How to Promote Scholarship on a Shoe-string Budget

 One of the most desperate needs of a denomination is a regular influx of young scholarship. The influence of a young educator named L.C. Johnson on Free Will Baptists history illustrates that point. The impact of his articulation of Arminian Baptist theology can hardly be exaggerated. Under his tutelage, two of the most articulate Arminian Baptist theologians arose, F. Leroy Forlines and Robert E. Picirilli, both of whom have become well known theologians in current Calvinist-Arminian discussions. These two theologians are greatly responsible for steering the course of Free Will Baptists over the last 50 years.

One might argue that Forlines and Picirilli are indispensible to Free Will Baptists, but the tyranny of time dictates that a new generation of scholars needs to be raised up to face the challenges of the coming years. Here is a strategy for nurturing young scholars without excessive expenditure of denominational resources.

My proposed Free Will Baptist Young Scholars Program (FWBYSP) at Welch College could be implemented in the 2014-2015 school year. It would follow a year of fund raising in which $3000-5000 would be raised and set aside to fund the project. Late in the school year of 2013-2014, college juniors would apply for membership in YSP, submitting theological essays for consideration. The theology/Bible department would select five of these juniors to participate in the YSP in their senior year, based upon appropriate criteria, including the theological essay. These essays would be submitted to Integrity journal for possible publication.

The key instructive and training element of the YSP would be monthly lunch gatherings, hosted by the college president. These informal gatherings would include a lunch of cold cuts, drinks, etc., organized by a theologically interested college junior. The theology and Bible faculty would meet and interact casually with the YSP participants at the beginning of the luncheon until the speaker presents his lecture. The topic for lectures would be set by the Bible faculty. Speakers would be chosen from the faculty or may involve guest speakers. Guest speakers might be supplied through the many scholarly friends of Welch College. Guest speakers might be given a token remuneration.  

Another key element of the YSP would be the annual meetings of the Evangelical Theological Society and the Society of Biblical Literature. Two of the most promising participants of the YSP will be granted $500 toward travel and expenses. Two of the Bible and Theology faculty will also be comparably funded to travel with the two chosen participants.

The final element will be a $1000 scholarship to be awarded to one of the five participants who applies and is accepted for graduate studies in an area of Christian studies. A primary consideration for the scholarship will be a new essay on a topic of the student’s choosing that would be worthy of submission to the annual meeting of the Evangelical Theological Society. The recipient of the scholarship award will agree to present a paper either at the annual theological symposium or at one of the YSP’s monthly luncheons in the coming academic year.

Evangelical Theological Society's Proposed Doctrinal Statement

ETS has basically two points that members must affirm: the Trinity and inerrancy. These are hardly enough to distinguish evangelical Christians from non-Evangelicals, prompting some people to urge a new statement of faith, which can be found here. Here are my thoughts....

FIRST, It seems that the proposed change is doomed to fail because 1) the executive committee opposes it; and 2) a super-supermajority of 80% is needed to pass it; 3) there were few big names on their list of supporters--I recognised only seven.

SECOND, let's talk about item 9 which reads, "The Holy Spirit alone makes the work of Christ effective to individual sinners, enabling them to turn to God from their sin and to trust in Jesus Christ."

The afore-linked webpage includes as one of its FAQ's a question in regard to C-A issues. The FAQ reads: "9. Is the reference to the Holy Spirit’s enabling work slanted towards Calvinism?" They reply, "We believe the statement on the Holy Spirit’s work in regeneration can accommodate the Calvinist view as well as Wesleyan/ Arminian notions of prevenient grace. Because the statement already unites Calvinist, Wesleyan, and Arminian evangelicals in England, we think that we have good reason not to interpret it as slanted towards either Calvinism or Arminianism. We have corresponded with at least one non-Calvinist long time member of the Tyndale Fellowship who has said he has never had a problem with this description of the Holy Spirit’s work."

Actually, upon a very, very close reading of the item, I have encountered a problem with this item. The participial phrase (enabling them to turn...and to trust) is ambiguous, and--as with all modifying participles, we are unsure of it being causal, temporal, sequential, etc. Here are the possibilities

• temporal: The Holy Spirit alone makes the work of Christ effective to individual sinners at the same time that he enables them to turn to God from their sin....
• telic: The Holy Spirit alone makes the work of Christ effective to individual sinners for the purpose of enabling them to turn to God from their sin...
• causal: The Holy Spirit alone makes the work of Christ effective to individual sinners because he enables them to turn to God from their sin...
• instrumental: The Holy Spirit alone makes the work of Christ effective to individual sinners by enabling them to turn to God from their sin...
• circumstantial: The Holy Spirit alone makes the work of Christ effective to individual sinners while he enables them to turn to God from their sin...
• sequential: The Holy Spirit alone makes the work of Christ effective to individual sinners then he enables them to turn to God from their sin...
• resultative: The Holy Spirit alone makes the work of Christ effective to individual sinners resulting in them being enabled them to turn to God from their sin...

No doubt, English is much less ambiguous with its participles than Greek, and one or two or three of these possibilities is more probable than others.

However, after staring at these options for the last 30 minutes, I'm not sure which reading is more natural. One thing I'm sure of is that Arminians won't like some of them. For example we would reject the telic, sequential, and resultative interpretations. If pressed, Arminians would interpret the phrase instrumentally: The Holy Spirit alone makes the work of Christ effective to individual sinners by enabling them to turn to God from their sin....

Perhaps the ambiguity is deliberate and helpful, enabling both Calvinists and Arminians to interpret it in whatever way they wish.

THIRD, perhaps of equal interest is the item which reads, "The Holy Spirit lives in all those he has regenerated...." Hey, this is good for Arminians, but bad for some Calvinists. I would assume that this might make a few Calvinists twinge, especially those who think that there can be some time gap from the point of regeneration to the point of faith. I keep on hearing Calvinists claiming this insanity that a person may not actually believe until years after his regeneration. Calvinists who believe this insanity are faced then with accepting the notion not only that unbelievers can be regenerate, but that unbelievers can be indwelt by the Spirit. This being the case, perhaps we ought to adopt the amendment, and then go on a witch hunt to throw out a bunch of Calvinists from ETS. :)