R. C. Sproul: Difference between revisions

In 1996, Sproul gave a lecture on [[irresistible grace]], titled ''Divine Sovereignty and Man’s Helplessness''. During a Q & A session, he misattributed to [[Jonathan Edwards]] an analogy regarding the "holy rape of the soul," claiming that "some people are violently offended by that language—I think it's the most graphic and descriptive term I can think of, to how I was redeemed," taking into consideration theological themes surrounding [[total depravity]] and being in a state of spiritual death prior to conversion.{{Efn|A recording of the lecture was released by Ligonier Ministries on cassette tape. On total depravity and spiritual death, see (Romans 2:14–16), (Romans 3:9–20), and (Ephesians 2:1–10|ESV. With regard to the terminology "rape", a key topic in debate between [[Arminianism|Arminian]] and Reformed theologians is the [[Hermeneutics|hermeneutic]] employed to understand the meaning and strength of the verb "draws" (Greek ''helkysē'') in , where Jesus states, "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day." (John 6:44 (ESV)) Sproul first uses the analogy in his 1984 novel ''Johnny Come Home'', where Scooter, the main character, designed to be a "composite of [[Coalition for Christian Outreach|John Guest]], [[James Montgomery Boice|Jim Boice]], and [himself],"<ref>https://books.google.com/books?id=FnCTzQEACAAJ</ref> converts to Christianity in "a docile submission to the holy rape of the soul."<ref>https://books.google.com/books?id=GYtbyqFcBFYC</ref>This description was criticised in the foreword to ''Grace for All: The Arminian Dynamics of Salvation'', edited by [[Clark H. Pinnock]] and John D. Wagner.<ref>https://books.google.com/books?id=GXLDCAAAQBAJ</ref> Sproul also uses the analogy in his 1989 teaching series ''A Shattered Image'',<ref>https://books.google.com/books?id=FnCTzQEACAAJ</ref> where discussing the [[Pelagianism#Pelagian controversy|Pelagian controversy]], Sproul states that "the only way you will ever choose Christ is if God melts your heart, if God softens that stone cold recalcitrant heart, if God the Holy Spirit rapes your soul and puts in you a desire for Christ."<ref>https://www.ligonier.org/learn/series/shattered-image/the-extent-of-our-sin</ref> By 2002, Sproul had abandoned the analogy for a revised perspective:<blockquote>The person that God, the Holy Spirit, draws to Jesus comes to Jesus, not because he's raped, not because he's coerced, not because he's dragged, kicking and screaming against his will, but because God, the Holy Spirit, in that act of effectual drawing, changes the heart of the person. Where that person previously was blind to the things of God, now the scales of the eyes have been removed, and that which was unpleasant to the soul now is shown to be sweet, attractive, and something that is altogether desirable. So the heavenly drawing of God is one by which God changes the attitude or the inner disposition of the soul of the person so that when the Father draws them to His Son, they come to His Son.<ref>https://www.ligonier.org/learn/series/knowing-christ</ref></blockquote>In 2003, a ''[[Festschrift]]'' was published in his honor. ''After Darkness, Light: Essays in Honor of R. C. Sproul'' (ISBN 0875527043) included contributions from [[W. Robert Godfrey|Robert Godfrey]], [[Sinclair Ferguson]], [[O. Palmer Robertson]], [[Michael Horton (theologian)|Michael Horton]], [[Douglas Wilson (theologian)|Douglas Wilson]], [[John F. MacArthur]], and [[Jay E. Adams]].