ReformedWiki.org - User contributions [en]

I.C. Herendeen

2025-03-10T17:25:11Z

Ben Leevey: Added birth/death dates

Irwin Charles Herendeen (1883-1982) was a little known, but very influential [[Reformed Baptists|Reformed Baptist]] brother, who is sometimes credited with being one of the founders of the American Reformed Baptist church. He knew, and was heavily influenced by [[A.W. Pink]], he edited several of Pink's books. He also had an impact on the life of [[Albert Martin]].

He was involved in Chapel Library, the Bible Truth Depot, and other works of God.

He wrote several books including "[https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/13824115.I_C_Herendeen Death is Coming]" and "[https://graceonlinelibrary.org/christian-life/the-christian-the-world-by-i-c-herendeen/ The Christian and The World]"

There is an [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-biography-of-i-c-herendeen-the-narrated-puritan/id1517623449?i=1000530897393 audio biography] of him widely available.

I.C. Herendeen

2025-03-10T17:00:34Z

Ben Leevey: Added page

I.C. (Irwin Charles) Herendeen was a little known, but very influential [[Reformed Baptists|Reformed Baptist]] brother, who is sometimes credited with being one of the founders of the American Reformed Baptist church. He knew, and was heavily influenced by [[A.W. Pink]], he edited several of Pink's books. He also had an impact on the life of [[Albert Martin]].

He was involved in Chapel Library, the Bible Truth Depot, and other works of God.

He wrote several books including "[https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/13824115.I_C_Herendeen Death is Coming]" and "[https://graceonlinelibrary.org/christian-life/the-christian-the-world-by-i-c-herendeen/ The Christian and The World]"

There is an [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-biography-of-i-c-herendeen-the-narrated-puritan/id1517623449?i=1000530897393 audio biography] of him widely available.

Manicheaism

2024-11-29T19:06:38Z

Ben Leevey: Changed faith to: Doctrine of Demons and Religion

[[File:Manichaean Diagram of the Universe (Detail 12).jpg|thumb|300x300px|The four heralds of the Manichean religion: Zoroaster, Mani Hayya, Jesus Christ and the Buddha]]
'''Manicheaism''' is an extinct syncretic religion founded in the 3rd century and based on the teachings of the alleged prophet, [[Mani Hayya]] who grew up in a [[Jewish Christian]] sect in the [[Sasanian Empire|Sasanian Persian Empire]], before adopting his own teachings and living the life of a travelling preacher, travelling as far west as [[Syria]] and as far east as [[India]].

The religion's main focus was on a [[Dualism in cosmology|dualistic cosmology]], where the world is set as a spiritual battle between the forces of righteous light and the forces of unrighteous evil. This is similar to the cosmology of [[Zoroastrianism]], however it is more extreme as it teaches that the light can be trapped within any material entity, and so every object has a conscience and can be harmed or helped by interacting with it.

Some [[Early Christianity|early Christian]] theologians were originally Manicheans, including [[Augustine of Hippo]]. This has caused debate around how much of Augustine's theology may have been influenced by his former religious profession.

The faith claimed to be the spiritual successor of the teachings of [[Zarathustra]], the [[Buddha]] and most of all [[Jesus Christ]], each of who they recognised as the "Heralds" of the religion.

The religion changed a lot over time and was initially much more [[Christianity|Christian]], before becoming more influenced by [[Gnosticism]], until being much more [[Buddhism|Buddhist]].
==History==
'''<big>Persian religion in the 3rd century</big>'''

In the 3rd century, Persia was a centre of diverse religious expression. The dominant religion was Zoroastrianism and the Zoroastrian clergy held much influence in Sasanian politics, being closely tied to the royal court and playing a key role in legitimizing the rule of the Emperor, known as the Shahanshah. At this time, Zoroastrianism became more centralised and organised, with efforts to codify its scriptures and rituals.

In the east of the empire, Buddhism and [[Hinduism]] had begun to take hold, particularly in regions like [[Bactria]] and along the Silk Road trade routes. Buddhist monasteries and stupas were established, serving not only as religious centres but also as hubs of cultural and intellectual exchange. Hindu influences, while less widespread, were present in certain eastern provinces, brought in through trade and interactions with the Indian subcontinent.

Other [[Polytheism|polytheistic]] folk traditions existed, many of them following a specific figure in the Persian [[Paganism|pagan]] pantheon, such as [[Mithra (Pagan god)|Mithra]], the god of covenants and the sun. These traditions were often localized and varied widely across the empire, reflecting regional customs and beliefs that predated the rise of Zoroastrianism. Although not officially endorsed, such practices persisted among rural communities.

The 1st and 2nd centuries had also seen the rise of smaller movements based around the teaching of Jesus. Unlike in the west, these movements were not well organised and often held to unorthodox views about the [[Trinity]] and the [[Law of Moses]]. The two biggest Christian sects in Persia during this period were the [[Ebionites]] and the [[Elkasaites]], both Jewish Christian factions who believed that the law of Moses continued to apply despite the coming of the [[Messiah]]. Both rejected the [[Bible]] and the Trinity, however the Ebionites rejected the divinity of Jesus, whilst the Elkasaites believed that Jesus was [[God]], but was subordinate to the [[God the Father|Father]] (''see [[subordinationism]]'').

'''<big>The Prophet Mani</big>'''
[[File:Mani.jpg|thumb|211x211px|Mani Hayya claimed to be another Apostle]]
[[Mani Hayya|Mani]], later known as Mani Hayya (which was later latinised to Manicheaus), was born in an Elkasaite baptist community in Mardinu around the year 216 CE.

He began to receive visions at the age of 12 from a being described as the "Heavenly Twin", possibly a reference to the [[Thomas the Apostle|Apostle Thomas]]. This being told him that his family's sect had twisted the [[Gospel (disambiguation)|gospel]] and that he has been chosen to restore it. At age 24, he left his father and the Elkasites to pursue education in spiritual matters.

It is speculated that he may have been exposed to the [[Epistles|writings]] of [[Paul the Apostle|Paul]], which were denied by both of the dominant Jewish Christian sects in Persia at the time as in all the writings ascribed to him, he introduces himself as "Mani, an [[Apostles|Apostle]] of Jesus Christ".

Mani travelled to India and became educated in the teachings of Buddhism, before returning to Persia and studying Zoroastrianism. Mani then syncretised these teachings with his own Christian faith to create Manicheaism.

Returning to Persia in 242 CE, Mani presented his teachings to [[Shapur I|Emperor Shapur I]]. To gain the monarch's attention, Mani composed the [[Shabuhragan]], his only work written in Middle Persian, dedicating it to Shapur. This text outlined his dualistic cosmology, blending elements of Christianity, Buddhism, and Zoroastrianism into a universal doctrine. Although Shapur I did not convert to Manicheaism and remained loyal to Zoroastrianism, he was intrigued by Mani's ideas and allowed him to become part of his court.

Mani’s charisma and reputed miraculous abilities played a significant role in his influence. Accounts credit him with performing feats such as levitation, teleportation, and [[Healing (Spiritual Gift)|healing]], which helped attract followers, particularly among Persia's elite. Additionally, Mani was renowned for his artistic skills, particularly as a painter, and used visual art to communicate his teachings, reportedly illustrating his texts to make them more accessible.

After Shapur's death, and the short rule and death of his successor, [[Bahram I|Emperor Bahram I]] took power. Bahram, influenced by the staunchly Zoroastrian reformer [[Kartir (Zoroastrian)|Kartir]], viewed Mani as a [[Heresy|heretic]] and began a campaign of persecution against the Manicheans. Mani was imprisoned under Bahram's orders, and he died within a month, in 274 CE, while still in custody. According to Manichean sources, Mani spent his final days offering comfort to his disciples, teaching that his death was merely the return of his soul to the realm of light.

A biography of him, written by his later followers, was discovered in [[Egypt]] in 1969 and is known as the [[Cologne Mani Codex]]. It has been dated to the 5th century. <ref>COLOGNE MANI CODEX – Encyclopaedia Iranica</ref>

'''<big>The 3rd, 4th and 5th centuries</big>'''

After Mani's death in 274 CE, his followers ensured the survival of his teachings through a well-organized religious hierarchy and the distribution of his texts. Manicheaism spread quickly along the Silk Road, reaching regions as diverse as [[Rome]], Central [[Asia]], [[India]], and [[China]]. Its universal message appealed to a wide audience, particularly merchants and intellectuals.

In the [[Roman Empire]], Manicheaism faced persecution as it was deemed heretical by both [[Paganism|pagan]] and Christian authorities. By the late 4th century, Christian emperors such as [[Theodosius I]] issued harsh edicts against Manicheans, leading to their suppression in the West. Despite this, pockets of Manichean communities survived, particularly in the eastern provinces and among diaspora groups.

In Persia, this doctrine of demons faced similar opposition from Zoroastrian leaders who viewed it as a threat to their dominance. However, Manicheism continued to thrive in Central Asia and China, where it adapted to local customs and gained support among certain communities. By the 5th century, the religion was declining in the West but remained influential in the East, particularly along the Silk Road.

'''<big>The 6th and 7th centuries</big>'''

In the 6th century, Manicheaism continued to thrive in Arabia, Central Asia and China, where it adapted to local cultures and enjoyed periods of tolerance. The faith spread along the Silk Road, influencing communities in regions like Turkic Central Asia and Eastern China. Despite harsh persecution in the Roman Empire and Persia, Manicheans in the East maintained their communities and practices.

By the 7th century, the rise of [[Islam]] in Persia and the Arab conquest marked a significant decline for Manicheaism in the Middle East, as it was ruthlessly persecuted as a rival to Islamic [[monotheism]]. In China, however, Manichaeism continued to find support, particularly during the early [[Tang Dynasty]], before gradually fading out. By the end of the century, the religion was largely confined to the East, struggling to survive amidst new religious and political landscapes.

'''<big>The end of Manicheaism</big>'''
[[File:Mani of Cao'an; the Buddha of Light.jpg|left|thumb|175x175px|A statue of Mani in Ca'on, China, where it is thought to depict the Buddha]]
By the 8th century, Manicheaism was struggling to expand and faced increasing challenges in maintaining its influence. While there were still some significant communities in [[Mongolia]] and parts of Central Asia, the rise of Islam in the West and the dominance of local religions in the East, like Tengriism, began to overshadow it. These factors, combined with the decline of the Silk Road as a major cultural conduit, led to a steady erosion of Manichean communities.

By the 11th century, [[Tengriism]], the traditional Mongolian pagan religion, had largely eclipsed Manicheaism, especially in regions like Mongolia where the religion had once flourished. Manichaean influence waned as local religious practices gained prominence, and by this time, the religion had become a small, isolated movement with little influence in the broader religious landscape of Asia.

Today the last Manichean Church is used as a Buddhist temple in Ca'on, China.

==Theology==
'''<big>Cosmology</big>'''

Manichean cosmology taught that the highest god, referred to as the Beneficial Father, created two primary beings as part of the creation of the universe. The first was the Original Man, a unified soul representing all of humanity. The second was the Mother of Wisdom, a divine figure representing knowledge and the nurturing force of the cosmos. These two beings played key roles in the Manichaean myth of [[creation]], as the Original Man was divided into parts, and through this process, human souls were scattered into the material world.
[[File:Yüen dynasty Manichaean diagram of the Universe (cropped).jpg|thumb|454x454px|A Manichean diagram of cosmology]]
At the same time, the evil figure in Manicheaism, known as the [[Devil|Prince of Darkness]], had attempted to corrupt the material world and so covered it in darkness, trapping the parts of Original Man in every part of the physical realm. This contributes to Manichean myths and visions of inanimate objects such as vegetables and palm trees talking. In the Cologne Mani Codex, a member of Mani's family is cutting down a palm tree when it cries out to him saying, "''Are you not righteous? Are you not pure? If you save me in this instant, you will not die with the man who is trying to kill me.''"<ref>The Cologne Mani Codex – Cologne Papyri</ref>

'''<big>Theism</big>'''

Manicheaism is generally viewed as a [[Monotheism|monotheistic]] religion, as it centres around the worship of a single highest deity, the Beneficial Father. However, its earliest texts also present a complex view of divinity that incorporates elements of dualism. In these texts, Jesus is often described as the incarnate form of the Beneficial Father, playing a central role in the religion's cosmology and salvation narrative.

'''<big>Christology</big>'''

In Manichean Christology, while the Beneficial Father remains the ultimate god, Jesus plays a crucial role as a divine mediator. He is seen as a figure who bridges the gap between the spiritual and material worlds. In this framework, Jesus is not merely a human teacher but a manifestation of the divine, sent to guide souls trapped in the physical world back to the realm of light and purity.

Additionally, Mani Hayya himself is sometimes identified as the Paraclete or Comforter mentioned in the Gospel of . This identification stems from Mani's claim of receiving divine revelations and his role as the final messenger of the truth, bringing the complete and restored message of God. In this sense, Mani is seen not only as a [[Prophets (Old Testament Office)|prophet]] but as a divine figure who fulfills the role of the Paraclete, offering spiritual guidance and helping to bring about the salvation of souls

==Influences==
'''<big>Christianity</big>'''

Early Manicheans identified themselves as Christians, and Manicheaism initially emerged from a Christian context. Mani Hayya viewed his teachings as a continuation and completion of the Christian message, believing that his version of the faith was a more complete revelation. He incorporated many Christian elements, including the figure of Jesus, whom he saw as the incarnate form of the Beneficial Father, a divine mediator between the spiritual and material realms. Early Manichaeans used Christian scriptures and symbols, and they respected the figure of Christ, interpreting his role within their dualistic framework of light versus darkness.

'''<big>Buddhism</big>'''

Buddhism also had a profound influence on Manicheans and the Buddha is viewed as one of the four heralds of the faith The Buddha is seen as a revelator of truth, guiding humanity toward spiritual [[enlightenment]]. The Buddha's teachings on overcoming suffering and attaining spiritual liberation from the material world resonate with the Manichean emphasis on escaping the bondage of darkness and returning to the realm of light.

'''<big>Zoroastrianism</big>'''

Zoroastrianism influenced Manicheaism through its dualistic view of good versus evil, with light representing goodness and darkness symbolizing corruption. Mani Hayya adopted Zoroastrian concepts of cosmic struggle and [[Asceticism|ascetic]] practices.

'''<big>Gnosticism</big>'''

[[Gnosticism]] heavily influenced Manicheaism, particularly in its emphasis on knowledge (gnosis) as the path to spiritual salvation. Both traditions share the belief that the material world is corrupt and that the soul must escape it through enlightenment. Manichaeism adopted Gnostic ideas of secret knowledge and the dualistic battle between light and darkness. However, unlike some Gnostic sects, Manicheaism maintained a more structured cosmology and monotheism.

'''<big>Judaism</big>'''

Manicheans incorporated [[Judaism|Jewish]] terminology about the importance of law, covenant, and the battle between good and evil

==Influence on Augustine of Hippo==
[[File:Saint Augustine by Philippe de Champaigne.jpg|thumb|257x257px|Augustine was a Manichean for over 10 years]]
Manicheaism had a significant influence on [[Augustine of Hippo]] during his early life. Before his conversion to Christianity, Augustine was a follower of Manicheaism for nearly a decade. He was drawn to its dualistic worldview, which offered a clear distinction between the forces of good and evil. The Manichaean belief that the material world was inherently corrupt resonated with Augustine's personal struggles with sin and desire.

However, Augustine eventually became disillusioned with Manicheaism due to its intellectual inconsistencies and its failure to provide a satisfactory explanation of evil. He rejected its teachings after encountering Christian theology, which emphasized the goodness of creation and the redemptive power of Christ. Despite his eventual break from Manichaeism, its influence is seen in Augustine’s early writings, especially in his exploration of the nature of evil and the problem of free will.<ref>Dominion - Tom Holland</ref>

==References==

<references />

Template:Infobox theologian

2024-11-29T18:55:16Z

Ben Leevey:

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[[Category:Templates]]

Ligonier Ministries

2024-11-29T18:52:24Z

Ben Leevey: Removed all the template:___

{{Infobox_organization
| image = File:Ligonier Ministries Logo.jpg
| headquarters = Sanford, Florida
| type = [https://wikipedia.org/wiki/Nonprofit_organization Non-profit]
| founders = [[R. C. Sproul]]
| leadership = [[W. Robert Godfrey]] (Chairman), [[Chris Larson]] (President and CEO)
| theological_tradition = [[Reformed theology]]
| date_founded = 1971
| affiliations =
| notable_figures =
| website = [https://Ligonier.org Ligonier.org]
}}

'''Ligonier Ministries''' (also known as simply '''Ligonier''') is an international Christian discipleship organization headquartered in the greater Orlando, Florida area. Ligonier was founded in 1971 by [[R. C. Sproul]] in the [[Ligonier Valley, Pennsylvania]], outside of Pittsburgh. Ligonier is distinguished by its teaching of [[Reformed theology]].

Since the passing of Sproul in 2017, the primary teachers at Ligonier are its teaching fellows:

* [[Sinclair Ferguson]] (Chancellor’s Professor of Systematic Theology, Reformed Theological Seminary)
* [[W. Robert Godfrey]] (President Emeritus, Professor Emeritus of Church History, Westminster Seminary California)
* Stephen Nichols (President, Reformation Bible College)
* Burk Parsons (Senior Pastor, St. Andrew's Chapel, Sanford, Florida)
* [[Derek Thomas (theologian)|Derek Thomas]] (Chancellor’s Professor of Systematic and Pastoral Theology, Reformed Theological Seminary)<ref>{{cite web |title=Who We Are |url=https://www.ligonier.org/about/who-we-are |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240920095829/https://www.ligonier.org/about/who-we-are |archive-date=September 20, 2024 |access-date=September 20, 2024 |website=Ligonier Ministries}}</ref>

Ligonier offers undergraduate degrees through its sister organization Reformation Bible College.<ref>{{cite web |title=Reformation Bible College |url=http://reformationbiblecollege.org/}}</ref> Ligonier also offers various teaching series, along with running annual national and regional conferences.<ref>{{cite web |title=Ligonier Events |url=http://www.ligonier.org/events/}}</ref>

==Primary activities==
The main activities of Ligonier Ministries include the following:
* Producing ''Renewing Your Mind'', a daily radio and Internet broadcast wherein Sproul and others teach [[systematic theology]], [[Reformed theology]], and the [[Bible]]
* Publishing a monthly magazine called ''Tabletalk''
* Selling and distributing music, audiobook, video and print materials by Sproul, [[John Gerstner]], and others
* RefNet (Reformation Network) internet radio
* Ligonier Connect online classes for lay people
* Reformation Bible College
* Holding conferences in Orlando and, in smaller form, elsewhere around the United States and internationally.
* Educational Church History Tours to the United Kingdom, Europe and Cruises to the Caribbean and Alaska that combines the cruise with Christian teaching

== Controversies ==
In September 2015, [[R. C. Sproul Jr.]], the son of Ligonier founder R. C. Sproul, was suspended from the organization until July 1, 2016 due to his visiting the [[Ashley Madison]] website.<ref>{{cite web |author=Adulai, Ernest |date=September 1, 2015 |title=Renowned Christian Minister R.C. Sproul Jr. Suspended by Ligonier Ministries over Ashley Madison Visit |url=http://www.inquisitr.com/2385576/renown-christian-minister-r-c-sproul-jr-suspended-by-ligonier-ministries-over-ashley-madison-visit/ |accessdate=February 15, 2016}}</ref> In December 2016, Sproul Jr. resigned from Ligonier Ministries and Reformation Bible College "for personal reasons."<ref>{{Cite web |title=A Statement Concerning Dr. R.C. Sproul Jr. |url=http://www.ligonier.org/rc-sproul-jr/ |access-date=December 12, 2016 |website=Ligonier Ministries}}</ref> It was reported the following week that the reason for his resignation was that he had recently been arrested for drunk driving with a minor passenger in his vehicle.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Blair |first=Leonardo |date=December 16, 2016 |title=R.C. Sproul Jr. Resigned From Ligonier Ministries After Felonious DUI Arrest With Minor in Vehicle |url=https://www.christianpost.com/news/r-c-sproul-jr-resigned-from-ligonier-ministries-after-felonious-dui-arrest-with-minor-in-vehicle-172192/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220416091020/https://www.christianpost.com/news/r-c-sproul-jr-resigned-from-ligonier-ministries-after-felonious-dui-arrest-with-minor-in-vehicle-172192/ |archive-date=April 16, 2022 |access-date=April 16, 2022 |website=The Christian Post}}</ref>

== Notes ==

== References ==

== External links ==
[[Category:1971 establishments in the United States]]
[[Category:Calvinist organizations established in the 20th century]]
[[Category:Christianity in Orlando, Florida]]
[[Category:Evangelical parachurch organizations]]

Ligonier Ministries

2024-11-29T18:51:50Z

Ben Leevey:

{{Infobox_organization
| image = File:Ligonier Ministries Logo.jpg
| headquarters = Sanford, Florida
| type = [https://wikipedia.org/wiki/Nonprofit_organization Non-profit]
| founders = [[R. C. Sproul]]
| leadership = [[W. Robert Godfrey]] (Chairman), [[Chris Larson]] (President and CEO)
| theological_tradition = [[Reformed theology]]
| date_founded = 1971
| affiliations =
| notable_figures =
| website = [https://Ligonier.org Ligonier.org]
}}

'''Ligonier Ministries''' (also known as simply '''Ligonier''') is an international Christian discipleship organization headquartered in the greater Orlando, Florida area. Ligonier was founded in 1971 by [[R. C. Sproul]] in the [[Ligonier Valley, Pennsylvania]], outside of Pittsburgh. Ligonier is distinguished by its teaching of [[Reformed theology]].

Since the passing of Sproul in 2017, the primary teachers at Ligonier are its teaching fellows:

* [[Sinclair Ferguson]] (Chancellor’s Professor of Systematic Theology, Reformed Theological Seminary)
* [[W. Robert Godfrey]] (President Emeritus, Professor Emeritus of Church History, Westminster Seminary California)
* Stephen Nichols (President, Reformation Bible College)
* Burk Parsons (Senior Pastor, St. Andrew's Chapel, Sanford, Florida)
* [[Derek Thomas (theologian)|Derek Thomas]] (Chancellor’s Professor of Systematic and Pastoral Theology, Reformed Theological Seminary)<ref>{{cite web |title=Who We Are |url=https://www.ligonier.org/about/who-we-are |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240920095829/https://www.ligonier.org/about/who-we-are |archive-date=September 20, 2024 |access-date=September 20, 2024 |website=Ligonier Ministries}}</ref>

Ligonier offers undergraduate degrees through its sister organization Reformation Bible College.<ref>{{cite web |title=Reformation Bible College |url=http://reformationbiblecollege.org/}}</ref> Ligonier also offers various teaching series, along with running annual national and regional conferences.<ref>{{cite web |title=Ligonier Events |url=http://www.ligonier.org/events/}}</ref>

==Primary activities==
The main activities of Ligonier Ministries include the following:
* Producing ''Renewing Your Mind'', a daily radio and Internet broadcast wherein Sproul and others teach [[systematic theology]], [[Reformed theology]], and the [[Bible]]
* Publishing a monthly magazine called ''Tabletalk''
* Selling and distributing music, audiobook, video and print materials by Sproul, [[John Gerstner]], and others
* RefNet (Reformation Network) internet radio
* Ligonier Connect online classes for lay people
* Reformation Bible College
* Holding conferences in Orlando and, in smaller form, elsewhere around the United States and internationally.
* Educational Church History Tours to the United Kingdom, Europe and Cruises to the Caribbean and Alaska that combines the cruise with Christian teaching

== Controversies ==
In September 2015, [[R. C. Sproul Jr.]], the son of Ligonier founder R. C. Sproul, was suspended from the organization until July 1, 2016 due to his visiting the [[Ashley Madison]] website.<ref>{{cite web |author=Adulai, Ernest |date=September 1, 2015 |title=Renowned Christian Minister R.C. Sproul Jr. Suspended by Ligonier Ministries over Ashley Madison Visit |url=http://www.inquisitr.com/2385576/renown-christian-minister-r-c-sproul-jr-suspended-by-ligonier-ministries-over-ashley-madison-visit/ |accessdate=February 15, 2016}}</ref> In December 2016, Sproul Jr. resigned from Ligonier Ministries and Reformation Bible College "for personal reasons."<ref>{{Cite web |title=A Statement Concerning Dr. R.C. Sproul Jr. |url=http://www.ligonier.org/rc-sproul-jr/ |access-date=December 12, 2016 |website=Ligonier Ministries}}</ref> It was reported the following week that the reason for his resignation was that he had recently been arrested for drunk driving with a minor passenger in his vehicle.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Blair |first=Leonardo |date=December 16, 2016 |title=R.C. Sproul Jr. Resigned From Ligonier Ministries After Felonious DUI Arrest With Minor in Vehicle |url=https://www.christianpost.com/news/r-c-sproul-jr-resigned-from-ligonier-ministries-after-felonious-dui-arrest-with-minor-in-vehicle-172192/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220416091020/https://www.christianpost.com/news/r-c-sproul-jr-resigned-from-ligonier-ministries-after-felonious-dui-arrest-with-minor-in-vehicle-172192/ |archive-date=April 16, 2022 |access-date=April 16, 2022 |website=The Christian Post}}</ref>

== Notes ==

== References ==

== External links ==
* {{Official|url=https://www.ligonier.org}}

[[Category:1971 establishments in the United States]]
[[Category:Calvinist organizations established in the 20th century]]
[[Category:Christianity in Orlando, Florida]]
[[Category:Evangelical parachurch organizations]]

Theodore Beza

2024-11-29T18:49:59Z

Ben Leevey: Removed template:Sfns

'''Theodore Beza''' ( or ''de Besze''; 24 June 1519 – 13 October 1605) was a French [[Calvinist]] [[Protestant]] [[theologian]], [[Protestant reformer|reformer]] and [[scholar]] who played an important role in the [[Protestant Reformation]]. He was a disciple of [[John Calvin]] and lived most of his life in [[Geneva]]. Beza succeeded Calvin as the spiritual leader of the [[Republic of Geneva]].

==Biography==

===Early life===
[[File:Vézelay-Maison natale de Théodore de Bèze.jpg|thumb|left|Theodore Beza's birthplace in Vézelay]]
Theodore Beza was born on 24 June 1519 in [[Vézelay]], in the province of [[Burgundy (region)|Burgundy]], France.<ref name=HDS>{{HDS|11048|author=Nicollier, Béatrice|date=30 September 2004}}</ref> His father, Pierre de Bèze, [[bailiff]] of Vézelay,<ref name=HDS/> descended from a Burgundian noble family; his mother, Marie Bourdelot, was known for her generosity.{{sfn|Choisy|1914}} Beza's father had two brothers; Nicolas, who was member of the [[Parlement of Paris|''parlement'' of Paris]], and Claude, who was [[abbot]] of the [[Cistercian]] [[monastery]] of Froimont in the [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Beauvais|diocese of Beauvais]]. Nicolas, who was unmarried, during a visit to Vézelay was so pleased with Theodore that, with the permission of his parents, he took him to Paris to educate him there.

From Paris, Theodore was sent to [[Orléans]] in December 1528 to receive instruction from the famous German [[humanist]] . He was received into Wolmar's house, and the day on which this took place was afterward celebrated as a second birthday.{{sfn|Choisy|1914}} Beza soon followed his teacher to [[Bourges]], where the latter was called by Duchess [[Marguerite de Navarre|Margaret of Angoulême]], sister of King [[Francis I of France|Francis I]]. At the time, Bourges was the focus of the Reformation movement in France. In 1534, after Francis I issued his edict against ecclesiastical innovations, Wolmar returned to Germany. Beza, in accordance with the wish of his father, went back to Orléans and studied law from 1535 to 1539. The pursuit of law had little attraction for him; he enjoyed more the reading of the ancient classics, especially [[Ovid]], [[Catullus]], and [[Tibullus]].

He received a [[Licentiate (degree)|licentiate]] in law 11 August 1539, and, as his father desired, went to Paris, where he began to practice. To support him, his relatives had obtained for him two benefices, the proceeds of which amounted to 700 golden crowns a year; and his uncle had promised to make him his successor. Beza spent two years in Paris and gained a prominent position in literary circles. To escape the many temptations to which he was exposed, with the knowledge of two friends, he became engaged in the year 1544 to a young girl of humble descent, Claudine Denosse, promising to publicly marry her as soon as his circumstances would allow it.

[[File:Théodore de Bèze - musée de la Réformation.jpg|thumb|Beza at age 24, 16th-century portrait]]

In 1548, Beza published a collection of [[Latin language|Latin]] [[poetry]], ''Juvenilia'', which made him famous, and he was considered one of the best writers of Latin poetry of his time. But his work attracted unexpected criticism; as [[Philip Schaff]] says, "Prurient minds...read between his lines what he never intended to put there, and imagined offences of which he was not guilty even in thought".<ref>[http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/hcc8.iv.xix.i.html ''History of the Christian Church'' vol. viii, sec. 167]</ref> Shortly after the publication of his book, Beza fell ill with [[Plague (disease)|plague]] and his illness, it is reported, revealed to him his spiritual needs.<ref name=HDS/> Following his recovery, Beza adhered to the Reformed faith, a decision which resulted in a condemnation from the ''parlement'' of Paris, the loss of part of his property and the need to leave France.<ref name=HDS/> He then resolved to sever his connections of the time, and went to the [[Republic of Geneva]], a place of refuge for adherents of the Reformation, where he arrived with Claudine on 23 October 1548.

===Teacher at Lausanne===
Theodore Beza was received in Geneva by [[John Calvin]], who had met him already in Wolmar's house, and was at once married to Claudine. Beza was at a loss for immediate occupation so he went to Tübingen to see his former teacher Wolmar. On his way home, he visited [[Pierre Viret]] at [[Lausanne]], who brought about his appointment as professor of Greek at the [[Academy of Lausanne]] in November 1549. Beza served as rector of the academy from 1552 to 1554.<ref name=HDS/>

Beza found time to write a Biblical drama, ''Abraham Sacrifiant'',<ref>Published at Geneva, 1550; Eng. transl. by [[Arthur Golding]], London, 1577, ed., with introduction, notes, and the French text of the original, M. W. Wallace, Toronto, 1906</ref> in which he contrasted [[Roman Catholic Church|Catholicism]] with [[Protestantism]], and the work was well received. The text of some verses includes directions for musical performance, but no music survives.<ref name="Grove">{{Cite Grove |last=Gaillard |first=Paul-André |last2=Freedman |first2=Richard |title=Bèze, Théodore de|name-list-style=amp}}</ref>

In 1551, Beza was asked by Calvin to complete the French metrical translations of the Psalms begun by [[Clément Marot]].{{sfn|Choisy|1914}} Thirty-four of his translations were published in the 1551 edition of the [[Genevan Psalter]], and six more were added to later editions.<ref name="Grove" /> About the same time he published ''Passavantius'',<ref>[https://archive.org/details/lepassavantdeth00bzuoft ''Le Passavant''].</ref> a satire directed against [[Pierre Lizet]], the former president of the [[Parlement of Paris]], and principal originator of the "fiery chamber" (''chambre ardente''), who, at the time (1551), was abbot of St. Victor near Paris and publishing a number of polemical writings.

Of a more serious character were two controversies in which Beza was involved at this time. The first concerned the doctrine of [[predestination]] and the controversy of Calvin with [[Jerome Hermes Bolsec]]. The second referred to the execution of [[Michael Servetus]] at Geneva on 27 October 1553. In defense of Calvin and the Genevan magistrates, Beza published, in 1554, the work ''De haereticis a civili magistratu puniendis'' (translated into French in 1560).

===Journeys on behalf of the Protestants===
[[File:Portrait of Theodore Beza (1519–1605), by English School, 17th century.jpg|thumb|left|Portrait of Theodore Beza, by English School, 17th century]]
In 1557, Beza took a special interest in the [[Waldensians]] of [[Piedmont (Italy)|Piedmont]], [[Italy]], who were being harassed by the French government. On their behalf, he went with [[William Farel]] to [[Bern]], [[Zürich]], [[Basel]], and [[Schaffhausen]], then to [[Strasbourg|Strasburg]], [[Mömpelgard]], [[Baden]], and [[Göppingen]]. In Baden and Göppingen, Beza and Farel made a declaration concerning the Waldensians' views on the sacrament on 14 May 14 1557. The written declaration clearly stated their position and was well received by the Lutheran theologians, but was strongly disapproved of in Bern and Zurich.

In the autumn of 1558, Beza undertook a second journey with Farel to [[Worms, Germany|Worms]] by way of Strasburg in the hopes of bringing about an intercession by the Evangelical princes of the empire in favor of the persecuted brethren at Paris.
With [[Melanchthon]] and other theologians then assembled at the [[Colloquy of Worms (1557)|Colloquy of Worms]], Beza proposed a union of all Protestant Christians, but the proposal was decidedly denied by Zurich and Bern.

False reports reached the German princes that the hostilities against the [[Huguenots]] in France had ceased and no embassy was sent to the court of France.
As a result, Beza undertook another journey with Farel, [[Johannes Buddaeus]], and Gaspard Carmel to Strasburg and Frankfurt, where the sending of an embassy to Paris was resolved upon.

===Settling in Geneva===
Upon his return to Lausanne, Beza was greatly disturbed. In union with many ministers and professors in city and country, Viret at last thought of establishing a [[Consistory (Protestantism)#Reformed usage|consistory]] and of introducing a church discipline which should apply excommunication especially at the celebration of the communion. But the Bernese, then in control of Lausanne, would have no Calvinistic church government. This caused many difficulties, and Beza thought it best in 1558, to settle at Geneva.<ref name="HDS" /> Here he was given chair of Greek in the newly established academy, and after Calvin's death also that of theology. He was also obliged to preach.

He completed the revision of [[Pierre Olivetan]]'s translation of the [[New Testament]], begun some years before. In 1559, he undertook another journey in the interest of the Huguenots, this time to [[Heidelberg]]. At about the same time, he had to defend Calvin against [[Joachim Westphal (of Hamburg)|Joachim Westphal]] in [[Hamburg]] and [[Tilemann Heshusius]].

More important than this polemical activity was Beza's statement of his own confession. It was originally prepared for his father in justification of his actions and published in revised form to promote Evangelical knowledge among Beza's countrymen. It was printed in Latin in 1560 with a dedication to Wolmar. An English translation was published at London 1563, 1572, and 1585. Translations into German, Dutch, and Italian were also issued.

===Events of 1560–63===
In the meantime, things took such shape in France that the happiest future for Protestantism seemed possible. King [[Antoine of Navarre]], yielding to the urgent requests of Evangelical noblemen, declared his willingness to listen to a prominent teacher of the Church. Beza, a French nobleman and head of the academy in the metropolis of French Protestantism, was invited to Castle Nerac, but he could not plant the seed of Evangelical faith in the heart of the king.

In the following year, 1561, Beza represented the Evangelicals at the [[Colloquy of Poissy]], and in an eloquent manner defended the principles of the Evangelical faith. The colloquy was without result, but Beza as the head and advocate of all Reformed congregations of France was revered and hated at the same time. The queen insisted upon another colloquy, which was opened at St. Germain 28 January 1562, eleven days after the proclamation of the famous January edict, which granted important privileges to those of the Reformed faith. But the colloquy was broken off when it became evident that the Catholic party was preparing (after the [[Massacre of Vassy]], on March 1) to overthrow Protestantism.

Beza hastily issued a circular letter (March 25) to all Reformed congregations of the empire, and went to Orléans with the Huguenot leader [[Louis, Prince of Condé (1530–1569)|Conde]] and his troops. It was necessary to proceed quickly and energetically. But there were neither soldiers nor money. At the request of Conde, Beza visited all Huguenot cities to obtain both. He also wrote a manifesto in which he argued the justice of the Reformed cause. As one of the messengers to collect soldiers and money among his coreligionists, Beza was appointed to visit England, Germany, and Switzerland. He went to Strasburg and Basel, but met with failure. He then returned to Geneva, which he reached September 4. He had hardly been there fourteen days when he was called once more to Orléans by D'Andelot. The campaign was becoming more successful; but the publication of the unfortunate edict of pacification which Conde accepted (,1563) filled Beza and all Protestant France with horror.

===Calvin's successor===

For 22 months Beza had been absent from Geneva, and the interests of school and Church there and especially the condition of Calvin made it necessary for him to return, as there was no one to take the place of Calvin, who was sick and unable to work. Calvin and Beza arranged to perform their duties jointly in alternate weeks, but the death of Calvin occurred soon afterward (27 May 1564). As a matter of course Beza was his successor.<ref name="Major Bib">{{cite book|last=Farthing|first=John L.|title=Dictionary of major biblical interpreters|year=2007|publisher=IVP Academic|location=Downers Grove, Ill.|isbn=978-0-8308-2927-9|edition=2nd|editor=McKim, Donald K.|page=193|chapter=Beza, Theodore}}</ref>

Until 1580, Beza was not only moderator of the [[Company of Pastors]], but also the real soul of the [[University of Geneva|Academy of Geneva]] which Calvin had founded in 1559. As long as he lived, Beza was interested in higher education. The Protestant youth for nearly forty years thronged his lecture-room to hear his theological lectures, in which he expounded the purest Calvinistic orthodoxy. As a counselor he was listened to by both magistrates and pastors. He founded the Academy's law faculty in which notable jurists such as [[François Hotman]], [[Giulio Pace]], [[Lambert Daneau]], and [[Denis Godefroy]], lectured in turn.<ref name=HDS/><ref>cf. [[Charles Borgeaud]], ''L'Academie de Calvin, '' Geneva, 1900</ref>

===Course of events after 1564===
[[Image:Theodore de Beze.jpg|right|thumb|[[Woodcut]] of Theodore Beza]]
As Calvin's successor, Beza was very successful, not only in carrying on his work but also in giving peace to the Church at Geneva. The magistrates had fully appropriated the ideas of Calvin, and the direction of spiritual affairs, the organs of which were the "ministers of the word" and "the consistory", was founded on a solid basis. No doctrinal controversy arose after 1564. The discussions concerned questions of a practical, social, or ecclesiastical nature, such as the supremacy of the magistrates over the pastors, freedom in preaching, and the obligation of the pastors to submit to the majority of the Company of Pastors.

Beza did not force his will upon his associates, and took no harsh measures against injudicious or hot-headed colleagues, though sometimes he took their cases in hand and acted as mediator; and yet he often experienced an opposition so extreme that he threatened to resign. Although he was inclined to take the part of the magistrates, he knew how to defend the rights and independence of the spiritual power when occasion arose, without, however, conceding to it such a preponderating influence as did Calvin.

Beza did not believe it wise for the Company of Pastors to have a permanent head. He convinced the Company to petition the Small Council to have limited terms for the position of moderator. In 1580 the Council agreed to a weekly rotating presidency.<ref>S.M. Manetsch, ''Calvin's Company of Pastors: Pastoral Care and the Emerging Reformed Church, 1536–1609'', Oxford Studies in Historical Theology (Oxford University Press 2012), p. 65.</ref> He mediated between the ''compagnie'' and the magistracy; the latter continually asked his advice even in political questions. He corresponded with all the leaders of the Reformed party in Europe. After the [[St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre]] (1572), he used his influence to give to the refugees a hospitable reception at Geneva.

In 1574, he wrote his ''De jure magistratuum'' ([[Right of Magistrates]]), in which he emphatically protested against tyranny in religious matters, and affirmed that it is legitimate for a people to oppose an unworthy magistracy in a practical manner and if necessary to use weapons and depose them.

Without being a great dogmatician like his master, nor a creative genius in the ecclesiastical realm, Beza had qualities which made him famous as humanist, exegete, orator, and leader in religious and political affairs, and qualified him to be the guide of the Calvinists in all Europe. In the various controversies into which he was drawn, Beza often showed an excess of irritation and intolerance, from which [[Bernardino Ochino]], pastor of the Italian congregation at Zurich (on account of a treatise which contained some objectionable points on polygamy), and [[Sebastian Castellio]] at Basel (on account of his Latin and French translations of the Bible) had especially to suffer.

Beza continued to maintain the closest relations with Reformed France. He was the [[Chairman|moderator]] of the general synod which met in April 1571 at [[La Rochelle]] and decided not to abolish church discipline or to acknowledge the civil government as head of the Church, as the Paris minister Jean Morel and the philosopher [[Petrus Ramus|Pierre Ramus]] demanded; it also decided to confirm anew the Calvinistic doctrine of the Lord's Supper (by the expression: "substance of the body of Christ") against Zwinglianism, which caused a dispute between Beza and Ramus and [[Heinrich Bullinger]].

In May 1572 he took an important part in the national synod at [[Nîmes]]. He was also interested in the controversies which concerned the [[Augsburg Confession]] in Germany, especially after 1564, on the doctrine of the [[Person of Christ]] and the sacrament, and published several works against [[Joachim Westphal (of Hamburg)|Joachim Westphal]], [[Tilemann Heshusius]], [[Nikolaus Selnecker]], [[Johannes Brenz]], and [[Jakob Andrea]]. This caused him to be hated by all those who adhered to Lutheranism in opposition to Melanchthon, especially after 1571.

===The Colloquy of Montbéliard===
The last polemical conflict of importance Beza encountered from the Lutherans was at the Colloquy of [[Montbéliard]], 14–27 March 1586, (which is also called the Mompelgard Colloquium<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=H3NBAAAAYAAJ&dq=%22mompelgard+colloquium%2C+was+a+meeting%22&pg=PA327 Lutheran Cyclopedia] entry on the Mompelgard Colloquium</ref>) to which he had been invited by the Lutheran Count Frederick of Württemberg at the wish of the French-speaking and Reformed residents as well as by French noblemen who had fled to Montbéliard. As a matter of course the intended union which was the purpose of the colloquy was not brought about; nevertheless it called forth serious developments within the Reformed Church.

When the edition of the acts of the colloquy, as prepared by Jakob Andrea, was published, Samuel Huber, of Burg near Bern, who belonged to the Lutheranizing faction of the Swiss clergy, took so great offense at the [[supralapsarian]] doctrine of predestination propounded at Montbéliard by Beza and Musculus that he felt it to be his duty to denounce Musculus to the magistrates of Bern as an innovator in doctrine. To adjust the matter, the magistrates arranged a colloquy between Huber and Musculus (2 September 1587), in which the former represented the universalism, the latter the particularism, of grace.

As the colloquy was resultless, a debate was arranged at Bern, 15–18 April 1588, at which the defense of the accepted system of doctrine was at the start put into Beza's hands. The three delegates of the Helvetic cantons who presided at the debate declared in the end that Beza had substantiated the teaching propounded at Montbéliard as the orthodox one, and Huber was dismissed from his office.

===Later years===
[[File:British - Théodore De Beza - Google Art Project.jpg|thumb|right|''Théodore De Beza'' by an unknown artist, inscribed in 1605]]
After that time Beza's activity was confined more and more to the affairs of his home. His wife Claudine had died childless in 1588 after forty years of marriage, a few days before he went to the Bern Disputation. He contracted, on the advice of his friends, a second marriage with the widow Caterina del Piano, a Protestant refugee from [[Asti]], Piedmont,<ref name=HDS/> in order to have a helpmate in his declining years. Up to his sixty-fifth year he enjoyed excellent health, but after that a gradual sinking of his vitality became perceptible. He was active in teaching until January 1597.

The saddest experience in his old days was the conversion of King [[Henry IV of France|Henry IV]] to Catholicism, in spite of his most earnest exhortations (1593). In 1596, a false report was spread by the Jesuits in Germany, France, England, and Italy that Beza and the Church of Geneva had returned into the bosom of Rome, and Beza replied in a satire which showed that he still possessed his old fire of thought and vigor of expression.

Beza died on 13 October 1605 in [[Geneva]].<ref name=HDS/> He was not buried, like Calvin, in the general cemetery at [[Plainpalais]] (for the Savoyards had threatened to abduct his body to Rome), but at the direction of the magistrates, at [[St. Pierre Cathedral|Saint-Pierre Cathedral]].{{sfn|Choisy|1914}}

==Literary works==

===Humanistic and historical writings===
In Beza's literary activity as well as in his life, distinction must be made between the period of the [[humanist]] (which ended with the publication of his ''Juvenilia'') and that of the ecclesiastic. Combining his pastoral and literary gifts, Beza wrote the first drama produced in French, ''Abraham Sacrifiant''; a play that is an antecedent to the work of Racine and is still occasionally produced today. Later productions like the humanistic, biting, satirical ''Passavantius'' and his ''Complainte de Messire Pierre Lizet...'' prove that in later years he occasionally went back to his first love. In his old age he published his ''Cato censorius'' (1591), and revised his ''Poemata'', from which he purged juvenile eccentricities.

Of his [[historiography|historiographical]] works, aside from his ''Icones'' (1580), which have only an [[iconography|iconographical]] value, mention may be made of the famous ''Histoire ecclesiastique des Eglises reformes au Royaume de France'' (1580), and his biography of Calvin, with which must be named his edition of Calvin's ''Epistolae et responsa'' (1575).

===Theological works===
But all these humanistic and historical studies are surpassed by his theological productions (contained in ''Tractationes theologicae''). In these Beza appears the perfect pupil or the ''alter ego'' of Calvin. His view of life is deterministic and the basis of his religious thinking is the [[predeterminism|predestinate]] recognition of the necessity of all temporal existence as an effect of the absolute, eternal, and immutable will of God, so that even the fall of the human race appears to him essential to the divine plan of the world. Beza, in tabular form, thoroughly elucidates the religious views which emanated from a fundamental supralapsarian mode of thought. This he added to his highly instructive treatise ''Summa totius Christianismi.''

Beza's ''De vera excommunicatione et Christiano presbyterio'' (1590), written as a response to Thomas Erastus's ''Explicatio gravissimae quaestionis utrum excommunicatio'' (1589) contributed an important defense of the right of ecclesiastical authorities (rather than civil authorities) to excommunicate.

===Beza's Greek New Testament===
Of no less importance are the contributions of Beza to Biblical scholarship. In 1565 he issued an edition of the Greek [[New Testament]], accompanied in parallel columns by the text of the [[Vulgate]] and a translation of his own (already published as early as 1556, though our earliest extant edition dates to [https://www.e-rara.ch/gep_g/content/titleinfo/1751868 1559]). Annotations were added, also previously published, but now he greatly enriched and enlarged them.

In the preparation of this edition of the Greek text, but much more in the preparation of the second edition which he brought out in 1582, Beza may have availed himself of the help of two very valuable manuscripts. One is known as the ''[[Codex Bezae]]'' or ''Cantabrigensis,'' and was later presented by Beza to the [[University of Cambridge]], where it remains in the [[Cambridge University Library]]; the second is the ''[[Codex Claromontanus]]'', which Beza had found in Clermont (now in the [[Bibliothèque Nationale de France]] in Paris).

It was not, however, to these sources that Beza was chiefly indebted, but rather to the previous edition of the eminent [[Robert Estienne]] (1550), itself based in great measure upon one of the later editions of [[Erasmus]]. Beza's labours in this direction were exceedingly helpful to those who came after. The same thing may be asserted with equal truth of his Latin version and of the copious notes with which it was accompanied. The former is said to have been published over a hundred times.

Although some contend that Beza's view of the doctrine of [[predestination]] exercised an overly dominant influence upon his interpretation of the Scriptures, there is no question that he added much to a clear understanding of the New Testament.

== See also ==
* [[Franciscus Junius (the elder)]]
* [[Immanuel Tremellius]]
* [[Monarchomachs]]
* [[Logical order of God's decrees|Supralapsarianism]]

==Notes==
* TBD

==External links==
* {{commonsinline}}
* [http://libraries.admin.ch/cgi-bin/gw/chameleon?skin=helveticat&inst=consortium&submittheform=Search&usersrch=1&beginsrch=1&elementcount=3&function=INITREQ&search=KEYWORD&rootsearch=KEYWORD&lng=en&pos=1&conf=.%2Fchameleon.conf&t1=Theodore*%20Beze*&u1=1003&op1=OR&t2=Theodore*%20Beze*&u2=21&op2=AND&t3=&u3=1035&host=biblio.admin.ch%2B3601%2BDEFAULT&patronhost=biblio.admin.ch%203601%20DEFAULT Publications by and about Theodore Beza] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160701190450/http://libraries.admin.ch/cgi-bin/gw/chameleon?skin=helveticat&inst=consortium&submittheform=Search&usersrch=1&beginsrch=1&elementcount=3&function=INITREQ&search=KEYWORD&rootsearch=KEYWORD&lng=en&pos=1&conf=.%2Fchameleon.conf&t1=Theodore*%20Beze*&u1=1003&op1=OR&t2=Theodore*%20Beze*&u2=21&op2=AND&t3=&u3=1035&host=biblio.admin.ch%2B3601%2BDEFAULT&patronhost=biblio.admin.ch%203601%20DEFAULT |date=2016-07-01 }} in the catalogue Helveticat of the [[Swiss National Library]]
* {{PRDL|3}}
* {{Gutenberg author | id=25291}}
* {{Internet Archive author |search=("Théodore de Bèze" OR "Theodore Beza")}}
* {{OL author|2915851A}}
* {{Librivox author |id=16656}}
* [http://homepage.mac.com/shanerosenthal/reformationink/tblawgospel.htm "The Two Parts of the Word of God: Law & Gospel"] from ''The Christian Faith'' by Beza
* [http://homepage.mac.com/shanerosenthal/reformationink/tbfaith.htm "Faith and Justification"] from ''The Christian Faith'' by Beza
* [http://homepage.mac.com/shanerosenthal/reformationink/tbsonofgod.htm "Jesus Christ the Son of God"] from ''The Christian Faith'' by Beza
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080619235401/http://fly.hiwaay.net/~pspoole/Beza1.htm ''Concerning the Rights of Rulers Over Their Subjects and the Duty Of Subjects Towards Their Rulers''], a treatise by Beza
* [http://homepage.mac.com/shanerosenthal/reformationink/tbfaith.htm Faith & Justification by Beza]
* [https://books.google.com/books?id=b08_Dq8RbxUC&pg= ''The Life of John Calvin''] by Beza
* [http://eod.vkol.cz/iii2631/ "Theodori Bezae Vezelii Volumen ... Tractationum Theologicarum"] one of the Beza's theological works in the Olomouc Research Library public catalogue
* [http://www.sovereignredeemerbooks.com/views/books/book-list.php?author=theodore-beza"] Beza's work entitled The Treasure of Gospel Truth, printed in 1576.

==References==
{{sfn whitelist|CITEREFChoisy1914}}
* {{cite Schaff-Herzog|title=Beza, Theodore|last=Choisy |first=Eugène|url=http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/encyc02.html?term=Beza,%20Theodore|ref=}}
* {{cite EB1911|wstitle=Beza, Theodore|volume=3}}

[[Category:1519 births]]
[[Category:1605 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Yonne]]
[[Category:Theologians from the Republic of Geneva]]
[[Category:French Calvinist and Reformed theologians]]
[[Category:16th-century French writers]]
[[Category:16th-century French male writers]]
[[Category:16th-century Calvinist and Reformed theologians]]
[[Category:Neo-Latin poets]]
[[Category:Translators of the Bible into French]]
[[Category:Translators of the Bible into Latin]]
[[Category:Christian humanists]]
[[Category:Calvinist and Reformed hymnwriters]]
[[Category:Converts to Calvinism from Roman Catholicism]]
[[Category:Monarchomachs]]
[[Category:Supralapsarians]]
[[Category:French hymnwriters]]
[[Category:Academic staff of the University of Geneva]]
[[Category:Academic staff of the University of Lausanne]]
[[Category:16th-century French theologians]]
[[Category:French male non-fiction writers]]
[[Category:French evangelicals]]
[[Category:16th-century writers in Latin]]
[[Category:16th-century French translators]]
[[Category:Systematic theologians]]

William Farel

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Ben Leevey: Removed Template:sfn

{{Short description|French reformer}}
{{Infobox_theologian
| name = William Farel
| image = William-Farel.jpg
| theology = [[Reformed_theology]]
| birth_name = Guilhem Farel
| birth_date = 1489
| birth_place = Gap, Hautes-Alpes, Kingdom of France
| death_date = 1565 (aged 75-76)
| death_place = Neuchâtel
| occupation = Evangelist, theologian
}}

'''William Farel''' (1489 – 13 September 1565), '''Guilhem Farel''' or '''[[Guillaume (given name)|Guillaume]] Farel''', was a French [[Evangelism|evangelist]], [[Protestant Reformers|Protestant reformer]] and a founder of the [[Calvinist Church]] in the Principality of [[Canton of Neuchâtel|Neuchâtel]], in the Republic of [[Canton of Geneva|Geneva]], and in [[Switzerland]] in the [[Canton of Bern]] and the (then occupied by Bern) [[Canton of Vaud]]. He is most often remembered for having persuaded [[John Calvin]] to remain in [[Geneva]] in 1536,<ref>{{harvnb|González|1984|p=65}}</ref> and for persuading him to return there in 1541,<ref>{{harvnb|Latourette|Winter|1975|p=758}}</ref> after their expulsion in 1538. They influenced the government of Geneva to the point that it became the [[John Calvin#Reform work commences (1536–1538)|"Protestant Rome"]], where Protestants took refuge and dissidents such as Catholics and unitarians were driven out; some of the Catholics and Unitarians were even killed for their beliefs.<ref>{{harvnb|Latourette|Winter|1975|p=751}}</ref> Together with Calvin, Farel worked to train missionary preachers who spread the [[Protestant]] cause to other countries, and especially to [[France]].<ref>{{harvnb|Latourette|Winter|1975|p=891}}</ref>

== Life ==
[[File:FarelNeuenburg.jpg|thumb|Statue of Farel in Neuchâtel]]
[[Image:ReformationsdenkmalGenf1.jpg|thumb|right|The [[Reformation Wall]] in [[Geneva]]. From left: Farel, [[John Calvin]], [[Theodore Beza]], and [[John Knox]]]]
Farel was born in 1489 in [[Gap, Hautes-Alpes|Gap]].<ref name="Britannica">{{cite encyclopedia | title=Guillaume Farel | url=http://www.britannica.com/biography/Guillaume-Farel | encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]] | access-date=January 14, 2016}}</ref> He was a pupil of the pro-reform [[Priesthood in the Catholic Church|Catholic priesthood]], at the [[University of Paris]], in the earliest years of the [[Protestant Reformation|Reformation]]. There he met the scholar [[Jacques Lefevre d'Etaples]]<ref>{{harvnb|Latourette|Winter|1975|p=750}}</ref> who helped Farel obtain a professorship to teach grammar and philosophy at the Collège Cardinal Lemoine in Paris. With Lefevre he became a member of the ''Cercle de Meaux'' gathered together from 1519 by the reform-minded [[bishop of Meaux]], [[Guillaume Briçonnet (Bishop of Meaux)|Guillaume Briçonnet]]. Farel soon became regent of the college. By 1522 he was appointed a diocesan preacher by the bishop.{{sfn|Gordon|1911|p=176}} Farel now could invite a number of Evangelical humanists to work in his diocese to help implement his reform program within the Catholic Church.

This group of humanists also included [[Josse van Clichtove]], [[Martial Mazurier]], [[Gérard Roussel]], and [[François Vatable]]. The members of the Meaux circle were of different talents but they generally emphasized the study of the Bible and a return to the theology of the early Church. While working with Lefevre in Meaux, Farel came under the influence of [[Lutheran]] ideas and became an avid promoter of them. After condemnation by the [[University of Paris|Sorbonne]], Farel evangelized fervently in the [[Dauphiné]]. Although Farel would become a friend and ally of John Calvin,<ref>{{harvnb|MacVicar|1955|p=175}}</ref> he had been a promoter of Lutheran ideas in his youth.<ref>{{harvnb|Marshall|2007}}</ref>

Farel was forced to flee to Switzerland because of controversy that was aroused by his writings against the use of images in Christian worship. In 1524, while in [[Basel]], he wrote thirteen theses sharply criticizing Roman doctrine, but his argument was so heated that even [[Erasmus]] joined in the demand for his expulsion. He went on to [[Strasbourg]] and later [[Montbéliard]], but was again forced to leave. Eventually he spent time at [[Zürich]] with [[Huldrych Zwingli]] and back at Strasbourg, with [[Martin Bucer]]. Finally given license to preach anywhere in the Canton of Bern, he convinced [[Neuchâtel]] to join the Reform in 1530.<ref>{{harvnb|González|1984|p=68}}</ref>

Farel established himself in Geneva in 1532, where he remained as minister, drawing Calvin to the city, but breaking with him over the [[Eucharist]]. Resistance from the established authority led to a brief period of banishment but the Bern government again granted him liberty of worship and he was able to return to preaching. However, the struggle was not over and Farel, along with Calvin, was banished from Geneva in 1538, in part for his rigorous positions, and retired to Neuchâtel. There he spent the rest of his life, and was frequently consulted by Calvin.

In 1558, when he was sixty-nine, Farel married Marie Thorel, who was a teenager. Scott Manetsch notes that Calvin was "flabbergasted and irate" at the marriage, "fearing that his friend's scandalous action would inflict irreparable damage on the cause of the Reformation throughout Europe."<ref name=Manetsch>{{cite book |last1=Manetsch |first1=Scott M. |title=Calvin's Company of Pastors: Pastoral Care and the Emerging Reformed Church, 1536-1609 |date=2013 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |page=102}}</ref> The couple did have a son six years later, although he died in infancy. In his final year, after Calvin's death, Farel visited [[Metz]] and preached with all his old fire, but the effort seemed to have exhausted him and he died while still in Metz. A monument to him was unveiled at Neuchâtel on 4 May 1876.

== Sources ==
* {{citation|last=González|first=Justo|author-link=Justo González|title=The Story of Christianity|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mN5UPgAACAAJ|volume=2|year=1984|publisher=Prince Press|location=Peabody|isbn=978-1-56563-522-7|chapter=John Calvin}}
* {{cite EB1911|last=Gordon|first=Alexander|wstitle=Farel, Guillaume|volume=10|page=176}}
* {{citation|last1=Latourette|first1=Kenneth|author-link1=Kenneth Scott Latourette|last2=Winter|first2=Ralph|author-link2=Ralph D. Winter|title=A History of Christianity|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hk6KcgAACAAJ|volume=2|year=1975|publisher=Prince Press|location=Peabody|isbn=978-1-56563-329-2|chapter=The Rise of the Reformed and Presbyterian Churches}}
* {{citation|last=MacVicar|first=Donald|title=William Farel, Reformer of the Swiss Romand, His Life, His Writings and His Theology|journal=Church History|date=June 1955|issn=0009-6407|publisher=Cambridge University Press|volume=24|issue=2|page=175|jstor=3161653|doi=10.1017/3161654}}
* {{citation|last=Marshall|first=Peter|title=Reformation Christianity|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TcB8vhB2ifkC|year=2007|publisher=Fortress Press|isbn=978-0-8006-3415-5|editor-last=Matheson|editor-first=Peter|contribution=Leaving the World}}

== Archive Sources ==
Autograph, manuscript letters of William Farel sent to other reformers and received by him, are preserved in the "[[:fr:Archives de l'État de Neuchâtel|Archives de l'État de Neuchâtel]]".

* {{cite archive |fonds = Archives de la société des pasteurs et ministres neuchâtelois (13e-20e) |collection = PAST |collection-url = https://floraweb.ne.ch/flora/ark:/37964/001307 |institution = [[:fr:Archives de l'État de Neuchâtel|Archives de l'État de Neuchâtel]] }}

==External links==
*[http://www.prdl.org/author_view.php?a_id=281]

==References==

[[Category:1489 births]]
[[Category:1565 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Gap, Hautes-Alpes]]
[[Category:Theologians from the Republic of Geneva]]
[[Category:French evangelicals]]
[[Category:Swiss Protestant Reformers]]
[[Category:Swiss evangelicals]]

Book of Kings

2024-11-28T19:43:50Z

Ben Leevey: Removed redirect.

User talk:ComingAgain

2024-11-28T19:42:53Z

Ben Leevey: /* Linked Pages */ new section

== Welcome to ReformedWiki.org, ComingAgain! ==

Happy editing!!!! [[User:Admin|Admin]] ([[User talk:Admin|talk]]) 22:25, 6 June 2024 (UTC)

== Wiki Writng Best Practices ==

Hello! This is Ben, one of the wiki admins.

Thank you for contributing Coming Again.

I do feel it necessary to give you one pointer on writing posts on this wiki. The goal is to set forth an unbiased perspective to the reader. In your post "Re-Baptism" you're position was clearly Pedo Baptist. I don't have anything against you being a Pedo Baptist brother, but try, when you write a wiki page, to set forth both views, with the corresponding scriptures, objectively, rather than subjectively.

No worries brother! Just wanted to make sure you understood that.

I have deleted your post content. If you want to try again, feel free! But I would recommend you don't use the term Re-Baptism since it comes from a specifically Pedo Baptism point of view.

With the affection of Christ Jesus,
Ben Leevey

I am a reformed Baptist, I was baptised as an adult, as is the practice ordained in the bible.

Re-baptism has been considered an unbiblical practice since the 3rd century, why would that change now?

Hope this helps,
ComingAgain

== Subjectivity ==

🙂 Hello @ComingAgain!

I really am thankful that you are consistently contributing to the wiki. I would have one pointer for you though, be very careful to stick to the facts.

For instance, I see you wrote several posts on the Papacy, and in all of them you spoke about Pope Francis' outlook being more Christlike, or something similar.

It is best to keep your own opinions out of these as much as possible. 🙂 Especially since you are speaking for the whole reformed community.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask!

With the Affection of Christ,

Ben

== Linked Pages ==

Coming again, I'm glad you are linking some pages, but the Book of Kings page needs to stand alone. It was I who changed it. 🙂 Thank you!

Ben

Template:Infobox person

2024-11-26T18:21:55Z

Ben Leevey:

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Book of Kings

2024-11-26T18:18:13Z

Ben Leevey: Removed redirect.

Bible

2024-11-26T18:16:31Z

Ben Leevey: /* Books of the Bible */ Heretically added added.

The '''Holy''' '''Bible''' (or the '''Holy Scriptures''') is a collection of 66 texts, divided into the Old and New Testaments, that are the divinely-inspired, authoritative, inerrant, and infallible Word of God.
==Books of the Bible==
'''<big>Old Testament</big>'''

'''<u>The Torah (Books of Moses):</u>'''

* [[Book of Genesis|The Book of Genesis]]
* [[Book of Exodus|The Book of Exodus]]
* [[Book of Leviticus|The Book of Leviticus]]
* [[Book of Numbers|The Book of Numbers]]
* [[Book of Deuteronomy|The Book of Deuteronomy]]

'''<u>The Histories:</u>'''

* [[Book of Joshua|The Book of Joshua]]
* [[Book of Judges|The Book of Judges]]
* [[Book of Ruth|The Book of Ruth]]
* [[First Book of Samuel|The First Book of Samuel]]
* [[Second Book of Samuel|The Second Book of Samuel]]
* [[First Book of the Kings|The First Book of the Kings]]
* [[Second Book of the Kings|The Second Book of the Kings]]
* [[First Book of the Chronicles|The First Book of the Chronicles]]
* [[Second Book of the Chronicles|The Second Book of the Chronicles]]
* [[Book of Ezra|The Book of Ezra]]
* [[Book of Nehemiah|The Book of Nehemiah]]
* [[Book of Esther|The Book of Esther]]

'''<u>The Poems:</u>'''

* [[Book of Job|The Book of Job]]
* [[Psalms|The Psalms]]
* [[Proverbs|The Proverbs]]
* [[Ecclesiastes]]
* [[Song of Songs|The Song of Songs]]

'''<u>The Major Prophets:</u>'''

* [[Book of Isaiah|The Prophecy of Isaiah]]
* [[Book of Jeremiah|The Prophecy of Jeremiah]]
* [[Lamentations of Jeremiah|The Lamentations of Jeremiah]]
* [[Book of Ezekiel|The Prophecy of Ezekiel]]
* [[Book of Daniel|The Book of Daniel]]

'''<u>The Minor Prophets:</u>'''

* [[Book of Hosea|The Prophecy of Hosea]]
* [[Book of Joel|The Prophecy of Joel]]
* [[Book of Amos|The Prophecy of Amos]]
* [[Book of Obadiah|The Prophecy of Obadiah]]
* [[Book of Jonah|The Prophecy of Jonah]]
* [[Book of Micah|The Prophecy of Micah]]
* [[Book of Nahum|The Prophecy of Nahum]]
* [[Book of Habakkuk|The Prophecy of Habakkuk]]
* [[Book of Zephaniah|The Prophecy of Zephaniah]]
* [[Book of Haggai|The Prophecy of Haggai]]
* [[Book of Zechariah|The Prophecy of Zechariah]]
* [[Book of Malachi|The Prophecy of Malachi]]

'''<big>New Testament</big>'''

'''<u>The Gospels:</u>'''

* [[Gospel of Matthew|The Gospel of Matthew]]
* [[Gospel of Mark|The Gospel of Mark]]
* [[Gospel of Luke|The Gospel of Luke]]
* [[Gospel of John|The Gospel of John]]

'''<u>The Acts:</u>'''

* [[Acts of the Apostles|The Acts of the Apostles]]

'''<u>The Epistles of Paul:</u>'''

* [[Epistle to the Romans|The Epistle of Paul to the Romans]]
* [[First Epistle to the Corinthians|The First Epistle of Paul to the Corinthians]]
* [[Second Epistle to the Corinthians|The Second Epistle of Paul to the Corinthians]]
* [[Epistle to the Galatians|The Epistle of Paul to the Galatians]]
* [[Epistle to the Ephesians|The Epistle of Paul to the Ephesians]]
* [[Epistle to the Philippians|The Epistle of Paul to the Philippians]]
* [[Epistle to the Colossians|The Epistle of Paul to the Colossians]]
* [[First Epistle to the Thessalonians|The First Epistle of Paul to the Thessalonians]]
* [[Second Epistle to the Thessalonians|The Second Epistle of Paul to the Thessalonians]]
* [[First Epistle to Timothy|The First Epistle of Paul to Timothy]]
* [[Second Epistle to Timothy|The Second Epistle of Paul to Timothy]]
* [[Epistle to Titus|The Epistle of Paul to Titus]]
* [[Epistle to Philemon|The Epistle of Paul to Philemon]]

'''<u>The Epistles General:</u>'''

* [[Epistle to the Hebrews|The Epistle to the Hebrews]]
* [[Epistle of James|The Epistle General of James]]
* [[First Epistle of Peter|The First Epistle General of Peter]]
* [[Second Epistle of Peter|The Second Epistle General of Peter]]
* [[First Epistle of John|The First Epistle General of John]]
* [[Second Epistle of John|The Second Epistle General of John]]
* [[Third Epistle of John|The Third Epistle General of John]]
* [[Epistle of Jude|The Epistle General of Jude]]

'''<u>The Revelation:</u>'''

* [[Book of Revelation|The Revelation of John the Divine]]

=== '''Books Heretically Added to the Bible:''' ===
'''<big>Old Testament Apocrypha</big>'''

* [[First Book of Maccabees|The First Book of Maccabees]]
* [[Second Book of Maccabees|The Second Book of Maccabees]]
* [[First Book of Esdras|The First Book of Esdras]]
* [[Book of Tobit|The Book of Tobit]]
* [[Wisdom of Solomon|The Wisdom of Solomon]]
* [[Book of Sirach|The Book of Sirach]]
* [[Book of Baruch|The Book of Baruch]]
* [[Bel and the Dragon|The Book of Bel and the Dragon]]

'''<big>New Testament Apocrypha</big>'''

* [[Epistle of Barnabas|The Epistle General of Barnabas]]
* [[Revelation of Peter|The Revelation of Peter]]
* [[The Shepherd of Hermas]]

Adolf Hitler

2024-11-26T18:03:42Z

Ben Leevey: Blanked the page

Adolf Hitler

2024-11-26T18:03:17Z

Ben Leevey: Removed text

[[File:Adolf Hitler.png|thumb|247x247px|Adolf Hitler during WW2]]

John Calvin

2024-11-26T17:58:33Z

Ben Leevey: Nuance changed.

{{Infobox_person
| image = File:John_Calvin_Museum_Catharijneconvent_RMCC_s84_cropped.png
| birth_name = Jehan Cauvin
| birth_date = July 10, 1509
| death_date = May 27, 1564 (aged 54)
| birth_place = Noyon, Picardy, France
| death_place = Geneva, Switzerland
| residency = Geneva, Switzerland
| occupation = Reformer, minister, author
| affiliations = [[Republic of Geneva]], [[Saint-Nicolas Church]], [[Sainte-Madeleine Church]], [[Temple Neuf]]
| spouse = [[Idelette Calvin|Idelette de Bure]]
| children = [[Jacques Calvin]]
| website =
}}

'''John Calvin''' (French: ''Jean Calvin'') was a reformed theologian who resided in Geneva, Switzerland, and was influential figure during the [[Protestant Reformation]]. Calvin is most often associated with the doctrine of [[Calvinism]], a [[Soteriology|soteriological]] position that affirms the sovereignty of God over all areas of life, particularly emphasizing salvation.

Eastern Orthodoxy

2024-11-26T17:52:07Z

Ben Leevey: Fixed spelling.

'''Eastern Orthodoxy''' is a [[denomination]] of [[Christianity]] that is characterized by its adherence to mystic traditions, ancient liturgical practices, and a strong emphasis on the authority of church councils.

Church of England

2024-11-26T17:51:23Z

Ben Leevey: Added a snippet about the modern day church of england.

[[File:Logo of the Church of England-cropped.png|thumb|171x171px|Logo of the Church of England]]
The '''Church of England''' is the mother church of the global Anglican Communion, established during the 16th-century English Reformation. It retains elements of [[Roman Catholic Church|Roman Catholicism]], such as an [[Episcopal polity|episcopal]] hierarchy and liturgical practices, while embracing [[Protestantism|Protestant]] theology, particularly through the Thirty-Nine Articles. Although it initially aligned closely with [[Reformed Christianity|Reformed]] doctrine under leaders like [[Thomas Cranmer]], over time, the Church of England has become more diverse theologically, accommodating both [[Evangelical Anglicanism|evangelical]] and [[Anglo-Catholicism|Anglo-Catholic]] traditions.

The Church's origins lie in the early Christian missions of figures like [[Augustine of Canterbury]] in 597 AD, but its distinct identity emerged during the [[English Reformation]] in the 16th century. [[Henry VIII|King Henry VIII]] broke from the Roman Catholic Church in 1534 through the Act of Supremacy, declaring himself Supreme Head of the Church of England, largely over a dispute with the [[Pope]] regarding his marriage annulment. Under Henry's successors, especially [[Edward VI]], the Church adopted Protestant reforms, including the [[Book of Common Prayer (disambiguation)|Book of Common Prayer]] and the Thirty-Nine Articles, shaped by Reformed theology. These changes were temporarily reversed during the reign of [[Mary I]], who restored Catholicism, but [[Elizabeth I|Elizabeth I's]] reign firmly re-established Protestantism with the Elizabethan Settlement, creating a church that blended Reformed theology with traditional liturgy and governance. This marked the Church of England as a distinct entity, balancing Protestant principles with historical continuity

Services may vary in style, from formal and sacramental to informal and evangelical, reflecting the diverse theological traditions within the Church.

The modern day Church of England has largely departed from the truths laid forth in scripture.

Adolf Hitler

2024-11-26T17:41:28Z

Ben Leevey: Editted to be more accurate.

[[File:Adolf Hitler.png|thumb|288x288px|Adolf Hitler during WW2]]
'''Adolf Hitler''' (1889 - 1945) was an [[Austria|Austrian]] politician who became the dictator of [[Nazi Germany|Germany]] in 1933, running a deeply [[Antisemitism|antisemitic]] regime until his suicide in 1945.

Hitler was born in the [[Austro-Hungarian Empire]] in 1889. In 1914, at the start of the [[First World War]], he signed up to the German Imperial Army where he was deployed to the Western front. He was a good soldier and eventually earned an Iron Cross for his efforts. After Germany's loss in WW1, he, along with many of his fellow soldiers, blamed elite [[Jews]] for plotting their nation's downfall.

After a few years of homelessness, Hitler joined the ''Deutsche Arbeiterpartei'', a [[Right Wing Politics|right wing]] antisemitic political party which espoused the conspiracy theory that Jews were secretly controlling many world governments and attempted to establish a global [[Communism|communist]] regime. This theory, though ludicrous, captured the hearts and minds of many anti-communists within Germany's growing working class as it gave them a scapegoat to blame for their problems.

Hitler was quick to jump on board with this and quickly gained a position of power within the party due to his incredible public speaking skills. Eventually he became the sole leader, renaming the party to the ''Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei (NSDAP)'', more commonly known as the [[Nazi Party]]. The party quickly gained membership from extremist conservative ex-soldiers and Hitler began plotting to overthrow the Germany government. Along with Ernst Rohm, he organised a paramilitary within the party called the "Storm Division" and attempted to seize the city of [[Munich]] in an event known as the Beer Hall Putsch.

This failed and resulted in Hitler's incarceration and imprisonment. In prison, he would write an antisemitic manifesto known as Mein Kampf (English: My Struggle). The manifesto succeeded in spreading his ideas and theories across Germany, and by the time of his release in 1925, he was more popular than ever.
[[File:Flag of the NSDAP (1920–1945).svg|left|thumb|200x200px|The flag of the Nazi Party]]
He reformed the Nazi Party and began contesting elections. In the July 1932 federal election, he won the most seats within the Reichstag. He did not become the Chancellor of Germany until 1933, at which point he used the Reichstag fire as evidence that the Jews and Communists were conspiring against Germany and gained the power to ban political parties, under the impression that he would use it to ban the German Communist Party. Instead he would ban every political party in Germany, except for the Nazis.

He became the dictator of Germany and took the title of Fuhrer in 1934. His government initiated aggressive expansionist policies, which led to the outbreak of the [[Second World War]] in 1939 after the invasion of [[Poland]]. Hitler's ideology of racial purity and antisemitism culminated in the [[Holocaust]], the systematic genocide of six million Jews and millions of other marginalised groups, including Romani people, disabled individuals, and [[Left Wing Politics|left wing]] dissidents. The war, which ravaged much of [[Europe]], ended in 1945 with Germany's defeat. Facing imminent capture by Allied forces, Hitler committed suicide in his Berlin bunker, marking the collapse of the Nazi regime.

Adolf Hitler's was not a [[Christianity|Christian]] and held [[Atheism|atheist]] views. While he publicly used Christian rhetoric to appeal to the predominantly Christian population of Germany, his private statements and policies reveal a disdain for organised religion, particularly Christianity, which he saw as weak and incompatible with his ideology. Hitler's regime actively suppressed all who spoke out against it in the name of Christ.

Wilford Woodruff

2024-11-26T17:35:56Z

Ben Leevey: Changed church to cult twice.

'''Wilford Woodruff''' (1807 - 1898) was the [[Mormon President|President]] of the [[The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints|Church of Latter-day Saints]] from 1889 to his death in 1898.

He implemented significant reforms, most notably the [[Manifesto of 1890]], which officially ended the cults practice of [[polygamy]], aligning it with U.S. law and paving the way for [[Utah|Utah's]] statehood. His leadership marked a turning point as the cult transitioned from isolation and defiance of federal authority to a more mainstream and cooperative stance within [[United States of America|American]] society.

'''Predecessor as Mormon President: [[John Taylor (Mormon)|President John Taylor]]'''

'''Successor as Mormon President: [[Lorenzo Snow|President Lorenzo Snow]]'''

Joseph Smith

2024-11-26T17:34:14Z

Ben Leevey: Added moral lesson

[[File:Joseph Smith, Jr. portrait owned by Joseph Smith III.jpg|thumb|280x280px|1842 portrait of Joseph Smith]]
'''Joseph Smith''' (died 1844) was an [[United States of America|American]] [[false prophet]] and the founder of the [[Heresy|heretical]] religion of [[Mormonism]]. According to followers of Mormonism, known as [[Mormons]], he was a [[Prophets (Old Testament Office)|prophet]] divinely inspired to preach and to bring a new gospel to the world in order to succeed [[Jesus Christ]]. He attempted to found a new apostolic church, the so-called [[Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints|Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS)]].

His claims of divine revelations, such as translating an alleged lost Biblical book known as, the [[Book of Mormon]] from golden plates, lack credible evidence and are seen as fabrications. Additionally, his changing doctrinal teachings, controversial practices like [[polygamy]], and failed prophecies—such as predicting the [[Second Coming of Christ]] within his generation—further discredit his prophetic legitimacy.

He also affirmed the long-disputed heresy of [[tritheism]] and taught that when every human dies they will be judged by three men, [[God the Father]], [[God the Son]] and Joseph Smith himself.

His religious teachings and methods are reminiscent of those of [[Muhammed]], a 7th century Arabian false prophet and this has caused Mormonism to be labelled "American [[Islam]]" by some Christians, and are a striking picture of what every man by nature strives to do, put himself in the place of God Almighty.

Russell Marion Nelson

2024-11-26T17:31:05Z

Ben Leevey: Added Photo

[[File:Russel Nelson - Mormon False Prophet.jpg|thumb|Russel Nelson - False Prophet]]
'''Russell Marion Nelson''' (born 1924) is the current [[Mormon President|President]] of the [[The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints|Church of Latter-day Saints]] since 2018. He recently celebrated his 100th birthday.

'''Predecessor as Mormon President: [[Thomas S. Monson|President Thomas Monson]]'''

File:Russel Nelson - Mormon False Prophet.jpg

2024-11-26T17:30:28Z

Ben Leevey:

A photo of Russel Nelson, leader of the Mormon cult, and appointed false prophet of the Mormons.

User talk:ComingAgain

2024-11-26T17:22:02Z

Ben Leevey:

User talk:ComingAgain

2024-11-26T17:21:24Z

Ben Leevey: /* Subjectivity */ new section

== Welcome to ReformedWiki.org, ComingAgain! ==

Happy editing!!!! [[User:Admin|Admin]] ([[User talk:Admin|talk]]) 22:25, 6 June 2024 (UTC)

== Wiki Writng Best Practices ==

Hello! This is Ben, one of the wiki admins.

Thank you for contributing Coming Again.

I do feel it necessary to give you one pointer on writing posts on this wiki. The goal is to set forth an unbiased perspective to the reader. In your post "Re-Baptism" you're position was clearly Pedo Baptist. I don't have anything against you being a Pedo Baptist brother, but try, when you write a wiki page, to set forth both views, with the corresponding scriptures, objectively, rather than subjectively.

No worries brother! Just wanted to make sure you understood that.

I have deleted your post content. If you want to try again, feel free! But I would recommend you don't use the term Re-Baptism since it comes from a specifically Pedo Baptism point of view.

With the affection of Christ Jesus,
Ben Leevey

I am a reformed Baptist, I was baptised as an adult, as is the practice ordained in the bible.

Re-baptism has been considered an unbiblical practice since the 3rd century, why would that change now?

Hope this helps,
ComingAgain

== Subjectivity ==

🙂 Hello Coming Again!

I really am thankful that you are consistently contributing to the wiki. I would have one pointer for you though, be very careful to stick to the facts.

For instance, I see you wrote several posts on the Papacy, and in all of them you spoke about Pope Francis' outlook being more Christlike, or something similar.

It is best to keep your own opinions out of these as much as possible. 🙂 Especially since you are speaking for the whole reformed community.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask!

With the Affection of Christ,

Ben

Pope

2024-11-26T17:17:01Z

Ben Leevey: Removed misinformation, and subjective perception.

The Pope is the head of the [[Catholicism|Catholic Church]]. Historically it is an office marked by hatred, intolerance and [[unbiblical]] ideals.

The Popes are seen in reformed circles as [[False prophet|false prophets]].

==See also==

* [[Pope Leo I|'''Pope Leo I''']] '''- 440 to 461'''
* '''[[Pope Leo X]] - 1513 to 1521'''
* '''[[Pope Clement VII]] - 1523 to 1534'''
* '''[[Pope Benedict XVI]] - 2005 to 2013'''
* '''[[Pope Francis|Pope Francis I]] - 2013 to present'''

Pope Benedict XVI

2024-11-26T17:13:44Z

Ben Leevey: Removed misinformation, and subjective perception. Added scripture.

'''Joseph Alois Ratzinger''' (1927 - 2013), known by Roman Catholics as '''Pope Benedict XVI''', was the [[Church of Rome (disambiguation)|Bishop of Rome]], aka the [[Pope]] from 2005 to his death in 2013.

He often defended the [[Traditionalist Catholicism|traditionalist]] errors of Rome, doubling down on [[Marian devotion]], [[sacramentalism]], and papal authority. Benedict’s firm stance against ecumenical compromise, including his infamous declaration that [[Protestantism|Protestant]] churches are not “true churches,” struck and ironic note for Reformed Christians. Benedict stood as an unapologetic defender of Rome's most egregious errors, making him a more direct challenge to [[Bible|biblical]] [[Christianity]].

''Now therefore fear the LORD and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness. Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. <sup>15</sup> And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the LORD, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.'' Joshua 24:14-15

'''Predecessor as Pope: [[Pope John Paul II]]'''

'''Successor as Pope: [[Pope Francis|Pope Francis I]]'''

Pope Francis

2024-11-26T17:01:57Z

Ben Leevey: Removed misinformation, and subjective perception.

[[File:Pope Francis 2013.jpg|thumb|243x243px|Pope Francis in 2013]]
'''Jorge Mario Bergoglio''' (born 1936), now called '''Pope Francis''' by [[Roman Catholic Church|Roman Catholics]], is the present-day [[Church of Rome (disambiguation)|Bishop of Rome]], aka the [[Pope]] and has had this role since 2013.

Known for his strong emphasis on humanitarianism, he differs slightly from prior popes in departing from some Romish traditions.

In 2015, he attended a [[Waldensians|Waldensian]] church in northern Italy to apologies for the brutal massacres by Roman Catholic crusaders that were carried out on the exact site he visited.

'''Predecessor as Pope: [[Pope Benedict XVI]]'''

Proto-protestantism

2024-11-26T16:49:32Z

Ben Leevey: Added Moravianism.

'''Proto-protestantism''', also known as '''pre-protestantism''', was the [[Protestantism|protestant]] movement preceding [[Martin Luther|Martin Luther's]] [[reformation]]. Almost all followed [[Calvinism|Calvinistic]] [[soteriology]].

Groups designated as pre-protestant often include:

* [[Novatianists|Novatianism]] (3rd century) - An early Christian sect founded by the theologian [[Novatian]], heavily influenced by an anti-Roman sentiment and by the writings of [[Tertullian]].
* [[Jovinianists|Jovinianism]] (4th century) - An anti-imperialist movement founded by [[Jovinian]], who criticized the monastic movement and argued for the equality of marriage and celibacy.
* [[Paulicians|Paulicianism]] (7th - 10th centuries) - An [[Armenian]] denomination founded by [[Constantine-Silvanus]], which opposed the riches and unbiblical practices of the Byzantine church.
* [[Byzantine Iconoclasm]] (8th - 9th centuries) - A position supported by certain [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine Emperors]] opposed to the perceived idolatry of the established church.
* [[Waldensians|Waldensianism]] (12th century - present) - A medieval Christian movement founded by [[Peter Waldo]], advocating poverty and preaching, eventually deemed heretical, persisting today as a Protestant denomination in [[Italy]].
* [[Lollards|Lollardy]] (14th - 16th centuries) - Followers of [[John Wycliffe]], criticized Church corruption and advocated [[Wycliffe's Bible|Bible translation]] and reform, leading to persecution in 14th-century England.
* [[Hussites|Hussitism]] (15th century) - A militant anti-imperialist sect inspired by [[Jan Huss]] and [[Jan Zizka]], sought religious reform in 15th-century [[Bohemia]], leading to conflicts with the [[Catholicism|Catholic Church]] and the [[Hussite Wars]].
* [[Moravianism]] (15th century - present) - A generally peaceful group branch originating in [[Moravia]], and dispersing because of [[persecutions]]. Later known for their [[missionary]] zeal, they took part in pioneering spreading the [[gospel]] in places such as Greenland, the Caribbean, and North Africa.

Peter Waldo

2024-11-26T16:42:55Z

Ben Leevey: Reworded to be more understandable, and less biblically contradictory.

'''Peter Waldo''' (c.1140 - c.1205) was a wealthy [[France|French]] merchant from [[Lyon]] in the 12th century who became inspired to sell all that he had and begin preaching the [[Gospel (disambiguation)|Gospel]], as the [[Apostles]] had done.

In 1173 at a spring festival, he heard a song about saint [[Alexius of Edessa]], who had given up a large inheritance and a beautiful bride in order to live in poverty like [[Jesus Christ|Jesus]]. Hearing this, Waldo committed himself to studying the [[Bible]] and the writings of the [[Church Fathers]]. Eventually he decided to sell his home and his business to begin traveling around Lombardy preaching about the value of poverty. He quickly gained a following of people calling themselves the "[[Waldensians]]" and was asked to meet with Pope Alexander III. Having pleaded the case for their difficult way of living, which may or may not have been asceticism, they were laughed out of court.

Many of the Pope's clerics believed that the Waldensians were too poor to be allowed to preach. "Should pearls of wisdom be cast before swine?" - Walter Map, sent on a mission to the Pope's court by the English King, had asked. The Waldensians did not submit to this verdict, and denounced the pride and the corruption of clergy.

It is this anti-Roman zeal that has caused the medieval Waldensians to be labelled [[Pre-protestantism|pre-protestant]].

Modern Waldensians consider Waldo to be one of the most influential post-[[Council of Nicaea|Nicene]] theologians, along with [[John Calvin]].

Cathars

2024-11-26T16:36:37Z

Ben Leevey: Fixed word order

[[File:Cathars Religious Rights.jpg|thumb|235x235px|Cathar Monks]]
The term '''Cathar''', and it's plural form '''Cathars''' or '''Cathari''', refers to a label attached to a [[Christianity|Christian]] religious movement in [[Aquitaine]] in the 12th and 13th centuries. Those labelled "Cathari" by the [[Roman Catholic Church]] were subjected to intense persecution, and even death. The precise nature of their beliefs is obscure. Historical evidence shows that some may have had [[Dualism|dualist]] or even pseudo-[[Gnosticism|Gnostic]] beliefs, whilst some may have been influenced by [[Waldensians|Waldensian]] and [[Franciscans|Franciscan]] [[asceticism]].

The Roman Catholic Church, the most powerful Christian association at the time, wrongly labelled the Cathari as devil-worshippers. The Roman Catholic Church claimed that the Cathari were a part of a long line of Satanic churches originating in Bulgaria, originally founded by a Persian [[false prophet]] (sometimes identified as Mani Hayya, the founder of [[Manicheaism]]).

This pseudo-historical myth, though a complete fantasy, was what inspired (innocently) by [[Pope Innocent III]] to order a "[[Albigensian Crusade]]" in the summer of 1209. This led to the death of at least 200,000 people who were labelled as Cathari devotees and [[Heresy|heretics]]. Inquisition records from this time show that most of the people identified as Cathari did not see themselves as heretics at all, leading to questions about the true nature of the [[Crusades|crusade]] and it's resultant [[genocide]] being the result of a [[moral panic]].

Cathars

2024-11-26T16:35:02Z

Ben Leevey: Added a little bit of a written twist

[[File:Cathars Religious Rights.jpg|thumb|235x235px|Cathar Monks]]
The term '''Cathar''', and it's plural form '''Cathars''' or '''Cathari''', refers to a label attached to a [[Christianity|Christian]] religious movement in [[Aquitaine]] in the 12th and 13th centuries. Those labelled "Cathari" by the [[Roman Catholic Church]] were subjected to intense persecution, and even death. The precise nature of their beliefs is obscure. Historical evidence shows that some may have had [[Dualism|dualist]] or even pseudo-[[Gnosticism|Gnostic]] beliefs, whilst some may have been influenced by [[Waldensians|Waldensian]] and [[Franciscans|Franciscan]] [[asceticism]].

The Roman Catholic Church, the most powerful Christian association at the time, wrongly labelled the Cathari as devil-worshippers. The Roman Catholic Church claimed that the Cathari were a part of a long line of Satanic churches originating in Bulgaria, originally founded by a Persian [[false prophet]] (sometimes identified as Mani Hayya, the founder of [[Manicheaism]]).

This pseudo-historical myth, though a complete fantasy, was what inspired by (innocently) [[Pope Innocent III]] to order a "[[Albigensian Crusade]]" in the summer of 1209. This led to the death of at least 200,000 people who were labelled as Cathari devotees and [[Heresy|heretics]]. Inquisition records from this time show that most of the people identified as Cathari did not see themselves as heretics at all, leading to questions about the true nature of the [[Crusades|crusade]] and it's resultant [[genocide]] being the result of a [[moral panic]].

Cathars

2024-11-26T16:33:16Z

Ben Leevey: Changed image for the sake of modesty.

[[File:Cathars Religious Rights.jpg|thumb|235x235px|Cathar Monks]]
The term '''Cathar''', and it's plural form '''Cathars''' or '''Cathari''', refers to a label attached to a [[Christianity|Christian]] religious movement in [[Aquitaine]] in the 12th and 13th centuries. Those labelled "Cathari" by the [[Roman Catholic Church]] were subjected to intense persecution, and even death. The precise nature of their beliefs is obscure. Historical evidence shows that some may have had [[Dualism|dualist]] or even pseudo-[[Gnosticism|Gnostic]] beliefs, whilst some may have been influenced by [[Waldensians|Waldensian]] and [[Franciscans|Franciscan]] [[asceticism]].

The Roman Catholic Church, the most powerful Christian association at the time, wrongly labelled the Cathari as devil-worshippers. The Roman Catholic Church claimed that the Cathari were a part of a long line of Satanic churches originating in Bulgaria, originally founded by a Persian [[false prophet]] (sometimes identified as Mani Hayya, the founder of [[Manicheaism]]).

This pseudo-historical myth, though a complete fantasy, was what inspired [[Pope Innocent III]] to order a "[[Albigensian Crusade]]" in the summer of 1209. This led to the death of at least 200,000 people who were labelled as Cathari devotees and [[Heresy|heretics]]. Inquisition records from this time show that most of the people identified as Cathari did not see themselves as heretics at all, leading to questions about the true nature of the [[Crusades|crusade]] and it's resultant [[genocide]] being the result of a [[moral panic]].

File:Cathars Religious Rights.jpg

2024-11-26T16:31:30Z

Ben Leevey:

Monks laying hands on an individual in a religious right.

User talk:Jeremysarber

2024-11-26T16:10:15Z

Ben Leevey: /* Welcome to ReformedWiki.org, Jeremysarber! */

== Welcome to ReformedWiki.org, Jeremysarber! ==

Happy editing!!!! [[User:Admin|Admin]] ([[User talk:Admin|talk]]) 03:41, 22 November 2024 (UTC)

Welcome Jeremysarber! This is Ben, an admin. Feel free, if you have any questions, to reach out to me in discord in the server, or directly with my handle: ben_leevey.

User talk:Swleslie1611

2024-11-26T16:08:17Z

Ben Leevey: /* Welcome to ReformedWiki.org, Swleslie1611! */

== Welcome to ReformedWiki.org, Swleslie1611! ==

Happy editing!!!! [[User:Admin|Admin]] ([[User talk:Admin|talk]]) 02:31, 22 November 2024 (UTC)

Welcome Swlesie! This is Ben, an admin. Feel free, if you have any questions, to reach out to me in discord in the server, or directly with my handle: ben_leevey.

Re-baptism

2024-11-20T19:04:47Z

Ben Leevey: Removed Content

User talk:Ben Leevey

2024-11-20T17:37:02Z

Ben Leevey: /* Welcome to ReformedWiki.org, Ben Leevey! */

User talk:ComingAgain

2024-11-20T17:36:20Z

Ben Leevey: /* Wiki Writng Best Practices */ new section

Re-baptism

2024-11-20T17:30:45Z

Ben Leevey: Removed Content

Gospel of John

2024-11-20T02:30:49Z

Ben Leevey: Removed subjective paragraph.

The '''Gospel of John''' is the last of the four [[Gospel|gospels]] which are at the start of the [[New Testament]]. Unlike the [[Synoptic Gospels]] of [[Gospel of Matthew|Matthew]], [[Gospel of Mark|Mark]], and [[Gospel of Luke|Luke]], [[John the Apostle|John’s]] account is distinctive in style and content, focusing more on the spiritual significance of Jesus' life and identity. It includes unique events and discourses, such as the '[[Yahweh|I am]]' statements and Jesus' extended teachings on love and the [[Holy Spirit]].

Miracles of Jesus

2024-11-20T02:28:45Z

Ben Leevey: Corrected Spelling

[[Jesus Christ]] performed many '''miracles''' during his [[Ministry of Jesus|ministry]] in order to demonstrate his divine authority, fulfill [[Old Testament]] [[Prophecy (Spiritual Gift)|prophecy]], and reveal the compassion and power of [[God]] to [[Healing (Spiritual Gift)|heal]], provide, and restore both body and soul.
== Seven Miracles in the Gospel of John ==
The [[Gospel of John]] highlights several miracles, often referred to as signs.

'''<u>Turning water into wine</u>'''

Described in ''John 2''. While attending a wedding in the town of Cana, the bride and groom realize they are out of [[wine]]. Jesus turns six stone jars of water, each holding twenty to thirty gallons, into high-quality wine.

'''<u>Healing the Official’s Son</u>'''

Described in John 4. Jesus heals a royal official’s son in Capernaum from a distance.

'''<u>Healing the Paralyzed Man</u>'''

Described in John 5. Whilst in [[Bethesda]], Jesus heals a man who had been paralyzed for 38 years.

'''<u>Feeding the 5,000</u>'''

Described in John 6. A multitude who had followed Jesus to hear his teaching grew hungry, but there was little food, only five barley loaves and two small fish offered by a boy. Jesus gave thanks, broke the loaves, and distributed the food, miraculously multiplying it to feed all 5,000 people, with twelve baskets of leftovers remaining.

'''<u>Walking on Water</u>'''

Described in John 6. After feeding the 5,000, Jesus’ disciples set out across the Sea of [[Galilee]] by boat. In the middle of the night, as strong winds and rough waters threatened them, Jesus walked on the water toward their boat. Terrified at first, the disciples recognized him, and he reassured them, saying, "It is I; do not be afraid." When He stepped into the boat, the storm calmed.

'''<u>Healing the Blind Man</u>'''

Described in John 9. Jesus heals a man blind from birth, to prove his identity as the Light of the World.

<u>'''Raising Lazarus from the Dead'''</u>

Described in John 11. When Jesus learned that his friend [[Lazarus]] had died, he travelled to Bethany, where Lazarus had been in the tomb for four days. Despite the grief of Lazarus's sisters, Mary and Martha, Jesus assured them that he is "the resurrection and the life." At the tomb, Jesus prayed to the Father and then commanded, "Lazarus, come forth!" Lazarus emerged, alive and still wrapped in burial cloths.

A few other miracles are described along with these in the [[Synoptic Gospels]], which the Gospel of John acknowledges, saying:

<big>''"There are also many other things that Jesus did; if every one of them were written down, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written." - Gospel of John 21:25''</big>

God

2024-11-17T00:04:15Z

Ben Leevey: removed the word simple. added 1 comma, and some detail concerning the trinity. Added more references.

'''God''' is the one and only eternal, [[almighty]], [[divine]], [[holy]], and [[supreme being]]. who has revealed Himself to us as a [[Trinity|Triune God]], who is three persons: [[God the Father|Father]], [[God the Son|Son]], and [[God the Spirit|Spirit]] and yet one unified whole. This is called the [[trinity]].

Adam

2024-11-17T00:00:37Z

Ben Leevey: Added page/

Adam was the first man, [[created]] by [[God]] out of the dust. He was created on the sixth day of [[creation]] in the [[image of God]], which all his descendants also bear He dwelt in the garden of [[Eden]].

[[Eve]] was created out of Adam's rib. He called her woman, and so it has been ever since. (Read [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis+1&version=ESV Genesis 1])

God [[Command|commanded]] Adam and Eve concerning one tree in the garden, not to eat the fruit from it, for the moment they ate of it they would surely [[Death|die]]. Adam [[Disobedience|disobeyed]] God's command, after being invited to eat by his wife, who was [[Deceive|deceived]] by [[Satan]], in the form of a [[serpent]], and as a [[consequence]], death entered the world. Both [[spiritual death]], and physical death.

Adam and Eve knew [[good]] and [[evil]], but where incapable of doing true good ([[righteous]] acts before God). And we, as their [[Descendant|descendants]], have inherited this from our father Adam. It is often referred to as [[total depravity]].

There is only one way to [[escape]] this [[bondage]], through the [[second Adam]], [[Jesus Christ]].

Faith

2024-11-16T23:34:19Z

Ben Leevey: Added reference link.

Faith is defined by scripture itself. "faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen." Hebrews 11:1<ref>https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Hebrews+11:1&version=ESV</ref>

Faith must be placed in something. There is no such thing as a disconnected faith, that is placed in nothing.

Also, faith is not a risky leap in the dark. It is the "assurance", the strong "conviction" that what we cannot see, is fact.

Faith

2024-11-16T23:32:15Z

Ben Leevey: I added the page. Gave a basic scriptural definition and expounded briefly.

Faith is defined by scripture itself. "faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen." Hebrews 11:1

Faith must be placed in something. There is no such thing as a disconnected faith, that is placed in nothing.

Also, faith is not a risky leap in the dark. It is the "assurance", the strong "conviction" that what we cannot see, is fact.

User:Ben Leevey

2024-11-12T15:48:17Z

Ben Leevey: formatting

== '''My Testimony:''' ==
I was born in the year 2006 to regenerate parents, who, as yet had not been introduced to the doctrines of grace. My father was the pastor in a small Church in Utah, when he started to be troubled with the inconsistencies between some of his fundamental Baptist doctrine, and the scriptures.

He stepped down from his position as pastor, feeling that the contradictions he was seeing must be resolved before he could responsibly lead God's people. It was about this time that my uncle, who had but lately come to understand the doctrines of grace, and was at the time attending Bethlehem Baptist Seminary in Minneapolis, MN, introduced my parents to the sermons of John Piper, and like minded men. I a very few months, the majority of my father's questions where answered by the clear exposition of our brother John Piper, as he delved into the scriptures. This occurred when I was six years old.

Even before they had come to understand the doctrines of grace, my parents had taken much care to raise me in the fear and admonition of the LORD, and then from age six, I was taught the glorious truths that have been torn out of the mindsets of so many evangelical churches not holding to the doctrines of grace.

I cared nothing for any of this though. I was a chronic thief and liar, from a young age, on into my teens. A cheat and hypocrite who could not be trusted by anyone who knew him. I was an exceedingly miserable child, though my parents and siblings where in no way tended to cause unhappiness. I was unfulfilled, constantly seeking fulfillment in my sin, and constantly growing emptier. At the age of 12 I considered suicide, but the LORD spared me from myself at the thought of my mother's sorrow, should I take my own life.

This groping in the dark, for fulfillment, while plunging deeper into the suffocating bog of sin, continued until I was fourteen. At this time, in an act of direct disobedience to my parents, I came close to setting the neighborhood ablaze.

My Father was at his wits end at this point, and determined to have me sit on a deck outside our house at the time, in a chair, except for meals and bedtimes, for one month. That way I could not harm myself or anyone else.

In God's providence, he started, during these long hours, to work upon my heart by His Spirit. The scriptures, and teaching from the scriptures, that I had heard since my mind could recall, started to run through my head. By degrees I began to see my sin, not just as something "bad to do" but as an offense against the righteous, loving, awful Ruler of all. I also had some small glimpses of Christ's beauty, admittedly, these where weak and faint, but faith is something that progresses, not something that is static. Sometime during that month, I passed from death to life. My life commenced to change. Many times I had tried to change it myself, and had failed almost before I set out to do so. Now, by the power of Christ, sin after sin we weeded out. It has been four years now. And Christ grows more desirable to me each day. He ha paid the price for my sin, and by His power, I am being justified by faith which is completed by the works that He empowers me to do (James 2). He will keep me to the end! For He has promised: "All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day." John 6:37-39

My Discord username: ben_leevey