Well, its almost Reformation Day. Through most of my life, I didnt have a clue about the Reformation, let alone a day to commemorate it- and I was raised in an evangelical church, go figure. When October came around, we usually discussed what to do about the evils of Halloween.
Most of the time we think of the great Reformers- Luther, Calvin, Zwingli, etc. Now I read a lot of the writings of these men, and I wonder what it wouldve been like to meet these guys and ask them questions. They were so committed to the gospel! They had such a zeal for Jesus. I can only think my questions that I would ask them, and hope what they left behind in their writings will answer.
This led to me to think about those particular individuals who Ive come across in cyber-space who stand in the tradition of the great Reformers. They stand firm with the gospel, and they actively proclaim the great solas: particulalry Sola Scriptura and Sola Fide- They continually come under attack for proclaiming these truths- yet, like the Reformers of old, they persevere. The great part: Ive had the opportunity to dialog with these guys. Ive been able to ask them questions, and learn from them.
James White: This guys writings and debates were key in my Christian growth towards a Reformed understanding of, well, everything. I came across him in a weird way. Some years back, I ordered a tape series of Norman Geisler debating Rabbi Kushner, from the John Ankerberg Show. They sent me instead a debate series on King James Only, with you guessed it, James White debating a few KJV only folks. I hadnt even heard of KJV only. But Whites ability to articulate his position led me to search out his web page. His materials constantly remind me of the strength of the doctrines of grace. I go to the Great Debates every year. Watching James White proclaim the truths of Scripture is inspiring.
David King: Davids work on Sola Scriptura is amazing. I came across his work via James Whites web page. White kept talking about this book coming out on sola scriptura. The 3 volumes by King and Webster stay on my desk at all times. Indeed, God has spoken and we have the ultimate authority of the Scriptures. Every Christian should have these volumes and be able to defend the ultimate authority of the Bible. See:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1893531023/qid=1130465592/sr=1-8/ref=sr_1_8/002-0435605-4597602?v=glance&s=books
David King has an incredible collection of material on the Early Church Fathers. He frequently quotes relevant citations on the Areopagus forums. For example see:
http://p102.ezboard.com/fntrmindiscussionboardfrm9.showMessage?topicID=1396.topic
Eric Svendsen and Jason Engwer: I was given a link to Erics NTRmin page a few years back. This is my favorite site for apologetic material answering the claims of Roman Catholicism. See: http://www.ntrmin.org/rccorner.htm
See particularly Jasons Catholic But Not Roman Catholic which is an excellent compilation of quotes from the Early Church Fathers:
http://www.ntrmin.org/catholic_but_not_roman_catholic_index.htm.
Eric Svendsen has authored many books refuting Roman Catholic apologetics:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/search-handle-url/ref=br_ss_hs/002-0435605-4597602?platform=gurupa&url=index%3Dstripbooks%3Arelevance-above&field-keywords=Eric+Svendsen&Go.x=15&Go.y=10
Well, last but not least, there is this guy Frank Turk. He might possibly have the best blog going: http://centuri0n.blogspot.com/. Frank goes by the name CenturiOn on discussion boards. His ability to articulate the Reformed faith and apply the Reformed distinctive of a Christian Worldview is a model for the rest of us to follow. Frank has a true way with words.
Regards,
James Swan
