David Engelsma, Reformed Free Publishing Association Prof. Engelsma’s book which reveals the follies of what he terms preaching the ‘well-meant offer’ has been around for a number of years, providing much food for thought. This book has now been revised and reprinted. As the subject has become a common topic of debate amongst Reformed Christians, readers may value the comments of one long familiar with the book before purchasing it themselves, a purchase I urgently advise them to make. Not that I can wholeheartedly recommend the entire work. The book has great strengths and most obvious weaknesses. Its main strength is that it examines the motives of those who claim that all who do not indiscriminately ‘offer’… Full Article
Reviews
The Life and Thought of John Gill (1697-1771): A Tercentennial Appreciation Ed. Michael A. G. Haykin Brill Anxious thoughts repelled I turned to The Life and Thought of John Gill edited by Michael Haykin with apprehension because of former highly negative comments on the subjects by several contributors to this Festschrift. I read the book, however, with increasing delight as it became obvious that the winds of change are blowing away the myths that have encompassed Gill in recent years. In his introduction Dr. Haykin reviews the research done on Gill up to the present and rightly argues that there is little deep, sound work on Gill’s theology available. The book under his editorship book seeks to make good the… Full Article
To Honour God
Aug 17
To Honour God: The Spirituality of Oliver Cromwell (134 pages) Classics of Reformed Spirituality Series Edited and introduced by Michael A. G. Haykin. The pimples and warts of the Protector The editor opens up this fine little book by explaining that Cromwell (1599-1658) liked to have his portrait painted with all his “roughness, pimples, warts and everything.” History has taken Cromwell at his word. The verbal pictures handed down to us by historians and theologians alike have contained far more warts than those revealed in Samuel Cooper’s famous portrait of England’s Lord Protector. Mrs Macaulay, they say, proved in her History of England, that the idol, which seemed to be of gold, was a wooden one. William… Full Article
Joseph Kinghorn
Aug 17
The Life and Works of Joseph Kinghorn, Vol. 1 Particular Baptist Press, Springfield, MO, USA, hb. 530 pp, $24.50, ISBN 1-888514-00-0 As soon as this volume reached my hands, I read it with delight and with edification. I found in it a wealth of instruction and just cause to thank the Lord for such a faithful 18th century Baptist witness. The lives of the great Anglicans of by-gone years such as Hervey, Toplady, Whitefield and Venn are well-documented and researched but there is a dire lack of information on their Dissenting brethren. This book will certainly help to fill this breach as Joseph Kinghorn (1766-1832) was a workman who had no cause to be ashamed. The fine way he was used by God as a preacher and writer of note… Full Article
Hold Fast
Aug 17
“Hold-Fast!” A Sketch of Covenant Truth and Its Witnesses John E. Hazleton I discovered a real gem in this morning’s post. It was a small, solidly-backed, well-illustrated book. I forgot my morning newspaper as I read through its pages. Rarely have I found such excellency packed into such a small space. Truth for Today has done their readers a great service by reprinting this 1909 account of God’s covenant mercies. Hazleton portrays the cloud of witnesses who have held fast the form of sound words and preached the everlasting covenant (2 Tim. 1.13; 2 Sam. 23:5). Starting with Peter’s confession, “Thou hast the words of eternal life,” we are given many covenant treasures in the hands of worthy stewards of the… Full Article
Christian Bennett’s Review
Aug 15
Dr George M. Ella Eupener Weg 1 45481 Mülheim Germany st0008@aixrs1.hrz.uni-essen.de 7th June, 1998 The Editor Evangelical Times Grange Close Faverdale North Industrial Estate Darlington Co Durham, DL3. OPH England Dear Brethren, Would you kindly publish this letter which is a response to Christopher Bennett’s supposed review of my book. It must have been a very rushed affair as the reviewer obviously had not time to read the book. This seems typical of today’s would-be writers. I recently tracked down the Christian author of one review of my book on Fuller who also gave a lecture on the book in which he admitted, amidst jokes at my expense, that he had never read it. No remorse was shown, only a display of… Full Article
Robert Oliver on Huntington
Aug 15
Robert Oliver and the Twists and Turns of Historical Revisionism. In July, 1988 an anonymous article appeared in the Banner of Truth magazine, surprising and shocking many readers. It was a fierce attack on the person and testimony of William Huntington, known affectionately as ‘the Immortal Coalheaver’. The article, which followed a similar attack on John Gill by Robert Oliver the previous year, was planned to start off what the BOT calls an ‘important controversy’ to warn readers against the traditional Calvinism of these men. In Huntington’s case (though Gill’s was not dissimilar) the BOT were faced with two difficulties. First, it was obvious that Huntington had the largest congregation in London… Full Article
