February 25, 2009
In 1946 Roy Key of Juneau, Alaska, caused a small stir with his article “The Righteousness of God” in the January 24 issue of the Gospel Advocate. It promoted “some ideas,” one reader wrote, that he “not been accustomed to hearing.” As a result, G. C. Brewer took up his pen to commend the article […]
20 Comments | Stone-Campbell | Tagged: Churches of Christ, Faith, Foy E. Wallace, G. C. Brewer, Grace, Guy N. Woods, James A. Harding, Jr., Justification, K. C. Moser, Plan of Salvation, Tennessee Tradition, Texas Tradition, Works | Permalink
Posted by John Mark Hicks
February 24, 2009
My quest continues as I post older materials to my website, some published, some previously unpublished. 1. On October 8-9, 1993, I led a Men’s Leadership Retreat at Camp Idlewild, Virginia on the topic “Where’s the Grace?” (It is not my fault, Bob Clark invited me!) I have uploaded the lesson handouts and my rough […]
5 Comments | Biblical Texts, Stone-Campbell, Theology | Tagged: Assurance, Bible-Ephesians, Bible-Hebrews, Churches of Christ, Faith, Fellowship, Grace, Justification, Sanctification, Works | Permalink
Posted by John Mark Hicks
February 23, 2009
Alexander Campbell’s relationship with the Baptists is rather complicated. His Brush Run congregation petitioned for membership Redstone Baptist Association in 1815 and then was admitted in 1816. In 1823 Alexander Campbell, along with thirty members from the Brush Run church, planted a new congregation in Wellsburg, Virginia. That congregation joined the Mahoning Baptist Association in 1824. […]
13 Comments | Stone-Campbell | Tagged: Alexander Campbell, Andrew Broaddus, Baptism, Baptists, Experience, Faith, Holy Spirit, Justification, Pneumatology, Restoration Movement, Robert B. Semple, Salvation, Soteriology', Southern Baptists, Stone-Campbell | Permalink
Posted by John Mark Hicks
February 17, 2009
A classic example of the divide between the Texas Tradition and the Tennessee Tradition is the “rebaptism” issue. I reproduce a particular “for instance” here without comment. In my next post, I will offer a few observations. Of course, this is but one example of many exchanges which actually began in the 1883 Gospel Advocate when […]
16 Comments | Stone-Campbell, Theology | Tagged: Baptism, Churches of Christ, David Lipscomb, Faith, Firm Foundation, George W. Savage, Gospel Advocate, James A. Harding, Obedience, Rebaptism, Remission of Sins, Tennessee Tradition, Texas Tradition | Permalink
Posted by John Mark Hicks
February 14, 2009
If the life and ministry of Jesus is our pattern, then we all fall woefully short in every way. Moral Patternism. We rarely have a difficult time hearing that we are imperfect in terms of morality since we are well aware that we fail to image the character of Jesus in so many ways–internally and […]
5 Comments | Stone-Campbell, Theology | Tagged: Baptism, David Lipscomb, Faith, Grace, James A. Harding, Moral Law, Patternism, Perfectionism, Positive Law, Stone-Campbell, Tennessee Tradition | Permalink
Posted by John Mark Hicks
February 5, 2009
Cecil May, Jr.–Dean of the V. P. Black College of Biblical Studies at Faulkner University–is a kind, loving Christian gentlemen in the best sense of that term. He was the first to ever interview me for an academic position just weeks before Sheila died as he was about to become President of Magnolia Bible College. […]
27 Comments | Stone-Campbell, Theology | Tagged: Cecil May, Churches of Christ, Faith, G. C. Brewer, Grace, Hermeneutics, Humility, Jr., Legalism, Patternism | Permalink
Posted by John Mark Hicks
January 12, 2009
Peter Abelard (1079-1142), who pioneered the scholastic method of theologizing, produced a volume entitled Sic et Non (or, “Yes and No”) for use in teaching through the dialectic method. It is a composition of quotes from earlier theologians and fathers on a variety of topics, but they are arranged oppositionally, that is, some theologians say […]
20 Comments | Books, Stone-Campbell | Tagged: Churches of Christ, Conservative, Division, Doctrine, Faith, Fellowship, Hermeneutics, Opinion, Salvation, Todd Deaver, Traditional, Unity | Permalink
Posted by John Mark Hicks
December 22, 2008
Recently a researcher in Europe asked for a copy of my article The Righteousness of Saving Faith: Arminian Versus Remonstrant Grace (published in Evangelical Journal in 1991) to assist his investigation of Arminianism. It gave me the opportunity to dig it up and put it on my website. The article is based on my Ph.D. […]
17 Comments | Church History, Stone-Campbell | Tagged: Arminianism, Arminius, Atonement, Calvinism, Churches of Christ, Faith, Guy N. Woods, Justification, K. C. Moser, Limborch, Merit, R. C. Bell, Remonstrant Brotherhood, Stone-Campbell | Permalink
Posted by John Mark Hicks
October 24, 2008
Spiritual formation the hard way? Spiritual formation–being formed into the image of Christ by the Father through the power of the Spirit so that Christ is formed in us from the inside out–comes in at least two ways. Neither are easy; both are difficult. Neither are instantaneous; both are processes. There is a disciplined, habitual approach to […]
7 Comments | Books, Personal, Spirituality | Tagged: Authentic Faith, Books, Faith, Forgiveness, Gary Thomas, Sanctification, Spiritual Formation, Spirituality, Test, Testing, Transformation | Permalink
Posted by John Mark Hicks