by Theological Commission
The relationship between Free Will Baptists and the evangelical academy is an interesting one to consider. Though space does not permit such an exploration here, theologians and Bible scholars like Robert Picirilli and Leroy Forlines have made profound contributions to our body of scholarly literature that lends a credible voice to the Free Will Baptist community in mainstream evangelical scholarship. Thus, recent years have shown an increased presence of Free Will Baptist scholars in scholarly journals and events. Among these is the Evangelical Theological Society, as well as its quarterly journal.
In the last couple of years, Dr. Matt Pinson, Dr. Matthew McAffee, and Dr. Kevin Hester have all published scholarly articles or book reviews in this journal. Beginning tomorrow, ETS will hold its three-day annual meeting in Atlanta, Georgia. This year’s program features four Free Will Baptists, including two Commission members. Below are the presenters/presentations:
Matthew McAffee (Professor and Campus Pastor at Welch College): “Biblical King Og and the Ugaritic Deity Rāpiʾu: Sorting Out Two Figures in Light of the Rephaim and the Toponyms Ashtaroth and Edrei.”
Jesse Owens (Pastor; PhD Student at Southern Seminary) – “Scripture and History in the Theology of John Goodwin.”
Matt Pinson (President of Welch College; Commission Chairman) – “Reformed Arminianism: A Non-Wesleyan Appropriation of the Legacy of Arminius.””
Jackson Watts (Pastor; Commission member); “The Gospel of Singleness.”
As readers can tell, Free Will Baptist scholarship is working within numerous fields: historical theology, Old Testament studies, Ancient Near-Eastern thought, and pastoral theology. We encourage our readers to familiarize themselves with the ETS organization. Information about the regional bodies of ETS can be found here, and membership information can be found here. One need not be a member to attend an ETS event. Finally, audio recordings of ALL ETS sessions (literally hundreds of sessions) can be purchased to download here a few days after the meeting ends.