The Foundation of Augustinian-Calvinism Kindle Edition

Truly grateful for the time and effort that went into the production of this book. I can’t express how much I appreciate the fact that you researched ALL of Augustine’s writings AND that you studied them chronologically…wonderful.If anyone is interested in understanding the complete works of Augustine and how his writings developed - as well as - understanding and contrasting his earlier and later writings compared to the unanimous agreement of the writings of all church fathers prior to him on free will and determination and related topics, this book is an AMAZING resource. Thorough, precise, exhaustive, detailed to the point of knowing the FIRST time Augustine used certain words and concepts. The chart in the back is GREAT!! I could go on and on.Thank you brother Ken Wilson. And thank you brother Leighton Flowers for introducing me (through Soteriology101) to Dr. Wilson and his book.

Dr. Wilson clearly and districtly stated with objective and compelling evidence the foundational errors of Calvinism having their origins in the faulty theology of Augustine. In turn, Dr. Wilson methodically demonstrates without a shadow of a doubt that Augustine's theology is heretical because it is not based on the traditional "free will" faith and teachings of ancient and historic Christianity but on three pagan deterministic philosophies: Gnosticism, Stoicism and Manicheanism. Dr. Wilson shows, through definitive proof, how Augustine went from being a Manichean to a Christian and then reverting back to Manicheanism. Dr. Wilson also shows how the early Protestant reformers, especially John Calvin, exclusively based their reformed theology solely on the deterministic heretical teachings of Augustine that led to a complete break with historic Christianity and early Christian teachings on humanity's free will and how God predestined his elect via His foreknowledge without ever violating Humanity's free choice and volition. I highly recommend Dr. Wilson's book and as a Greek Orthodox Christian I welcome Dr. Wilson's finds. However, i must admit the Orthodox already knew this about Augustine, which even Dr. Wilson acknowledges at the very beginning of his book, for a very, very, VERY long time.As Dositheus Patriarch of Jerusalem stated in 1673:"Decree 3We believe the most good God to have from eternity predestinated unto glory those whom He has chosen, and to have consigned unto condemnation those whom He has rejected; but not so that He would justify the one, and consign and condemn the other without cause. For that would be contrary to the nature of God, who is the common Father of all, and no respecter of persons, and would have all men to be saved, and to come to the knowledge of the truth {1 Timothy 2:4}. But since He foreknew the one would make a right use of their free-will, and the other a wrong, He predestinated the one, or condemned the other. And we understand the use of free-will thus, that the Divine and illuminating grace, and which we call preventing [or, prevenient] grace, being, as a light to those in darkness, by the Divine goodness imparted to all, to those that are willing to obey this — for it is of use only to the willing, not to the unwilling — and co-operate with it, in what it requires as necessary to salvation, there is consequently granted particular grace. This grace co-operates with us, and enables us, and makes us to persevere in the love of God, that is to say, in performing those good things that God would have us to do, and which His preventing grace admonishes us that we should do, justifies us, and makes us predestinated. But those who will not obey, and co-operate with grace; and, therefore, will not observe those things that God would have us perform, and that abuse in the service of Satan the free-will, which they have received of God to perform voluntarily what is good, are consigned to eternal condemnation.But to say, as the most wicked heretics do and as is contained in the Chapter [of Cyril's' Confession] to which this answers — that God, in predestinating, or condemning, did not consider in any way the works of those predestinated, or condemned, we know to be profane and impious. For thus Scripture would be opposed to itself, since it promises the believer salvation through works, yet supposes God to be its sole author, by His sole illuminating grace, which He bestows without preceding works, to show to man the truth of divine things, and to teach him how he may co-operate with it, if he will, and do what is good and acceptable, and so obtain salvation. He takes not away the power to will — to will to obey, or not obey him.But than to affirm that the Divine Will is thus solely and without cause the author of their condemnation, what greater defamation can be fixed upon God? and what greater injury and blasphemy can be offered to the Most High? We do know that the Deity is not tempted with evils, {cf. James 1:13} and that He equally wills the salvation of all, since there is no respect of persons with Him. we do confess that for those who through their own wicked choice, and their impenitent heart, have become vessels of dishonor, there is justly decreed condemnation. But of eternal punishment, of cruelty, of pitilessness, and of inhumanity, we never, never say God is the author, who tells us that there is joy in heaven over one sinner that repents. {Luke 15:7} Far be it from us, while we have our senses, to believe or to think this; and we do subject to an eternal anathema those who say and think such things, and esteem them to be worse than any infidels."

I found this book with a simple Amazon search, but did not purchase until after I watched two interviews that Dr. Ken Wilson did with Dr. Leighton Flowers. I am a relative new student of Reformed aka Calvinism doctrine so I have much to learn. But this book opened my mind to the history of Calvinism that actually originated with Augustine. He actually developed the five ideas of the TULIP. This book opened my eyes unlike any other book I have read. The reality that only Augustine advocated for determinism when all other church fathers opposed it, or were silent. (As in there are no surviving written records.). For four hundred years there was agreement among the church fathers that man has free will. Then Augustine starting preaching something different. Buy this book and read it carefully. Do not skip the introduction.

Here is an example of Wilson omitting a lot of evidence that would have refuted his claims of Augustine bringing in novelties out of his supposed Gnosticism:Quotes, all of them prior to Augustine, affirming infant baptismal salvation to forgive sins of infants as a result of original sin:Ambrose of Milan’s On Abraham, Chapter 2: “Unless a man is born again of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the Kingdom of God. No one is excepted: not the infant, not the one prevented by some necessity. They may however, have an undisclosed exemption from punishments, but I do not know whether they have the honor of the Kingdom.”Origen’s Homily 8 on Leviticus: But if it pleases you to hear what other saints also might think about this birthday, hear David speaking, ‘In iniquity I was conceived and in sins my mother brought me forth,’ showing that every soul which is born in flesh is polluted by the filth ‘of iniquity and sin,’ and for this reason we can say what we already have recalled above, ‘No one is pure from uncleanness even in his life is only one day long. To these reasons can be added the reason why it is required, since that baptism of the Church is given for the forgiveness of sins; and according to the usage of the Church, that Baptism is given even to infants. And indeed if there were nothing in infants which required a remission of sins and nothing in them pertinent to forgiveness, the grace of Baptism would seem superfluous.”Origen’s Homily 5 on Romans 5:9: The Church received from the Apostles the tradition of giving baptism even to infants. For the Apostles, to whom were committed the secrets of divine mysteries, knew that there is in everyone the innate stains of sin, which must by washed away through water and the Spirit.Irenaeus of Lyons’ Against Heresies, Book 2, Chapter 22: For He came to save all through means of Himself — all, I say, who through Him are born again to God — infants, and children, and boys, and youths, and old men. He therefore passed through every age, becoming an infant for infantIrenaeus’ Against Heresies, Book 1, Chapter 21: And when we come to refute them, we shall show in its fitting-place, that this class of men have been instigated by Satan to a denial of that baptism which is regeneration to God, and thus to a renunciation of the whole [Christian] faith.Irenaeus’ Fragment 34: And dipped himself, says [the Scripture], seven times in Jordan. 2 Kings 5:14 It was not for nothing that Naaman of old, when suffering from leprosy, was purified upon his being baptized, but [it served] as an indication to us. For as we are lepers in sin, we are made clean, by means of the sacred water and the invocation of the Lord, from our old transgressions; being spiritually regenerated as new-born babes, even as the Lord has declared: Unless a man be born again through water and the Spirit, he shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. John 3:5Hippolytus’ Chapter 21: At the hour in which the cock crows, they shall first pray over the water. When they come to the water, the water shall be pure and flowing, that is, the water of a spring or a flowing body of water. Then they shall take off all their clothes. The children shall be baptized first. All of the children who can answer for themselves, let them answer. If there are any children who cannot answer for themselves, let their parents answer for them, or someone else from their family. After this, the men will be baptized. Finally, the women, after they have unbound their hair, and removed their jewelry. No one shall take any foreign object with themselves down into the water... The bishop will then lay his hand upon them, invoking, saying, "Lord God, you who have made these worthy of the removal of sins through the bath of regeneration, make them worthy to be filled with your Holy Spirit, grant to them your grace, that they might serve you according to your will, for to you is the glory, Father and Son with the Holy Spirit, in the Holy Church, now and throughout the ages of the ages. Amen.Tertullian’s Treatise on the Soul, Chapter 40: Every soul, then, by reason of its birth, has its nature in Adam until it is born again in Christ; moreover, it is unclean all the while that it remains without this regeneration; Romans 6:4 and because unclean, it is actively sinful, and suffuses even the flesh (by reason of their conjunction) with its own shame.Tertullian’s Treatise on the Soul, Chapter 41: Therefore, when the soul embraces the faith, being renewed in its second birth by water and the power from above, then the veil of its former corruption being taken away, it beholds the light in all its brightness. It is also taken up (in its second birth) by the Holy Spirit, just as in its first birth it is embraced by the unholy spirit.Cyprian’s epistle 58: But in respect of the case of the infants, which you say ought not to be baptized within the second or third day after their birth, and that the law of ancient circumcision should be regarded, so that you think that one who is just born should not be baptized and sanctified within the eighth day, we all thought very differently in our council. For in this course which you thought was to be taken, no one agreed; but we all rather judge that the mercy and grace of God is not to be refused to any one born of man. For as the Lord says in His Gospel, The Son of man is not come to destroy men's lives, but to save them, Luke 4:56 as far as we Can, We must strive that, if possible, no soul be lost..But again, if even to the greatest sinners, and to those who had sinned much against God, when they subsequently believed, remission of sins is granted — and nobody is hindered from baptism and from grace— how much rather ought we to shrink from hindering an infant, who, being lately born, has not sinned, except in that, being born after the flesh according to Adam, he has contracted the contagion of the ancient death at its earliest birth, who approaches the more easily on this very account to the reception of the forgiveness of sins— that to him are remitted, not his own sins, but the sins of another.

When I discovered that Ken Wilson had produced this partial summary of his PHD thesis I snapped it up immediately as I was already seeking information on why Augustine came up with his new doctrines. He clearly produced this in a hurry after being requested to make his findings more widely available so it isn't as polished as it might have been, but the information he presents is compelling and pretty well unanswerable. I think further investigation of what influenced him may well reveal that spiritual deception, as well as human ambition and scheming, led him to invent or imbibe or resurrect (there's no other way to present it) doctrines of demons. Is that too strong? Hardly, given that Paul warned us that this would happen. The evil caricature of the God they present and the power they have to make intelligent people swallow incredible contradictions of the whole counsel of God (the Bible). Having reached a place of great influence in the now official state church, he almost seems to have behaved like an activated sleeper suddenly dumping (pun intended) a whole schema of teachings and practices, that have done untold damage. When reading the works of Augustine's spiritual successors I find it uncanny how often godly Christ loving teachers suddenly seem to change character and abandon the plain meaning of words when they intrude TULIP teachings into their work. This whole stream of teaching has been granted far too much respect - its proponents are often quite, or extremely, vicious in their condemnation of those holding different teachings but quite honestly if one objectively assesses its polluted water a case is to be made for including it in Kingdom of the Cults. If being Christian means knowing God and portraying him to the world it raises the question who is this "god" that they know. I hope the PHD becomes more easily available and that it emboldens many to defend the historic teaching of the Bible and early church untainted by Augustine's poison. The defence of a god who created people for the express purpose of dispatching them to hell "for his glory" must be disowned an discredited. This work makes a great contribution to that .

Lots of people are trying to discredit this book, because it undermines the Reformed view very conclusively. These same people only rant from personal opinions. With no offer of a peer review from another scholar who is educated in Patristics, who has read the original manuscript in the original languages. With a credible academic background such as Oxford or Cambridge etc. That's just the way academics works to give a credible and valid rebuttal.It's true, the Reformed / Calvinistic view does not go any further back within Christianity than Augustine. Who took it from a false religion and philosophies which don't honour the God of the Bible which is syncretistic nothing more. There are at least 50 or more early church leaders who's writing still exist and can be accessed who taught Free Will and not what Augustine taught in his later years.On the whole its a very very helpful read. If you are from the Reformed position, then don't just learn your theology from an echo chamber, where everybody is saying the same thing as you, be objective. Read around the subject more. This is a very credible and accurately referenced well written logical book, offering a clear view of the background to this whole bottle neck. So glad I have read it. If you have a true love for truth then let the this book be on your table and open. Thanks for reading. God bless you.

I am not a Calvinist and I don't ascribe to their views. I was rather looking forward to reading Wilson's book and finding in it a well argued case. I also wanted to learn more about Stoic, Neoplatonist and Manichaean ideas. Instead the book reads like a simple polemic against Augustine from someone who, for some reason, has an animus towards him. Most annoyingly Wilson is constantly making claims to build his argument which are unsupported with quotations. Sure, sometimes the references are there, but, more often than not, it is left for the reader to go and chase them down to see if they actually support his argument or not. I understand that this book is the 'popular' version of his more scholarly dissertation, but without quotations to support the many claims made in it, the book is unpersuasive even to an average Joe like me. For all I know Wilson's argument is correct, but the way that it is put forward in this book isn't convincing.

I have to say this was very insightful and anyone interested in learning about the origins and history of the Calvinism-Arminianism debate and it’s roots needs to read this. I shall be awaiting a response from those who are Calvinist, it will be interesting to see what scholars on that side have to say in response.

Brilliant expose of the deterministic roots of Calvinist theology. Looking forward very much to the authors next book in 2020