The Fall issue of the PRT Journal (55, #1) was finalized last week and we are able to offer the digital (pdf) edition at this time (the ePub version will come soon). The print edition is about 5-6 weeks from appearing according to our publisher.
In this post we share Prof. R. Cammenga's "editor notes" summarizing the contents of this latest issue. As he states, these are his final notes, as he retires from the position of PRTJ editor. We publicly thank him for his special service in this regard over the last fifteen years. And we welcome Prof. D. Kuiper to the position.
We believe you will find this new issue to be another instructive and edifying one.
"The Protestant Reformed Theological Seminary is pleased to issue our November 2021 Protestant Reformed Theological Journal. In this issue, our readers will find three articles that are devoted to the subject of sanctification. The articles by Revs. Steven Key, Matthew Kortus, and Joshua Engelsma were originally speeches presented at an officebearers’ conference of Classis West of the Protestant Reformed Churches in September of this year. The students and faculty of the seminary were privileged to attend the conference. It was our judgment that the speeches deserved a wider audience than the attendees of the conference. We were glad that the speakers were willing to comply with our request that they submit their speeches in manuscript form for publication in the PRTJ.
"The speeches address a recent controversy in the PRCA and set forth the biblical, confessionally Reformed doctrine of sanctification. Although not every aspect of the doctrine could be addressed, the three speeches summarize and defend three very important aspects of the doctrine. We trust our readers will profit from the speeches now published in written form.
"Prof. Douglas Kuiper begins a series of articles tracing the history of the Protestant Reformed Theological Seminary. This series coincides with the upcoming celebration of the centennial of the Protestant Reformed Churches in America (1925-2025). The title of the series is, “‘Committing the Truth to Faithful Men’: A Centennial History of the Protestant Reformed Theological Seminary.”
"This first article traces the humble beginnings of the PRTS, especially under the leadership of Herman Hoeksema and George M. Ophoff. Prof. Kuiper demonstrates that from the beginning of their existence the PRCA was committed to a trained clergy and the training of PRCA ministers by those who were already PRCA ministers—experienced ministers training future ministers. As the article demonstrates, the history of PRTS was from the beginning fraught with difficulty and even controversy. But through it all, God blessed the humble beginnings of the seminary.
"It is hoped that this series of articles inspires the members of the PRCA and our friends and supporters with a renewed appreciation for what the Lord has given us in our precious seminary. The series also demonstrates that the seminary stands today exactly where it has always stood. And it is our resolve in the years to come, by the grace of God, to continue to stand where we have always stood. This is a period of transition in the seminary. A new generation of professors is taking the place of a generation that is in the process of retiring. May God keep the new faculty faithful to the heritage that has been handed down by those who have gone before.
"Our newest faculty member, Prof. Cory Griess, shares with our readers the only letter that John Calvin wrote to his senior Reformer, Martin Luther. As a matter of fact, the letter was never delivered to Luther by his junior co-worker, Philip Melanchthon, to whom Calvin sent the letter. What Melanchthon did with the letter is not known, except that he never shared it with Luther. Prof. Griess draws from the letter important insights into the attitude and character of John Calvin.
"Although our book review section is somewhat slender in this issue, we trust that our readers will profit from the reviews that are included.
"These are the last “Editor’s Notes” that I will be writing. After nearly fifteen years as the editor of PRTJ, I am stepping down. The faculty has appointed Prof. Kuiper to succeed me. I am sure that he will continue the good tradition of doctrinally sound and scholarly articles that our readers have come to expect.
Soli Deo Gloria!
Ronald L. Cammenga"