Who are some theologians whose theology has changed between their earlier writings and later writings? And what was the effect of those changes.

John Owen?

AW Pink?

I also heard Isaac Watts uttered some doubts about the Trinity?


Anyone know more about these or others, what they changed to, and why they changed?

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Pergamum


"If a commission by an earthly king is considered a honor, how can a commission by a Heavenly King be considered a sacrifice?"
-- David Livingstone

I'm not of the veracity of this information, but hasn't R. C. Sproul vascilated on his eschatology?

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Bill Brown
Elder
Reformed Baptist
Maryland

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I think Augustine is a classic example. His Retractions come to mind.

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Rev. Adam King
Minister in the RPCNA
Pastor,Trinity Reformed Church
Wichita, KS

John Calvin.

In his younger years he wrote against "lutheranism" (meaning the Protestant theology of his day), only to be saved by the grace of God.

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Seth Stark
Member, Communion Presbyterian Church (ARP), Irvine, CA
Biola University, Graduate Student, M.A. - Science and Religion
Seth's Blog

John MacArthur wasn't a Calvinist at first. He made the change in the late 80's I think.

-----Added 7/17/2009 at 02:32:49 EST-----

He has also changed in what he believes about creation.

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Andrew Thornquist My Photo Album
Calvinistic Baptist
Ukiah, California
To follow Christ was the best decision God made for me!

Well, all theologians have had their mids changed....... I digress.

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Joseph F Scibbe
Chaplain Assistant
Chapel of Wings Ft Rucker Al
Ephesians 1:4-7, 1 Thessalonians 2:8, Romans 12:1-2
Titus 2:2 - But you, teach what accords with sound doctrine.

http://twitter.com/just_joe_scibbe

Those theologians who retreat from sound theology are by definition not great theologians: Clark Pinnock, as one example, adopting an openness view.

On the other hand, J. Gresham Machen came under the influence of Wilhelm Herrmann and was quite taken with his views for a time, but finally worked free from that error:

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Wayne Sparkman, Th.M.
Director, PCA Historical Center, St. Louis, MO
Blogs: The Continuing Story and PCA History Blog

The Apostle Paul. Actually, he had his mind changed for him.

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Steven J. Carr (Sven)
http://beholdingthebeauty.blogspot.com/
Eagan, MN
PCA
"Weak is the effort of my heart / And cold my warmest thought / But when I see thee as thou art / I'll praise thee as I ought."--John Newton
Trophy Wife/Arm Candy: Crystal Ann Children: Steven Jr. and Hannah Grace

I think when the OP says "changed their minds" it refers to theologians whose position on a certain doctrine changed at some point after their conversion. Of course their minds were changed when they were converted!

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Jonathan
Audio Engineer
Reformed Anabaptist
Ohio

Moroni's magical glasses of proper interpretation:

I was aware what the poster was asking, I just could not resist the urge at my comment.

"Learn to resist those urges," he counseled (not following his own advice).

That sounds like a quote.

Early on in his career Thomas Aquinas stated that God has no other essence or nature than being, that He is being in all its purity, and that creatures receive being as a participation of the Divine being, their essences limiting the degree of this participation -- but only much later on in his career did he clarify that there is a real composition in creatures between their being and their essence or that these two are really distinct!

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Nathan Tyler
Reformed Baptist
University of Toronto (Student: Hons. B.A. in Philosophy)
Ontario, Canada

1689'er

http://nathantyler.wordpress.com

The most circulated story in relation to this is that at one of Dr. Sproul's conferences, someone said they had read his book, The Last Days according to Jesus and could not tell what millennial position he held- was it amillennial, postmillenial, historical premillenial, or modern dispensational premillenial.

Dr. Sproul is reported to have laughed and said, "That's because there are strengths and weaknesses in each position. Only one thing I am certain of- it's not the fourth one."

I don't think so much a change of mind as an honest attempt to sort this difficult area out biblically.

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Scott
PCA
North Carolina


"Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised)"
Hebrews 10:23

i have heard sproul say that his view on eschatology is like the weather in Florida in that it is always changing.

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"Bible knowledge without repentance, will be but a torch to light men to hell. -Thomas Watson
United Through Christ
Ricky Heeb
Grace Reformed Church (RCUS) Lancaster, CA

Patrick Fairbairn changed his stance toward the interpretation of prophecy, moving from premill to postmill, resulting in his book "the interpretation of prophecy"

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Josh
Reformed - WCF
Clinton, Utah

"My business is to love others and not to seek that others shall love me" // "Redeeming the time, for the days are evil" Eph 5:16

Any stories of softy "God loves trees and puppies" unitarian universalists who became staunch and strict no-common-grace Calvinists?

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Steven Nemes
Phoenix, AZ

Good philosophy must exist, if for no other reason, because bad philosophy must be answered - C.S. Lewis

I have heard something along the lines that Jonathan Edwards changed his view on church government from Congregationalism to Presbyterianism. I'm not certain if this is correct though.

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Dan Dorman
Member of Pilgrim OPC in my hometown-Bangor, Maine
Currently attending Christ the King OPC in Longview, Texas, where I am a college student

“The happiness of the creature consists in rejoicing in God, by which also God is magnified and exalted” -Jonathan Edwards
What is meant by "Christian Hedonism"?

Dan:

That story about Edwards is based on an account by Archibald Alexander, retold by R.J. Breckinridge in The Presbyterian newspaper, circa 1837.

I'll see if I can't get the content online--it would make a nice piece to post on my blog.

What's the deal with AW Pink. His earlier and later editions of the same books differed. Did the editors tamper?

Benny Hinn........or did he really start out that far in left field?

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Rich Koster
1689'er
Browns Mills NJ USA
Often Goofy Reformed Eccentric
Romans 7:14-25

Pink's Sovereignty which to me brought to Reformed Theology,is available in primarily two editions currently,Baker Books (American-This is original w/chapter on Reprobation included-is the one to get) and Banner of Truth (British-strangely edited without this chapter).This new version is just like the Baker Books edition and is very nice

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Brian
Grace Bible Church;E.Bridgewater
East Bridgewater MA
http://www.gracebiblehome.org

He also originally believed in a later mass conversion of the Jews and had an "irrefutable" argument for it in a lecture entitled The Future Prospects of the Jews, but later rejected that view and argued against it in the Interpretation of Prophecy in a Chapter named The Prophetical Future of the Jewish people arguing that the OT promises were fulfilled in the Church. Later a book was compiled by Albertus Pieters with both articles together entitled The Prophetic Prospects of the Jews and sub-titled Fairbairn vs. Fairbairn. Fun reading.

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Patrick
MDiv, RTS Jackson
Pastor, Grace Presbyterian Church (OPC), Lisbon, NY

"He does well, that discourses of Christ; but he does infinitely better, that by experimental knowledge, feeds and lives on Christ." Thomas Brooks.
"Let us not please ourselves that we have deep understandings, but let us shew our understandings by our practice." Richard Sibbes

I don't think his theology changed, more like developed or expanded - he started out with three persons in the Godhead and worked his way up to nine.

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Mark Hettler
PCA
Central NJ

God answers prayers in one of two ways: "Yes," or "I have something better."

Augustine changed his mind about some very important things.

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Ben
Chaplain, US Army
Ft. Riley, KS
TE Ohio Valley Presbytery, PCA

Aside from the editing of his "Sovereignty of God" (which he did not edit - but someone took the liberty of guessing after his death that he had changed his mind and edited it for him), he was a dispensationalist prior to writing a book against dispensationalism.

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Brandon
Portico Church (LBC 1689)
Los Angeles, CA

Thomas Goodwin changed his mind about eschatology, when his expectations of certain great events were rather strikingly not fulfilled.

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Ruben
Moderator
F.P.C.I.
Indiana

Vanities and disguises have covered us, and thereby we are naked; licenciousness hath inflam'd us, and thereby we are frozen; voluptuousness hath fed us, and thereby we are sterved, the fancies and traditions of men have taught and instructed us, and thereby we are ignorant.
John Donne

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Calvinistas Conversando
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The Howling Wilderness

A.W. Pink was originally dispensational,but studied himself past it.

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Anthony D'Arienzo
Sunday School Teacher
Hope Reformed Baptist Church:
Medford, N.Y.

I don't know about "no-common-grace" Calvinists, but Thomas Chalmers and Abraham Kuyper were both converted while they were pastoring congregations and became stout defenders of the Reformed faith.

What about Owen? I keep hearing that he turned congregational, but I do not know if he merely developed more Presbyterian later on or at what point this was that he seeemed to favor congregationalism?

Hinn either started out or spent some of the early days of his Christian profession in the group through which I later came to Christ. I didn't know him, he left a bit before I got there, but some who did said that he had too much of an eye for the miraculous and not enough for the teaching of Scripture.

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In Christ's love and service

Mr. Tim Cunningham,
BMus. (Trombone Performance), University of Toronto
Dip. CS, Regent College, Vancouver
Member, First Baptist Church
Vancouver, BC
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"I once sat in darkness, and waited for the moon to rise.
I once sat in darkness, and waited for the sun to shine.
I once sat in darkness, when all the light I'd waited for was gone.
Then Jesus came, and now the only true light, ever, shines in me."
– John Deacon -

R.C. Sproul was an old earth creationist until Kelly's arguments won him over to YEC.

MacArthur was a standard issue dispensationalist for whom 5pt Calvinism was a "change."

Not a "great theologian," but my eschatology began as dispi premillennial in high school, historic premill in college onward, and amil now.

Driscoll (also not a great "theologian") was fairly standard issue "emergent" until his Calvinism got the better of him.

I know you don't want to cite the backwards "progress" crossing the Rubicon, etc . . . but my old prof, Bob Gundry, started out as a standard issue dispi, moved to a strongly redactional viewpoint, and has embraced much of the NPP.

Schreiner shifted from Amil to Historic premil fairly recently.

A high percentage of graduates of Moody Bible Institute that end up enrolling at Gordon Conwell stay dispi for about 2 nanoseconds before embracing the doctrines of grace.

Fred Malone is . . . well . . . no, he's not . . . yes he is . . . what day is this anyway?

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Dennis E. McFadden, Ex Mainline Baptist (in Remission)
Atherton Baptist Homes, CEO
First Baptist Church of Alhambra, Member, Transformation Ministries (CA)

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Owen's view changed with regard to the question whether God could have dealt with sin in some way other than through the death of Christ; in the absence of documentation, I tend to take rumors of a theoretical departure from congregationalism as Presbyterian wish-fulfillment dreams. But maybe there's some good sources out there.

Wayne, here is a thread which quotes the Edwards/presbyterian information. Ironically, your name is mentioned therein. The first and third posts are pertinent.

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Paul Korte
OPC
Flint, MI

They who perceive in themselves discoveries of the divine goodness, so full and absolutely perfect, and who make them the subject of earnest meditation, will never embrace new doctrines, by which the very grace they feel so powerfully in themselves is thrown into the shade. --John Calvin

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The dispute between the Christian Reformed Church and the Protestant Reformed Church is a legitimate one which is often glossed over by neo-Calvinists. While I do think the PRC is a bit legalistic on things like divorce and remarriage, etc., the "three points of common grace" were never heard of before Abraham Kuyper and Herman Bavinck came along.

Also, I think it is a bit overboard to say that those who reject common grace are "hyper-Calvinists." I have yet to met one in person. However, I would conceded that some of the less educated members and ministers in the small Primitive Baptist denomination might fall into that category. The Protestant Reformed Church is most certainly not "hyper-Calvinist." While that ad hominem does seem to preach to the choir for those who favor the doctrine of common grace, I tend to see it as sidestepping the issue. Essentially, "common grace" is a capitulation to Arminian theology. One cannot have it both ways. Either the dual decrees to election and reprobation are absolute, or they are not.

That being said, even Loraine Boettner, who accepted the common grace view, pointed out in his book on Predestination that common grace does not change the eternal decree for reprobation one bit. The non-elect are passed over and left to destruction.

Calvin's Institutes nowhere explicitly or implicitly teach any such doctrine as "common grace." In fact, Calvin goes out of his way to show that such "blessings" are actually a curse to the reprobate because they refuse to acknowledge and glorify God as the source of all their many natural abilities and natural gifts, which are essentially remnants of the divine image and likeness given to Adam prior to the fall. The fall brought a corruption of the image but not a total annihilation of the divine image and likeness. Thus, there is no need to appeal to "common grace" to explain why there is civilization, government, science and arts. These are result of the divine image, not "common grace."

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Charlie

Thank you, Paul. That saves a bit of work!

Dan: See Prufrock's link.

C.J. Mahaney is not exactly in the category of great theologian, but he went from hyper-charismatic rah-rah superficiality to a Reformed position, and took an entire denomination with him. Regardless of what one thinks of his continuationism or Soverign Grace Ministries' ecclesiology, it was still a huge shift.