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Not Reformed At All
John W. Robbins & Sean Gerety Contents: Foreword; The Revolution Was; Theological Sophistry; The Matrix; Dodging the Charge of Heresy; Tradition; The "Objectivity" of the Covenant; What Is a Christian? Westminster versus Wilson; The New Birth; The Arch-Heresy of Individualism; Justification Not by Faith Alone; The Biblical Covenant of Grace; Wilson's Counterfeit Covenant; The Church Tangible and Intangible; Church Unity; Conclusion; Scripture Index; Index.
- GenresTheology
180 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2004
21 people want to read
About the author
John W. Robbins
17Ìýbooks8ÌýfollowersDr. Robbins was a resident of Unicoi County, Tennessee. Born and reared in Pennsylvania, he received his A. B. from Grove City College (Pennsylvania) in 1969, cum laude, with Highest Honors in Political Science. He pursued graduate studies at The Johns Hopkins University (Maryland), earning his Masters in Political Theory (1970) at age 21, and his Doctorate in Philosophy and Political Theory (1973) at age 24.
In 1973 Dr. Robbins became Legislative Assistant to a Member of Congress from Indiana, Earl Landgrebe, and subsequently worked, over the next 20 years, in several capacities for several public policy institutions: The Heritage Foundation (Economic Analyst), The Templeton Foundation (Consultant), Western Islands (Editor), Tax Reform Immediately (National Director), The Foundation for Economic Education (Editor of The Freeman), and The Institute for Policy Innovation (President). He served as Legislative Assistant (1976, 1979-1981) and Chief of Staff (1981-1985) to a Member of Congress from Texas, Dr. Ron Paul.
In 1977 Dr. Robbins founded a Christian think tank, The Trinity Foundation, and under his direction The Foundation has published 75 books, 180 lectures, and 275 essays; hosted conferences and seminars in several states; and published a monthly newsletter for over 30 years.
Dr. Robbins wrote several books, hundreds of essays, and lectured or taught at several institutions of higher education, including Harvard University, the University of Colorado, the University of Texas, Biola University, College of the Southwest, Western Reformed Seminary, and Chesapeake Seminary. He was a member of two academic societies, the Evangelical Theological Society and the Evangelical Philosophical Society.
Dr. Robbins was elected and ordained Elder in the Presbyterian Church of America, and licensed to preach by Westminster Presbytery, but he left that denomination because of its failure to discipline teachers who were teaching a different gospel. He was an elder in a Reformed congregation called Reformation Church.
In 1973 Dr. Robbins became Legislative Assistant to a Member of Congress from Indiana, Earl Landgrebe, and subsequently worked, over the next 20 years, in several capacities for several public policy institutions: The Heritage Foundation (Economic Analyst), The Templeton Foundation (Consultant), Western Islands (Editor), Tax Reform Immediately (National Director), The Foundation for Economic Education (Editor of The Freeman), and The Institute for Policy Innovation (President). He served as Legislative Assistant (1976, 1979-1981) and Chief of Staff (1981-1985) to a Member of Congress from Texas, Dr. Ron Paul.
In 1977 Dr. Robbins founded a Christian think tank, The Trinity Foundation, and under his direction The Foundation has published 75 books, 180 lectures, and 275 essays; hosted conferences and seminars in several states; and published a monthly newsletter for over 30 years.
Dr. Robbins wrote several books, hundreds of essays, and lectured or taught at several institutions of higher education, including Harvard University, the University of Colorado, the University of Texas, Biola University, College of the Southwest, Western Reformed Seminary, and Chesapeake Seminary. He was a member of two academic societies, the Evangelical Theological Society and the Evangelical Philosophical Society.
Dr. Robbins was elected and ordained Elder in the Presbyterian Church of America, and licensed to preach by Westminster Presbytery, but he left that denomination because of its failure to discipline teachers who were teaching a different gospel. He was an elder in a Reformed congregation called Reformation Church.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
January 22, 2009
Atrocious. Listed under theology, if you can call it that.
November 10, 2009
Anyone who follows Doug Wilson needs to read this book. It is excellent.
July 29, 2024
Polemical Style. Clears the FV Fog Away. Important Ammo for the Controversy.
Robbins and Gerety pinpoint the epistemological cacophony that makes it exceedingly challenging to figure out what Federal Visionists mean when they use terms...which is almost all the important confessional terminology they can get their assertions to comply with.
To some who may be confused, this is why they list VanTil's epistemology as the root. For the sake of a timeline:
1. VanTil
2. Rushdooney (he considered himself VanTil's mouthpiece)
3. Wilson
There is a commonality of thinking that evolved from VanTil to Wilson and this book exposes it well.
The actual controversy is better understood in light of this and I would commend this to any who are questioning the Confessional Reformed Faith because of the concern over the FV charge that it is "not enough." It isn't (that's a dead horse, stop beating it), and the Westminster Standards make this plain in their own right while Doug Wilson and crew want to invite Romanism back into the door of true churches.
Robbins and Gerety pinpoint the epistemological cacophony that makes it exceedingly challenging to figure out what Federal Visionists mean when they use terms...which is almost all the important confessional terminology they can get their assertions to comply with.
To some who may be confused, this is why they list VanTil's epistemology as the root. For the sake of a timeline:
1. VanTil
2. Rushdooney (he considered himself VanTil's mouthpiece)
3. Wilson
There is a commonality of thinking that evolved from VanTil to Wilson and this book exposes it well.
The actual controversy is better understood in light of this and I would commend this to any who are questioning the Confessional Reformed Faith because of the concern over the FV charge that it is "not enough." It isn't (that's a dead horse, stop beating it), and the Westminster Standards make this plain in their own right while Doug Wilson and crew want to invite Romanism back into the door of true churches.
December 26, 2023
The first I’ve read of John Robbins—or, as I will now call him, Clark’s Bulldog. The book is a case study in how to interact with someone’s work poorly and uncharitably. And when I say uncharitable, I’m not saying he was mean. I’m saying he refused to let Wilson define his own terms.
Because Wilson’s covenant theology is so bad, I had high hopes that this book would take him to task on at least a position or two. But, Robbins failed to land a single punch.
On top of the failed responses to Wilson, Robbins managed to frame the entire debate as if Van Til were the bad guy. Because Van Til is definitely relevant to this conversation…�. somehow.
Waste of time.
Because Wilson’s covenant theology is so bad, I had high hopes that this book would take him to task on at least a position or two. But, Robbins failed to land a single punch.
On top of the failed responses to Wilson, Robbins managed to frame the entire debate as if Van Til were the bad guy. Because Van Til is definitely relevant to this conversation…�. somehow.
Waste of time.
March 29, 2024
this one is a waste of time - straw men and shadow-boxing
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
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