Introducing The Andrew Fuller Review

The Andrew Fuller Center currently publishes The Andrew Fuller Review. This publication has replaced the Eusebeia journal and is published three times a year. AFR carries articles and book reviews related to Baptist history and thought.

Table of Contents of first issue.

Editorial from first issue (in which Dr. Haykin explains the purpose of the Review).

Subscriptions to the Review are available yearly for $20 ($30 international). Please make payment to “The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.”

Please send subscription requests and payment to:

The Andrew Fuller Center for Baptist Studies The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary 2825 Lexington Road Louisville, KY 40280

Editor: Michael A.G. Haykin

Managing Editor: Joe Harrod

 

“The mission of art”

Here is a great statement from Steven D. Greydanus in his review of the film The Mill & the Cross on the purpose of art:

“André Bazin, the great Catholic film critic and theorist, wrote about the mission of art to rescue the world from transience and corruption, to capture moments and events in time and space before they slip into the irretrievable past, and so bear witness to the hand of God in creation.”

Justin Martyr on prayer: two comments

It has been said that there are few texts in Patristic material that indicate Christians prayed for the salvation of unbelievers. I think the case is rather that the effort in finding them has not been made.

Here are two from Justin Martyr’s Dialogue with Trypho 96.3 and then right at the close where Justin prays for Trypho and his friends (Dialogue with Trypho 142.3).

Also noteworthy is what Justin says about the common perception regarding the type of prayers that God hears: “who does not know that prayer is the most pleasing to God which is uttered with lamentation and tears, with prostrate body or bended knees?” (Dialogue with Trypho 90.4). Of course, in the context, Justin is seeking to show that Moses’ prayers during the battle with the Amalekites were nonetheless heard even though he was seated. The whole passage needs read, for it is a fascinating piece of early Christian exegesis to show that it is prayer through the crucified Christ that wins the hearing of God.

What are the 5 Best Theology Books You've Read?

Dr. Haykin has responded to a question submitted on this website's "Ask Me a Question" feature. The question was: "I was wondering if you would be willing to give me your picks for 5 of the best theology books you’ve read and recommend." Dr. Haykin responded with his list here. Feel free to interact with his list and share your own in the comment section for his post.

Posted by Steve Weaver, Research Assistant to the Director of the Andrew Fuller Center for Baptist Studies, Dr. Michael A.G. Haykin.

What is the best book you read in 2011?

I was just asked this question by Matthew Barrett of Credo. It is an easy question to answer in some ways. Out of the multitude of books that I did read in 2011, one stands out head and shoulders above the others. It is John Wigger, American Saint: Francis Asbury and the Methodists (Oxford University Press, 2009). This is "thick" history at its best: rich in detail, conversant with the cultural, theological and ecclesial scene and deeply awe-inspiring. I was astonished at the way I resonated with the heart-beat of a man with whom I have serious theological differences on the level of secondary issues. A superb read.

A W Pink on John Gill

It has been a long time since I have read much of A.W. Pink [in fact, it has also been a while since I blogged--have been extremely busy with end-of-term stuff and preparing papers for ETS]. I read his study on the sovereignty of God years ago when I was a young Christian and then soon after Iain Murray's life of Pink. Recently, a student at Toronto Baptist Seminary loaned me A.W. Pink, Letters to a Young Pastor: Letters to Rev. R. Harbach, transcribed Janice Harbach (Grandville, Michigan: The Evangelism Committee of Grandville Protestant Reformed Church, 1993). In perusing it, I noticed this on John Gill (on page 15) in the midst of comments about building a library:

“You are wise to ‘weed out’ your books—it is an expensive matter to move around a large library! John Gill is a strong Calvinist, and generally speaking, particularly good on the Epistles [of Paul], though at times he is ‘hyper’-Calvinistic—losing the ‘balance’ on the human responsibility side. He came after the Puritans. The ‘Puritan era’ was, roughly, from 1580 to 1690… Go slow in adding to your library…”

New Audio Online

We have recently uploaded several new audio files to the website. These include both the audio from our recent conferences at SBTS and some occasional lectures by Dr. Haykin at various locations.

Be sure to keep an eye on the Audio page for the latest audio from Dr. Haykin.
Posted by Steve Weaver, Research Assistant to the Director of the Andrew Fuller Center for Baptist Studies, Dr. Michael A.G. Haykin.

Michael Haykin on the Reformation

Over on the Credo magazine blog, Matthew Barrett recently enlisted Dr. Haykin to talk about the life and theology of Martin Luther in celebration of Reformation Day. In the first video Haykin explain how Martin Luther was converted, in the second video Haykin tells us how Luther came to post the 95 theses, in the third video Haykin tells the story of Luther’s famous “Here I Stand” speech at Worms, and in the fourth video Haykin addresses the contemporary question, “Is the Reformation Over?” Click here to access these videos.

Posted by Steve Weaver, Research Assistant to the Director of the Andrew Fuller Center for Baptist Studies, Dr. Michael A.G. Haykin.

Adoniram Judson Bicentennial Volume

Click to enlarge. 2012 will mark the bicentennial of when Adoniram and Ann Judson set sail for India. Next Fall, B&H Academic is releasing a volume to commemorate this event titled Adoniram Judson: A Bicentennial Appreciation of the Pioneer American Missionary. Edited by Jason G. Duesing of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, this volume will feature contributions by scholars such as: Daniel L. Akin, Robert Caldwell, Jason G. Duesing, Keith Eitel, Candi Finch, Nathan A. Finn, Michael A. G. Haykin, Paige Patterson, and Gregory A. Wills.

Posted by Steve Weaver, Research Assistant to the Director of the Andrew Fuller Center for Baptist Studies, Dr. Michael A.G. Haykin.

A Conference for Our Canadian Readers

Having just advertised a conference which the Andrew Fuller Center is sponsoring in Louisville, KY, I thought it might be an appropriate time to mention a conference of which I've come aware to be held in Mississaugua, ON on Saturday, November 12th.  This conference, sponsored by the Ezra Institute for Contemporary Christianity, focuses on the important theme of Christ and Culture. Details about the conference are available here.

Posted by Steve Weaver, Research Assistant to the Director of the Andrew Fuller Center for Baptist Studies, Dr. Michael A.G. Haykin.

Free Mini-Conference: La Réforme: Celebrating the French Reformation

The Andrew Fuller Center is sponsoring a special mini-conference on November 2, 2011 on the campus of Southern Seminary. TheLa Réforme conference will celebrate the French Reformation on the Quincentennial of the birth of Pierre Viret (1511-71). Speakers include Michael Haykin, Paul Roberts, Dustin Benge, and Shawn Wright. More details here.

This half-day conference commemorating the 500th anniversary of the French Reformation is free to all. The conference will meet from 9 AM to 12 PM on Wednesday, November 2, 2011 in Heritage Hall. Students, faculty, and alumni are invited to attend. Refreshments will be served.

Posted by Steve Weaver, Research Assistant to the Director of the Andrew Fuller Center for Baptist Studies, Dr. Michael A.G. Haykin.

Religious Freedom: Historical Highlights & Patterns. Part 1: The Puritans and Oliver Cromwell

In his recent study of the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany in June of 1941, American historian John Lukacs notes that one of the most important reasons for remembering the past is the correction of misreadings of the historical record, since, as he says, “the pursuit of truth is often a struggle through a jungle of sentiments and twisted statements of “facts”.” How true this is when it comes to the subject at hand, the history of religious freedom. It is often argued that religious freedom as a concept owes its origins to the eighteenth-century Enlightenment and its rejection of the religious dogmatism of the both Roman Catholicism and Protestantism. In point of fact, in the English-speaking world, it is the previous century that is critical in the development of the idea of religious toleration. And it is in the matrix of certain circles of seventeenth-century English Puritanism, where, far from being the Taliban-like regime of popular imagination, the idea that religious coercion by the state is fundamentally wrong was birthed.

Take, for instance, the Puritan military leader Oliver Cromwell (1599–1658), a man whose name is still regarded with great abhorrence in certain parts of the British Isles and who is frequently, though wrongly, considered to have been a tyrant when he ruled England in the 1650s. During the civil wars that engulfed the British archipelago between 1642 and 1651, Cromwell played a key role as a general fighting for the Puritan cause against the royal house of Stuart. As he reflected on the cause of these wars, he came to the conviction that one of the main reasons that he and many others had taken up the sword against their king was to secure genuine religious liberty.

Scholars differ as to the exact parameters of Cromwell’s policy of religious toleration and all of the motives that guided him in this regard. Yet, there is no gainsaying the plain fact that Cromwell had a burning desire for an atmosphere of genuine religious toleration that was far in advance of what most in the Europe of his day were willing to sanction. As he told Parliament in 1654:

"Is not Liberty of Conscience in religion a fundamental? So long as there is liberty of conscience for the supreme magistrate to exercise his conscience in erecting what form of church-government he is satisfied he should set up, why should not he give it to others? Liberty of conscience is a natural right… All the money of this nation would not have tempted men to fight upon such an account as they have engaged, if they had not had hopes of liberty, better than they had from Episcopacy, or than would have been afforded them from a Scottish Presbytery, or an English either…"

The one place that Cromwell drew the line with regard to religious liberty was where that liberty threatened the maintenance of public law and order.

Probably the most amazing statement by Cromwell in favour of such toleration is a remark that he made in 1652. He forthrightly declared that “he had rather that Mahometanism were permitted amongst us than that one of God’s children should be persecuted.” Central to this declaration is the conviction that if unity between the various groups of Christians is not immediately possible, then a second best is liberty of conscience. This statement also reveals, as English historian Geoffrey F. Nuttall has noted, a sturdy faith in the might of the Holy Spirit to lead Christian men and women of differing views into unity. As John Owen (1616-1683), one of Cromwell’s army chaplains, stated shortly after Cromwell’s death—in a statement that well sums up Cromwell’s view of religious liberty:

"The Spirit of Christ is in himself too free, great and generous a Spirit, to suffer himself to be used by any human arm, to whip men into belief; he drives not, but gently leads into all truth, and persuades men to dwell in the tents of like precious Faith; which would lose of its preciousness and value, if that sparkle of freeness shone not in it."

Dr Mohler on Steve Jobs

Dr Mohler has an excellent overview of the significance of the life of Steve Jobs (1955-2011). In it there is this important paragraph that bears on any study of history:

"Christians considering the life and death of Steve Jobs will do well to remember once again the power of an individual life. God has invested massive creative abilities in his human creatures. These are often used for good, and sometimes deployed to evil ends. Steve Jobs devoted his life to a technological dream that he thought would empower humanity. He led creative teams that developed technological wonders, and then he made them seemingly necessary for life in the digital age."

Introducing Credo: The Online Magazine

Many of the readers of this website have already benefited from the Credo magazine website which features great articles, book reviews, and interviews. This week, the first issue of the free online magazine has been released and it is fantastic. This issue's theme is "The Living Word" and focuses on the contemporary debate over the authority of Scripture. The Andrew Fuller Center is pleased to partner with Matthew Barrett (Founder and Executive Editor of Credo) on such a worthy undertaking.

Posted by Steve Weaver, Research Assistant to the Director of the Andrew Fuller Center for Baptist Studies, Dr. Michael A.G. Haykin.