Reformed Brethren Blog (English)

  Part 1 , Part 2 , Part 3 , Part 4 , Part 5 , Part 6 First of all, I will not attempt here to delve into a thorough defense of Calvinism. It is tempting to do so, but this short e-book is perhaps already too long.  Fine, resources on Calvinism are, furthermore, easily available (see Recommended Resources).  Here, I will try to define and explain some aspects of the Calvinistic theology. Sin and Evil [1] 1.      There are literally dozens of Scripture passages that say that God (indirectly) brought about some kind of evil. The most evil deed of all history, the crucifixion of Christ, was ordained by God – not just the fact that it would occur, but also all the individual actions connected with it. The church at Jerusalem recognized this, for they prayed: “For truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, to do wh...

Part 1 ,  Part 2 ,  Part 3 ,  Part 4 ,  Part 5 [1] The statistic of fifty-eight executions strongly appears to find its genesis from Galiffe. It was he that went through the old Genevan registers and counted. Galiffe was no fan of Calvin. [2] [3] Richard Stauffer  points out that Galiffe was from an " old Genevese family " extremely bitter towards Calvin " not only as a foreigner, but also as an intruder and usurper in the life of the old city ." [4] Stauffer includes him as presenting a picture of Calvin in which the Reformer isn't recognizable. Schaff notes that the Galiffe's (father and son scholars) viewed Geneva as " independent and free " until Calvin came along.  In Galiffe's presentation, the emphasis is that whatever evils may have been present in Geneva, Calvin made them much worse once he arrived. It appears that Galiffe's research (same with Johnson C. Philip’s also) suffers from the logical error of  post hoc ergo propter ...

  Part 1 ,  Part 2 ,  Part 3 ,  Part 4 Michael Servetus was a Spaniard, a medical doctor, a lawyer, and a theologian  [1] . His doctrine of the Trinity was unorthodox—so much so as to shock both Catholic and Protestant in his day. In 1553, he published his views and was arrested by the Catholics in France. But, alas, he escaped to Geneva. He was arrested there, and Calvin argued the case against him. He was sentenced to death. He was burned at the stake on October 27, 1553. [2] This has tarnished Calvin’s name so severely that many cannot give his teaching a hearing. But we have to remember that Calvin never held civil office in Geneva but exerted all his influence as a pastor. [3] J. I. Packer tries to set the Servetus affair in the light of its time. “The anti-Trinitarian campaigner Servetus was burned at Geneva in 1553, and this is often seen as a blot on Calvin’s reputation. But weigh these facts: 1) The belief that denial of the Trinity and/or Incarnation ...

  Part 1 ,  Part 2 We have seen that the early Brethren were Calvinists. J. N. Darby, B. W. Newton, Anthony Norris Groves, J. G. Bellett, George Müller, and C. H. Mackintosh were some of them. Now let us examine the influence of Calvinism in one of the southern states in India, i.e., Kerala. As we all know, the modern Brethren movement was introduced into India by Anthony Norris Groves in 1833. The Brethren movement began to take root in Kerala during 1870s. A second wave of growth among the Kerala Brethren started in 1894 with the arrival of  V.D. David and L.M. Wordsmith . They were joined by  Handley Bird , who established assemblies in Northern Kerala. Brother K. V. Simon joined the Brethren movement during 1910s. Let us now examine the teachings of Handley Bird and K. V. Simon. Handley Bird and Calvinism The source of information concerning the theology followed by Handley Bird can be found in the book “VERPAD SABHAKALUDE CHARITHRAM” written by K V Simon. [...