A Practical Discourse of God's Sovereignty: With Other Material Points Derived Thence ..

by Elisha 1608?-1688 Coles (Creator)

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464 pages, Hardcover

Published August 29, 2016

Reviews

[James Mayuga · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book by Coles was a Classic defense of Calvinism for generations, but is now largely forgotten. As evidence its acclaim, famous Calvinist preacher George Whitefield wrote in a letter to his famous Arminian friend, the preacher John Wesley, the following:

But I referred you at the beginning of this letter, to Dr. Edwards' Veritas Redux which I recommended to you in a late letter, with Elisha Coles on God's Sovereignty. Be pleased to read those; and also the excellent sermons of Mr. Cooper, of Boston, in New England which I also sent you, and I doubt not but you will see all your objections answered.- from Whitefield's letter to Wesley online  HERE

Coles' book is also infamous in the eyes of various anti-Calvinistic authors, given how often his book is mentioned as one they had to deal with in their criticisms of Calvinism. Nevertheless, that his book has been forgotten is slightly understandable because later books written after Coles' don't have the disadvantages of its archaic language and needless length, and yet at the same time using the same or better arguments for Calvinism Coles does. Just the preliminaries of Coles' book is already book length. And that all before he delves into the isssue at hand. I'm glad I read the book for the sake of historical theology, but it wouldn't be my first recommendation as a defense of Calvinism. Yet I would wholeheartedly recommend John Edwards' book Veritas Redux. My book review and a link to the book can be found HERE .