Historical Context

Since these documents arose from a specific period in the history of the church, to study them in their historical context is to study them on their own terms. Many secular scholars have studied the Bible, theology, and church history in the service of their own secular goals. Likewise, all too often, confessional theologians and pastors have made the same error by distorting the Westminster divines’ positions in service of defending their own theological views. Understanding the divines on their own terms will guard us from making this mistake.

 

Greg Salazar, The Context of the Westminster Assembly, Tabletalk Magazine, January 2021,p. 75