Plans for Holy War: How the Spiritual Soldier Fights, Conquers, and Triumphs (Arrowsmith)

Description

In one of the most expansive treatments of spiritual warfare, Puritan John Arrowsmith paints Christianity as the battle between the seed of the woman and the serpent. Beginning with Genesis 3:15, Arrowsmith explores themes of military duty, battle against the evil one, and the Christian’s victory and triumph in the Scriptures and classical writings. Arrowsmith’s work stands out among writings on spiritual warfare for its depth of research, its insistence that our warfare is chiefly theological, and its attempt to blend polemical and pastoral theology. He regarded his written efforts as “emissaries of evangelical piety, guardians and avengers of orthodoxy, interpreters of some of God’s oracles, and protective deities in many difficulties.” Carefully translated by David C. Noe with an extensive introduction by Chad B. Van Dixhoorn, this edition of Plans for Holy War presents modern readers with an exceptional and unique guide to spiritual warfare. 

Contents

Acknowledgments

Translator’s Preface

John Arrowsmith: A Theological Life

Editorial conventions

Three Orations against Weigelianism

First Speech against Weigelianism

Second Speech against Weigelianism

Third Speech against Weigelianism

Plans for Holy War

Dedication

Book I

Chapters

1. The Harmony of the Christian Religion with Spiritual Warfare
2. The Adversaries that are Mentioned in the Protoevangelium, Genesis 3.15
3. The Different Types of Enmity which are also Mentioned
4. The Enemies Mentioned Elsewhere
5. Who the Spiritual Soldiers are, what are their Duties, and who is their Commander
6. The need for Full-Armor, and an Exposé of the Devil’s Schemes

Book II

Chapters

1. The Belt of Truth in the Understanding, that is, of Orthodoxy
2. The Origin and Particular Causes of the Heterodoxy Raging in England
3. The Belt of Truth in the Will, or the Belt of Integrity in the Will
4. The Breastplate of Dispositional and Actual Righteousness
5. The Connection between Truth and Righteousness
6. The Greaves of Evangelical Readiness
7. The Shield of Faith that We Must Take Up Over all the other Armor
8. The Devil’s Flaming Shafts that are Extinguished by Faith
9. The Helmet of Salvation, or the Assurance of Hope
10. The Sword of the Spirit, the Word of God

Book III

Chapters

1. The Preparation for Victory through Holy Exhortations
2. The Author of Spiritual Victory, and his Supports and Rewards
3. An Explanation of Some Apostolic Ἐπινίκια
4. A Modest σκιαγραφία of the Heavenly Triumph

Appendix A: Dedication to the 1700 Edition

Appendix B: Preface to the 1700 Edition

Endorsements

“It is hard to describe this book without using superlatives. First, you have the monumental work done by David Noe in translating the work. Then you have the lengthy and insightful biography and analysis by Chad Van Dixhoorn introducing the work. And then you have the work itself, written by the seventeenth-century pastor-scholar and Westminster divine John Arrowsmith. All three facets of this volume represent a remarkable achievement. Most of all, Arrowsmith's exploration of spiritual warfare in the life of the Christian is noteworthy: equal parts creative, daunting, intellectual, inspirational, challenging, and comforting. The publication of Arrowsmith's magnum opus in English should interest pastors, scholars, and serious Christians who desire to engage in the holy war that really matters.”

—Kevin DeYoung, senior pastor, Christ Covenant Church, Matthews, North Carolina; associate professor of systematic theology, Reformed Theological Seminary (Charlotte)

“John Arrowsmith, Presbyterian theologian and head of Cambridge colleges, was one of those seventeenth-century English theologians whose command of the classics and the church fathers astonished the European world of learning. His writings, many of them studded with references to ancient and modern texts, reached a wide public. David C. Noe has translated Arrowsmith’s guide for the Christian life, which he saw as a battle against the devil, from its original Latin into highly readable English. Chad B. Van Dixhoorn has identified the author’s citations and set the book into its full context in his life. A superb translation of a work that powerfully defended the role of learning in Christian education and life.”

—Anthony Grafton, Henry Putnam University Professor of History, Princeton University

“Noe and Van Dixhoorn combine their considerable scholarly talents to the translation and editing of this densely learned yet deeply spiritual work of John Arrowsmith, one of the most learned of the Westminster divines. In the work, Arrowsmith takes his cue from Genesis 3:15 to expound on the Christian life in light of the enmity that exists between Christ and His followers and the devil and his. He takes his readers on a fascinating journey through the highways and byways of humanistic and Christian thought to bolster his arguments, refuting those who would deny the enemy's considerable threats while embracing those who recognize the gravity of the Christian’s spiritual warfare. Noe does more here than translate Arrowsmith’s words into English: he has ‘befriended’ the author through years of conversing with his Latin, which results in a soaring rendering that captures faithfully, or as faithfully as possible, the finely nuanced tone and complex layers of the writing. Van Dixhoorn adds his own meticulously researched introduction reviewing the life and contributions of Arrowsmith, while adding helpful notes to guide the reader through the thickets of Arrowsmith’s learning, resulting in a volume that will benefit both lay Christians and scholars alike.”

—Kirk M. Summers, professor of classics, University of Alabama

About the Contributors

John Arrowsmith (1602–1659) was a distinguished pastor-theologian. He ministered at St. Nicholas’s Church in King’s Lynn and at St. Martin Pomary in London, and in the 1640s served as a leading member of the Westminster Assembly. He distinguished himself at the University of Cambridge by serving as master of St. John’s College, master of Trinity College, Regius Professor of Divinity, and as vice-chancellor of the University. 

David C. Noe is a scholar in residence at Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary and pastor of Reformation Orthodox Presbyterian Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He is the translator of numerous works from the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, including writings by Franciscus Junius, Theodore Beza, William Perkins, John Calvin, and many others. His online pedagogy for Latin, Greek, and classics generally can be found at LatinPerDiem.com, MossMethod.com, and AdNavseam.com. 

Chad Van Dixhoorn is professor of church history and theology at Reformed Theological Seminary, Charlotte, North Carolina. His published works include God’s Ambassadors: The Westminster Assembly and the Reformation of the English Pulpit, 1643–1653.