1989 issue 8 - book review, an antidote against arminianism - counsel of chalcedon
TRANSCRIPT
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8/12/2019 1989 Issue 8 - Book Review, An Antidote Against Arminianism - Counsel of Chalcedon
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in the street
What a Bozo.
What
an idiot
And there is, alas, more, much more.
Twaddle-Talking Ted's CNN TV
net-
work program "World Report" has run
stories hailing the virtues
of
Bulgarian
communism and "proving," supposed
ly
that fanner Cuban political prison
er, Annando Valladares, lied about be
ing
tortured
in
Fidel Castro's jails.
Twaddle-Talking Ted has personally
praised Mr. Castro as
a
great guy."
And he has said (in the July 7, 1986,
Fortune magazine): "Communism is
fme with me. It's
part
of the fabric of
life
on
this planet."
What a Bozo. What
an idiot
Communism is a part of the fabric
of
death on this planet
Twaddle-Talking Ted has
also
accused
the United States of being "a colonial
power"
and
"raping the rest
of
the world
economically" to pay for our "bloated
military machine." And when we bomb
ed Libya to retaliate for
its terrorism
against our citizens,
he
accused us
of
be
ing "terrorists ourselves."
What a Bozo. What an idiot.
Twaddle-Tallcing Ted once said that
rather than fighting
in
the last war,
Italians would "rather be involved in
crime and just making wine and having
a good time." And his superstation in
Atlanta
aired
a pro-Soviet portrait
of
the
Soviet Union that was
so
bad even The
Washington Post's
Tom
Shales panned
it, calling
it
"more like a postcard from
Binky and Bi ff at Camp Whitewash."
AndTwaddle-TalkingTed--confessing
a creed which one
must admit he has
lived by--once told
a
college commence
ment audience: "You don't need to
know anything about anything to do
anything you want."
What a Bozo. What
an
idiot
[John Lofton
is
a columnist for The
Washington Times. This article is re-
printedfrom the
July 26
1989 issue of
that
newspaper ]
n
~ A special"thanks" ~
~
to all
of
you who have
~
supported this ministry
fmancially, this year and ~
~
in
years past Please know that ~
your help in
the future
is essential
~
~ for continuing The Counsel. ~
~
AN
ANTIDOTE
AGAINST
ARMINIANISM, by Christopher
Ness (1621-1705). Still Waters Revival
Books, (1988). 12810-126St. Edmon
ton, Ab., Canada Y5L OYl. 126 pp.
$6.95. Reviewed by the Rev. T. Mark
Duncan, Virginia Beach, Virginia.
"An antidote against Arminianism?
Who does Christopher Ness think he
is? He is offending an overwhehning
majority
of
the conservative and evan
gelical Church
To
maintain that Armin
ianism needs an antidote is to imply it
is poisonous "
Is Arminianism spiritual poison?
That is the question begged by the title
of Ness' short but significant work. In
the author's preface, Arminianism is
described as a "plague
and
leprosy," a
phrase which grates the ears of many in
our age of hypocritical civility.
t
is
not, however, through spirited rhetoric
that Ness demonstrates the toxicity of
Arrninianism but through logical and
scriptural argumentation.
There are perhaps many reading this
review who disagree with Anninian
theology but would stop short
of
call
ing
it
poison. Ness, using much scrip
ture and little comment, demonstrates
Arminianism's noxious side effects.
He
forces the reader to deal with the logical
implications of the system. Anninian
ism is venomous because
it
cuts the
heart
out of
Christianity.
For
if God
has done all
He
can to save sinners,
i
Christ has died for everyone, and
if
the
ultimate determinerof man's eternal des
tiny rests with man's autonomous will,
then God is unable to save
man.
Man
mu
st save himself. This is nothing
other than theological humanism.
The
autosoteriological implications
of
Ar-
minianism annul two
of the
foundation
al truths of Christianity: salvation
by
grace alone and the atoning work of
Christ Arminianism is spiritually dead
ly because it is the soteriological equiva
lent
of
Satan's oldest lie: "You can be
like God."
Ness argues that Anninianism neces
sarily impugns the nature of God. He
logically builds an argument from Scrip
ture demonstrating,
on
the the basis
of
God's nature, the impossibility of Ar
minian theology.
The
doctrine of man's
free will
is
totally inconsistent with an
infinite, eternal, and unchangeable God
who has a purpose. Ness quotes Vors
tius the Arminian to illustrate this fact:
"Things may happen that
may
bring
God
to
grief having tried all things in
vain." (p. 54) The God of Arminianism
has both hands tied behind His back by
the thongs of man's will.
The Scriptural and logical argument
Ness provides against that most sacred
of
Arrninian cows, universal atone
ment, is itself worth the price of the
book. The reasoning is most compel
ling and may he
just
the ticket to per
suade even the
mo
st militant Arminian
to embrace the doctrine of Definite
Atonement.
With
ten arguments, Ness
demonstrates that a universal atonement
is no atonement at all. The crowning
tenth argument forces the reader to con
clude that an atonement which has men,
for
whom Christ
died,
in
Hell reduces
Christianity
to
a laughing stock. (p.
71)
n Antidote Against
Annin
wmsm
is exceptionally easy
to
read;
rare for a
3
year
old
Puritan work. It
is
written in
a
concise, non-technical,
style. Still, Antidote s arguments are
persuasive. The theological novice can
easily grasp Ness' reasoning. The Bible
scholar will also find the book helpful.
Personally, Ness reinforced
in
my mind
the fact that Calvinism
is
nothing more
than Biblical Christianity. Antidote
provides
me
with a concise ready-refer
ence with which to
de f
end the Doctrines
of
Grace.
I cannot recommend the book too
highly.
It
is an ideal book to give to an
Arminian friend who is willing to
examine his belief in light
of
Scripture.
Ness' reasoning is not only impeccably
logical, there
is
little to which a pro
fessing Bible believer can object be
cause
of
the volume of Scripture quot
ed
. In four chapters, Ness sets forth the
The Counsel
of
Chalcadon October 1989 page 25
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8/12/2019 1989 Issue 8 - Book Review, An Antidote Against Arminianism - Counsel of Chalcedon
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Biblicat
teaching . of Predestination,
Christ's ' Atonement, Free Will and
Final P e r s e v e r ~ c e He then contrasts
the Biblical teaching o these doctrines
With
the Arirtinian
PoSition
and con- .
e t u d e ~ each chapter b answering com
moo objecti.OilS
tO
the Calvinistic view.
Although Ness, a
contemporary
of
John Owen, penned
t is
volume almost
300
years
ago,
his
words
are
as
llllich
needed now s ever. We live in an age
when man's free choice has become a
god. The murder of unborn babies is
euphemistically
tenned
pro-choice.
Men desire the power to choose to live
under their
law
rather than God's law.
The
:
westmiiister Cofifession's Regula
tive Principle of Worship is largely
disregarded in favor of worship ac
cording to the imagination (free-choice)
of
men.
Could tlle elevation of man's
choice td a osition
of
deity be ~ e t l y
attributable'
to
a theological system
which teaches that man's will super-
cedes God's sovereignty?
Just
as
a wise snake handler keeps
antitOxin
readily available in a safe
place, so should every pastor keep a
case of
Antidnte in
his study. It is
the
ideal short work on the Doctrines of
Grace. It should be required reading in
membership classes of every Reformed
Church. Besides, it
is
important
to
have
Antidote available because
a
faithful
pastor should never be SUiprised
when
the noxious fumes of Anninianism
seep through the
doors of the chuteh. It
should never be
forgotten:
that Anniniart
vapors, though they smell :sweet to
fallen
man,
are
dangerous to the
soul.
Whai: is
th
antidote to Arminianism
of which Ness writes?What is th
. antitoxin to the poisoning
of
the
soul?
Ness demonstrates unequivocally that
the only antidote to Arminianism is the
Word of God. Only
th
Whole Counsel
of
God can counter
the
t6xin
of
human-
ism in all its dangerous forms.
0
~ i t a t t tlasilit
N
ANTIDOTE
AGAINST
ARMINIANISM
Written by Christopher Ness and first published in 1700,
Antidote is still looked to as a standard work, regarding the
sovereignty
of God,
almost three centuries .after
ii
was originaly
permed.
Ness 'does a .masterful
job
of exposing the errors of
Anninianism while
at
the same time exalting the free and
sovereign
_grace of the Lord Jesus Chr ist.
A
scripture index has been added to
this e d i t i o n ~ which should make it a valuable addition to the library
of all erious students of the Holy Scriptures.
Oider
from:Your local Christian bookstore or
STILL
W TERS
REVIVAL BOOKS
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Yl
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The
Counsel
of
Chalcedon
October,
1989
page
26