The Lord Knoweth His Own
The Eclipse of Mere Christianity & the Vision of the Elect
I do not think it good to hold such a conference at such a time without paying tribute to our friend William J. Abraham, who died unexpectedly last week. Billy was an Irish Methodist theologian and philosopher who taught for most of his career at Perkins Theological Seminary in Dallas. He is best remembered, I believe, with his own words, from an online lecture he gave last year [9/18/20]. He said:
If we’re to renew the Christian tradition and reform the nation we’re going to need to have the deep resources of the widely Christian tradition, and in my book that means we’re going to have to revisit the deep faith of the church that was developed in the first seven great councils of the church in terms of the great creeds . . . the doctrine of the Trinity, deep version of the incarnation, and the doctrine of atonement. All of that material is going to have to be available to [a corrected Methodism] because we’re not going to be apologetic about it. The new Methodist Church will have the deep doctrinal resources to be able to face the culture....
THIS ARTICLE ONLY AVAILABLE TO SUBSCRIBERS.
FOR QUICK ACCESS:
S. M. Hutchens is a senior editor and longtime writer for Touchstone.
subscription options
Order
Print/Online Subscription
Get six issues (one year) of Touchstone PLUS full online access including pdf downloads for only $39.95. That's only $3.34 per month!
Order
Online Only
Subscription
Get a one-year full-access subscription to the Touchstone online archives for only $19.95. That's only $1.66 per month!
bulk subscriptions
Order Touchstone subscriptions in bulk and save $10 per sub! Each subscription includes 6 issues of Touchstone plus full online access to touchstonemag.com—including archives, videos, and pdf downloads of recent issues for only $29.95 each! Great for churches or study groups.
Transactions will be processed on a secure server.
more on Christianity from the online archives
30.6—Nov/Dec 2017
on Benedict XVI on the Fairest of the Sons of Men by Michael Martin De Sapio
18.10—December 2005
on an Apostle’s Encounter with the Son’s Children by Anthony Esolen
30.2—March/April 2017
Our Path to Holiness Runs Straight Through Calvary by Robin Phillips
more from the online archives
33.4—July/August 2020
Our Views on the President Are Not Crucial by S. M. Hutchens
27.3—May/June 2014
Facts versus Stereotypes About Love & Marriage in the Land of the Free by Allan C. Carlson
32.2—March/April 2019
Finding Him Again Through the Patriarchal Group by Anthony Esolen
calling all readers
Please Donate
"There are magazines worth reading but few worth saving . . . Touchstone is just such a magazine."
—Alice von Hildebrand
"Here we do not concede one square millimeter of territory to falsehood, folly, contemporary sentimentality, or fashion. We speak the truth, and let God be our judge. . . . Touchstone is the one committedly Christian conservative journal."
—Anthony Esolen, Touchstone senior editor
