John D. Chitty
“The Misadventures of Captain Headknowledge” -- Rescuing victims of villainous theology since 2006. "I'm from Geneva, and I'm here to help!"
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Mid Cities OPC Sermon Podcast
- The Burdens of Others (Galatians 6:1-5) February 5, 2023On Sunday, February 5, 2023, Pastor Joe Troutman preached, "The Burdens of Others" from Galatians 6:1-5. "Jesus Christ bore the burden of our sin and guilt on the cross, and we must bear the burden of our brothers and sisteres in Christ." 1. Bearing Each Others' Burdens (vs. 1-2) 1 Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, […]
- The Power of the Sword (1 Kings 2:13-46) January 29, 2023On Sunday, January 29, 2023, Pastor Joe Troutman preached, "The Power of the Sword" from 1 Kings 2:13-46. mcopc.org/podcast
- Ascribe Ye Strength unto God (Psalm 68:34a) January 22, 2023On Sunday, January 22, 2023, Rev. Robert Mossotti preached, "Ascribe Ye Strength unto God" from Psalm 68:34a. mcopc.org/podcast
- The Son Who Did Learn Obedience (1 Kings 2:1-12) January 20, 2023On Sunday, January 15, 2023, Pastor Joe Troutman preached, "The Son Who Did Learn Obedience" from 1 Kings 2:1-12. "Jesus Christ, the Son of God, co-equal in power with the Father and the Holy Spirit, learned obedience to his Father in order to save sinners." 1. Commands He Couldn't Keep (vs. 1-4) 1 When David's time to die drew […]
- The Horns of a Dilemma (1 Kings 1:41-53) January 19, 2023On Sunday, January 8, 2023, Pastor Joe Troutman preached "The Horns of a Dilemma" from 1 Kings 1:41-53. "The Lord's King sits on the Throne and even his enemies pay homage to him." 1. Jonathan's Report (vs. 41-47) 41 Adonijah and all the guests who were with him heard it as they finished feasting. And when Joab heard the sound o […]
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The “Origen” of Rob Bellion
HT: Sola Sisters
Bound up in the recent controversy over Rob Bell’s popularization of universal reconciliation is the New Testament term, apokatastasis. This word is found in Acts 3:21:
Orthodoxy defines this term in accordance with the context of the word in its passage, its book, and the broader context of the Bible’s history of the redemptive work of God. The ESV Study Bible, therefore, illuminates this usage of the word in the following way:
Universalists like Origen and those who buy into his notion of universal reconciliation, however, prefer to read ancient Hellenistic philosophy into the term in order to wrest it from its biblical context. In Quodlibet Journal, an apparent proponent of Origen’s view, Edward Moore, writes in “Origen of Alexandria and apokatastasis: Some Notes on the Development of a Noble Notion“,
In my humble opinion, Origen wasn’t terribly successful at undermining the Hellenistic associations of the word. It would be more accurate to conclude that what he actually did was reconcile the Bible’s usage with its prior usage by pagan Greek philosophers (that went on a lot in the ancient church, with greater and lesser degrees of success). Origen basically (and I do mean basic) believed in the pre-existence of absolutely free souls as springing originally from God, freely falling into our current state of relative goodness or its antithesis (see Moore’s article), being guided by the instructive providence of God to relearn how to embrace “the Good,” even if this means some time in hell under God’s pedagogical judgment until such a time in the distant future, in which that free soul ultimately embraces the Good and is finally reconciled, or returned to the deified state from which he fell. As I read the many reviews of Rob Bell’s book (here’s Kevin DeYoung’s review, for example) that are now all over the interwebs, I couldn’t help but recognize some of these themes as being reflected in their citations of Bell’s teaching. It was kind of creepy.
I wonder how long it’ll take for the rest of Origen’s views regarding apokatastasis to be released by HarperOne under Bell’s name.
Remember, students, “Rob Bellion is as the sin of witchcraft.”
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