“Remembering H. M. Gwatkin”

The name of Henry Melvill Gwatkin (1844–1916) has long been a familiar one through his standard examination of the Arian heresy, Studies of Arianism (1882), which remains a classical study of this ancient heresy and which I used extensively while doing doctoral studies. What follows in the next few paragraphs is based on a

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“A beacon fire shining from afar”: Basil of Caesarea’s friendship with the Syrian Christian, Eusebius of Samosata

The Greek Christian author Basil of Caesarea (c.330–379) is usually remembered by church historians of late antiquity as an extremely important theologian, whose defense of the deity of the Holy Spirit in the final stages of the Arian controversy played a critical role in the formulation of the orthodox Christian teaching

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NEW - Monographs in Baptist History

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The Beginning of Baptist Ecclesiology
The Foundational Contributions of Thomas Helwys
by Marvin Jones

The basic question, "Where did Baptists come from and why?" has two camps that offer differing explanations: (1) the English Separatist camp produced the ministries of foundational Baptists, John Smyth and Thomas Helwys, thus takes credit for Baptist origins, and (2) the Anabaptist movement is the alternative camp, understanding either a direct connection via lineage back to the infamous Swiss Brethren or an indirect connection via Anabaptist teachings. Anabaptist ecclesiology is very much akin, if not in some ways identical, to modern Baptist ecclesiology.
In fact, the Baptist church, led by John Smyth and successively by Thomas Helwys, resembled both English Separatist and the Anabaptist ecclesiology with notable differences between both entities. When The Mystery of Iniquity is properly understood, as Helwys intended, the reader will grasp the logical reasons that the Baptist church in 1607 was akin to both the English Separatist and the Anabaptist and yet differed from both. In The Beginning of Baptist Ecclesiology, Marvin Jones give a fresh voice to Thomas Helwys's opinion that a Baptist church is a viable New Testament church, and provides further relevant material rationale for the conversation concerning Baptist origins.

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The Love of God Holds Creation Together
Andrew Fuller's Theology of Virtue
by Ryan P. Hoselton

The English Baptist Andrew Fuller (1754-1815) is well-known today for his nuanced Evangelical answer to the “Modern Question” against hyper-Calvinism, founding and leading the Baptist Missionary Society, and his exemplary pastoral ministry. In his day, however, he was also esteemed as a formidable apologist for Christian orthodoxy, especially in the area of moral reasoning. Following in the footsteps of his theological mentor, Jonathan Edwards, Fuller labored to defend the moral goodness and salutary nature of Christian doctrine against the new moral philosophy of the Enlightenment. As optimism in the moral potential of human nature waxed, reliance on God for truth and virtue waned. Echoing a long tradition of classical theologians, Fuller wished to declare afresh that the love of God, as manifested in the gospel, furnished humankind’s only hope for virtue, excellence, and happiness. In this concise study, Hoselton looks to recover the importance of ethical reasoning in Fuller’s theology and ministry and reflect on its merit for today.

The Jonathan Edwards Center at Gateway Seminary

Visit the new website of The Jonathan Edwards Center at Gateway Seminary.

“The Jonathan Edwards Center at Gateway Seminary will serve as a research, education and publication hub for Edwards studies on the West Coast.” Chris Chun, Director

Starting in March 2018, the Jonathan Edwards Center (JEC) at Gateway Seminary will open and serve as the west coast hub for Edwards related studies. As one of ten international affiliate centers of Yale University, this center seeks to be the educational epicenter for researching the life and works of America’s premier theologian. This will be accomplished via a dedicated website as well as physical space in the library at the Los Angeles Campus-Ontario. The JEC will also host conferences followed by publications which include its conference proceedings. Grad student will be able to submit papers in a competition in which the winner will receive a monetary prize and guaranteed publication. Under the auspices of Gateway Seminary, this center will seek to strengthen existing doctoral and visiting scholar programs and network with international scholarly communities as well as local churches.

New book from Beeke and Haykin

Why Should I Be Interested in Church History?
Joel R. Beeke and Michael A.G. Haykin

Now available from Reformation Heritage Books

Description:
The Word of God exalts history and calls us to study it, yet the prevailing attitude among many Christians today is that the study of the past is good for only collecting bits of entertaining trivia. Asserting that "meditating upon God's works and servants in history is not optional for the Christian but an important part of covenant faithfulness to the Lord," church historians Joel R. Beeke and Michael A.G. Haykin present seven benefits for the Christian who studies church history, and they provide practical suggestions for how they get started.