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Thursday, June 09, 2016
The problem with depending on the rationalism of Thomas Aquinas: Analysis of the book, "Evangelical Exodus" by Scott Oliphint
Video begins around 12:20.
This was a very good analysis of why so many students and and teachers at Southern Evangelical Seminary (founder Norman Geisler) have left Evangelicalism and converted to Roman Catholicism.
Analysis of the rationalism of Thomas Aquinas and the book "Evangelical Exodus" (Edited by Douglas M. Beaumont, Ignatius Press, 2016)
Addendum: (June 11, 2016)
Dr. White's comments on the Dividing Line Program of June 10, 2016 (from around 18 minute mark to 43 minute mark) about the Evangelical Exodus book, Norman Geisler, Southern Evangelical Seminary, Thomas Aquinas, Oliphint's lecture, and Roman Catholicism are a good addition to Oliphint's lecture.
Dr. White emphasized other issues such as the bondage of the will vs. freedom of the will (Monergism vs. Synergism) and the Sacramentalism of Thomas Aquinas. (Aquinas was the one called upon by the Pope to defend the 1215 dogma of Transubstantiation. Aquinas lived from 1225- 1274 AD, but he is the one who explained the earlier dogma of 1215. ) Also, the fact that the SES students are not exposed much at all to the best of the Reformation thinkers - Luther on the Bondage of the Will, Calvin, others - those Calvinists are avoided by Geisler and SES and so the emphasis on Aquinas and the autonomous freedom of the human will, seems to have filled that vacuum.
Dividing Line Program of June 10, 2016 :
http://www.aomin.org/aoblog/index.php/2016/06/10/arminian-loses-psalm-3310-11-ses-rome-comma-johanneum/
Three parts to that DL:
1. An Arminian writer skips Psalm 33:10-11 (beginning to 18:00)
2. Evangelical Exodus, Geisler, Oliphint, Thomas Aquinas, Roman Catholicism ( around 18.00 to 43.00)
3. Issues about the Textus Receptus, Textual Criticism, 1 John 5:7-8, some Reformed Christians who believe the Textus Receptus Greek text is the best (TR Onlyism); and how that attitude will not equip people to deal with atheists, skeptics, Muslims, JWs, Mormons, etc. who will eat their lunch if they try and bring a TR Only ism attitude into the real world in evangelism and apologetics. (43:00 to the end)
Ken, here is a response from S.E.S:
ReplyDeletehttps://whydoyoubelieve.org/2016/06/09/reformed-romanist-or-rumor-a-response-to-dr-scott-oliphint/
Thanks Algo,
ReplyDeleteI would not have known about all those responses unless you had pointed that out.
I just started reading and listening. There are several articles.
I thought this was pretty good; although I would not characterize the canon issue as "deciding", but rather discerning which books were already in existence by 96 AD and which were God-breathed and apostolic.
ReplyDeleteIndeed, upon reading Evangelical Exodus, I found little in the testimonies that necessitated a conversion to Roman Catholicism. For example, Beaumont shares, “We can trust the fallible men who made these decisions [for the books included in the final Canon], for the same reason we can trust the writings of the fallible men who authored the Bible: God kept them safe from error.” Yes, absolutely, but does this mean that I must then accept the next 1600 years of developed Catholic dogma? I cannot see why it would.
What I have concluded upon reading the book is that these men converted to Roman Catholicism for many reasons, not simply intellectual ones (this they admit in several places), and so the causes of their conversion cannot simply be reduced to their education at SES.
Dr. J. T. Bridges
https://whydoyoubelieve.org/review-of-evangelical-exodus-by-dr-j-t-bridges/
The above was in Bridges review of "Evangelical Exodus", not his response to Oliphint.
ReplyDeleteThe Aquinas material in his response to Oliphint is getting very deep and slowing me down.
https://whydoyoubelieve.org/2016/06/09/a-response-to-dr-scott-oliphints-reformcon-2016-talk/
ReplyDeleteThe Aquinas material is not easy to quickly grasp, but toward the end of the article, he makes the point with links to Called to Communion and other links of the former Reformed / Presbyterians who converted to Rome, and also linked to an article about many who have left Roman Catholicism for Evangelicalism.
Overall, that is a good point.
I can also add that there a few Baptists that have converted to Rome, (like my friend Rod Bennett), although it seems to me (I could be wrong), very few Reformed Baptists who have converted to Rome. There are a few I have seen make this claim.
I remember years ago, in R. C. Sproul's series, "heroes of the Christian Faith" - he said John Gertsner claimed that Thomas Aquinas was Reformed on matters of Election, Predestination, and God's Sovereignty. I have those cassette tapes, but no longer a useable tape recorder to play them.
ReplyDeleteWow. I found them on line:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.ligonier.org/learn/series/heroes_of_the_christian_faith/thomas-aquinas-part-1/
http://www.ligonier.org/learn/series/heroes_of_the_christian_faith/thomas-aquinas-part-2/?
Dr. White's comments (from around 18 minute mark to 43 minute mark) about the Evangelical Exodus book, Norman Geisler, Southern Evangelical Seminary, Thomas Aquinas, Oliphint's lecture, and Roman Catholicism are a good addition to Oliphint's lecture.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.aomin.org/aoblog/index.php/2016/06/10/arminian-loses-psalm-3310-11-ses-rome-comma-johanneum/
Three parts to that DL:
1. An Arminian writer skips Psalm 33:10-11
2. Evangelical Exodus, Geisler, Oliphint, Thomas Aquinas, Roman Catholicism ( around 18.00 to 43.00)
3. Issues about the Textus Receptus, Textual Criticism, 1 John 5:7, some Reformed Christians who believe the Textus Receptus Greek text is the best.