Thread: Hello from England

Hello everyone,

I've been reading the Puritan Board for quite a while now, and enjoying the discussions, but this is my first actual post. I suppose I should say a few words of introduction.

My wife and I live in Cambridgeshire, in England, and we're members of Soham Baptist Church. I work full time as a researcher and lecturer for a UK-based creationist organization called Biblical Creation Ministries, about which you can find out more by following the link in my signature.

My early years as a believer were spent in a charismatic fellowship (and I still have friends in that church), although I soon began to have doubts about the biblical basis of charismatic theology and practice. Various books were helpful to me at that time, including Victor Budgen's The Charismatics and the Word of God (Evangelical Press) and Neil Babcox's My Search for Charismatic Reality (Wakeman), the former from the biblical, theological and historical perspectives, and the latter as a sensitively written testimony of a former charismatic church leader.

The next significant step in my discovery of Reformed theology was reading Life by his Death, Grace Publication's abridgement of John Owen's classic The Death of Death in the Death of Christ. I remember devouring this little volume with astonishment one afternoon, with my Bible in my other hand, thinking, 'How did I miss this for all this time?'

Since then, I suppose I have become more and more distinctively Reformed as time has gone on, and I have sought to re-evaluate many areas of my thinking in accordance with the Scriptures. But that's probably enough for now, lest I bore you too much with all the details of my journey of faith!

I'm looking forward to being a part of the PB community and contributing on occasion as time allows.

Best wishes,

Paul

Very glad to have you here.

Greetings!

welcome

cheers

Wonderful testimony. Welcome.

Welcome to the PB family.

Hello, sir.

Welcome!

Welcome to the PB!

Greetings!

Welcome. My wife is from a couple of counties down from you in Berkshire.

Welcome to the board!

Paul,

Welcome!

Welcome Paul - good to have a fellow Englishman, and a Baptist to boot, on board! One word of advice, watch out for anyone who says 'rat brains'. They are not to be trusted.

Welcome to the PB, Paul!

Hello.

Originally Posted by JonathanHunt

Welcome Paul - good to have a fellow Englishman, and a Baptist to boot, on board! One word of advice, watch out for anyone who says 'rat brains'. They are not to be trusted.

Which now includes you sir.

Welcome. I have some books by the English creationist Malcolm Bowden, they are very good, and I am on his mailing list. I'll have to browse your site.

I spent my last year of Univ at St Andrews, summer in Dundee, honeymooned in Orkney a few year later. Saw York, London, Kew gardens...loved it over there.

I hope you'll read guys like Wayne Grudem and not entirely throw out 1 Cor 12& 14, even while you throw out 99% of charismania ( yeah, I used to be in it too), and new revelation. I love Iain Murray, and the way he keeps saying we need outpourings of the HS all our life.....you don't get it all when you get saved, and you don't get some second blessing and get it all. We never have it all, we need to pray for more of the HS work in our lives and churches as long as we live.

I appreciate everyone's warm greetings. Thank you.

Originally Posted by JonathanHunt

Welcome Paul - good to have a fellow Englishman, and a Baptist to boot, on board! One word of advice, watch out for anyone who says 'rat brains'. They are not to be trusted.

Jonathan, your photo looks familiar. Were you at the Salisbury Conference last year?

Welcome aboard. Great to have some else from this side of the pond.

Hi Paul!

Originally Posted by lynnie

Welcome. I have some books by the English creationist Malcolm Bowden, they are very good, and I am on his mailing list. I'll have to browse your site.

Thanks, Lynnie. Our website is geared mainly to news about our organization's activities, rather than lots of creationist articles, but I hope you'll find it interesting. The News & Blog page will give you a feel for our whole approach -- focused on the positive and scholarly development of creationism from both scientific and theological perspectives.

Originally Posted by lynnie

I spent my last year of Univ at St Andrews, summer in Dundee, honeymooned in Orkney a few year later. Saw York, London, Kew gardens...loved it over there.

Sounds great. The Orkneys is one place I've never been but would really like to visit. I'd love to see the Neolithic settlement at Skara Brae.

Originally Posted by lynnie

I hope you'll read guys like Wayne Grudem and not entirely throw out 1 Cor 12& 14, even while you throw out 99% of charismania ( yeah, I used to be in it too), and new revelation. I love Iain Murray, and the way he keeps saying we need outpourings of the HS all our life.....you don't get it all when you get saved, and you don't get some second blessing and get it all. We never have it all, we need to pray for more of the HS work in our lives and churches as long as we live.

I'd regard myself these days as a cessationist, at least as far as the revelatory gifts are concerned, but absolutely agree that we need constantly to be infilled with the Spirit of God on a daily basis. Hmmm...how often do I explicitly pray that way?

Welcome. I trust you will feel at home here. Now then, are you willing to share your bangers and mash?

Welcome, Paul.

I've come across your name before in BCS literature. You carry out a very necessary and important task for Christ's cause and Kingdom.

Welcome!

Welcome to the Puritanboard.

Originally Posted by jambo

Welcome aboard. Great to have some else from this side of the pond.

That is exactly what I was going to say. It is great indeed to see fellow christians from these secular lands.

Welcome to the board, Paul!

Welcome!

This is a good place to learn reformed theology and grow in grace toward one another.


It took some time for me to understand the main differences of the background you mention in your introduction:


Charismatic/pentecostal:

Arminian influenced + dispensational + no confession + "low" view of the church + "low" view of the sacraments

+ doctrine that ordinarily new revelation equal or above that of Scripture comes outside of Scripture through two or three spiritual gifts

Reformed theology:

Doctrines of grace ("five points") + covenant theology + confession + high view of church (e.g. church discipline, vows, accountability to confession) + spiritual view of sacraments

+ Scripture is the ordinary means through which revelation comes with the Holy Spirit "illuminating" our understanding as we study Scripture

to the PB

Welcome to the board!

Greetings! Welcome to the PB.

Greetings!

Originally Posted by Lady of the Lake

Welcome. I trust you will feel at home here. Now then, are you willing to share your bangers and mash?

It's Yorkshire pudding and good English tea that I think we should export to the States (although I seem to remember that the latter wasn't too well received in Boston in 1773).

On the other hand, the steaks are better on your side of the pond.