ARTICLE XVII - PREDESTINATION: PASTORAL RATHER THAN POLEMICAL
ARTICLE XVII - PREDESTINATION: PASTORAL RATHER THAN POLEMICAL
By Roger Salter
Special to Virtueonline
www.virtueonline.org
Sept. 13, 2012
The purpose of Article XVII is primarily pastoral. The intention of the leaders of the English Reformation was to address the common people for the edification of the whole church rather than engage in speculative theology and disputation. They pursued their academic tasks in another context e.g. William Whitaker versus Peter Baro who objected to the doctrine of an unconditional election.
Their aim in the Article was to entice believers to an assurance and enjoyment of their God-appointed state of salvation through grace alone. Predestination was a definite truth of divine revelation to be humbly received, but it had practical implications that required wise counsel and sensitive guidance. It was not beyond the competence of the English Reformers to consider issues such as supra-lapsarianism versus infra-lapsarianism, or to weigh theories, later formulated logically in the 17th century by Amyraut and Pajon, as to the extent of the atonement or the nature of effective grace.
Read the full story at www.VirtueOnline.org
By Roger Salter
Special to Virtueonline
www.virtueonline.org
Sept. 13, 2012
The purpose of Article XVII is primarily pastoral. The intention of the leaders of the English Reformation was to address the common people for the edification of the whole church rather than engage in speculative theology and disputation. They pursued their academic tasks in another context e.g. William Whitaker versus Peter Baro who objected to the doctrine of an unconditional election.Their aim in the Article was to entice believers to an assurance and enjoyment of their God-appointed state of salvation through grace alone. Predestination was a definite truth of divine revelation to be humbly received, but it had practical implications that required wise counsel and sensitive guidance. It was not beyond the competence of the English Reformers to consider issues such as supra-lapsarianism versus infra-lapsarianism, or to weigh theories, later formulated logically in the 17th century by Amyraut and Pajon, as to the extent of the atonement or the nature of effective grace.
Read the full story at www.VirtueOnline.org
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