Ecclesia Reformanda 2, 2 (October 2010)

Ecclesia Reformanda 2, 2 (2010) is now out, containing the following articles:

John M. Frame

Review of Michael Horton, Christless Christianity: The Alternative Gospel of the

American Church, Part 2

Michael Horton’s Christless Christianity claims that contemporary evangelicalism is so corrupt in its doctrine and preaching that it is close to rejecting Christ altogether. In this two part review article, I argue that Horton’s basis for this evaluation is itself doctrinally questionable and that he misrepresents the targets of his criticism. I describe ten assumptions Horton makes that have no basis in Scripture or in any of the major theological traditions. If we reject these assumptions (as we certainly should), we will find that Horton’s critique of evangelicalism is wide of the mark, and that it is Horton’s own rather idiosyncratic brand of Protestantism that deserves our critical attention.

Simon Wakeling

The Minor Prophets as a Unity Developing Theodicy

The issue of God’s goodness, in the face of apparent evidence to the contrary, is a perennial one, both apologetically and pastorally, and one that the twelve Minor Prophets seeks to address. I will argue that the Twelve were intended to be read together with the purpose of encouraging the post-exilic reader to trust Yahweh’s faithfulness to his salvation promises, even in the light of the many setbacks endured in the period from Israel’s collapse in 722 BC up until Judah’s disappointment in the post exilic era.

Neil G. T. Jeffers

Reformed Defences of God’s Righteousness in Ordaining the Fall

Predestination has consistently been a non-negotiable of Reformed and Augustinian theology. But it raises theological and apologetic questions which many have struggled to tackle. How does God relate to evil if he foreordains it? Is He the author of evil? What sort of freedom did Adam have? What does it mean in Reformed thought for God to ‘permit’ evil? How do we answer the unbeliever who questions the justice of a predestining God? A full theodicy is beyond the scope of one article. Working from the assumption that God predestined the Fall of Adam, this article will seek to explore the Reformed defences of God’s righteousness in doing that. It will set out both God’s moral and metaphysical distance from evil, without compromising his sovereignty and foreordination of it.

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