PmGBHYmN1U
This euphemism of an "exception" really needs to go away. The confession literally defines orthodoxy, you're simply heterodox. This is when we pray that the Lord blesses them by offering them a more honest calling somewhere else. Perhaps inter-denominational missions...
Old school Presbyterians just laugh as those outside that claim to the mainstream line as 'truly reformed and Calvinist'. Dispensationalism is 1000 steps away from what Calvino and reformers believed. Call them the tulip but that's just the tip of the iceberg.