He Descended Into Hell

Recently, an article by Pastor Hyde, published as: "In Defense of the Descendit: A Confessional Response to Contemporary Critics of Christ’s Descent into Hell" (The Confessional Presbyterian 3 (2007) 104–117) has come to my attention. (link to article)

I enjoyed the article, which provides a Reformed rebuttal both to criticisms (from well-meaning but ill-informed Reformed and other Evangelical folks) and abuses (from Romanists and others). It's a great example of taking back the so-called Apostle's Creed from historical revisionism.

Although, of course, we do not consider the Apostle's Creed to be itself apostolic, nor to be authoritative, it is still encouraging to see that it is not something that must be rejected as heterodox.

-TurretinFan

Genuine Christian Apostasy Debate

I'm pleased to announce that a debate between J.C. Thibodaux and myself on the topic of the Perseverance of the Saints. JCT will be the affirmative in the debate, affirming a resolution that denies that the doctrine of the Perseverance of the Saints is consistent with Scripture. I will be the negative, defending PotS as consistent with Scripture.

Here's a link to the debate in general (link).

Here's a link to JCT's opening (link) (and the mirror at his own website).
Here's a link to my opening (link).

May this examination of God's word be edifying both to the debaters and the readers,

-TurretinFan

Apologetics in the Information Age - a Response to Mark Shea

I've posted a new article at the Team Apologian blog. The general topic is the relevance and importance of apologetics. In some sense it is meta-apologetics - a defense of a defense of the faith.

Here's the first paragraph:

The printing press revolutionized apologetics. Suddenly it became possible for books to be widely disseminated with a relatively small expense. Today, the Internet has reduced that expense even further. As with the printing press, the blessings are mixed. The technological advances make defending the faith easier, but they also making attacking the faith easier. Apologetics remains important – and the defenders of the faith have an important role to play.

(read more)