Lyceum Disputation Symposiums

Essays in the Lyceum Disputation series range from traditional academic symposium essays to mid-range theses on various theological, historical, and philosophical topics intended to provide greater understanding in a spirit that reflects charity, curiosity, critical thinking, and cheerful confessionalism. The symposiums of traditional academic focus are published as special issues of The Hanover Review.

Previous Symposiums​

The Reformation as Renewal

This symposium features online-only versions (linked individually below) alongside print and digital PDF versions in our journal The Hanover Review available for purchase. Only the official typeset journal versions should be cited in academic work.

  1. An Accidental Reformation?, by Richard Cross
  2. Duns Scotus, Classical Theist: A Vindication, by Thomas M. Ward
  3. On Matthew Barrett’s “The Reformation as Renewal: Retrieving the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church”, by Mickey L. Mattox
  4. “Reformation as Renewal:” Recatholicizing the Reformers by Manipulating Their Message?, by Peter Opitz
  5. Prolegomena to Any Future Account of Aquinas’s Augustinianism: A Response to Matthew Barrett, by Daniel W. Houck
  6. The Bishop of Rome hath no Jurisdiction in this Realm of England: The English Reformation and Foreign Jurisdiction, by Michael J. Lynch
  7. The Prophetic Role of the Protestant Reformation, by Jordan J. Ballor
  8. Contextualizing “Renewal:” An Examination of Matthew Barrett’s Historical Methodology, by Jonathan Baddley
  9. The Reception of Late Medieval Scholastic Thought in Early Modern Reformed Theology, Andreas J. Beck

Print Access
Digital Access

Metaphysics & The Christian

  1. Ground Rules for Christian Metaphysics, James S. Spiegel
  2. Do Christians Need Metaphysics?, Michael Gorman
  3. Metpahysics and Delight, Sam Welbaum
  4. Is there a Metaphysics of Christianity?, Chad McIntosh
  5. On the Use of Christian Metaphysics, Leonard Sidharta

Historical Methodology & Activism

  1. When Activists Do History, Alex DiPrima
  2. A Christian Case for Activist History, Daniel K. Williams
  3. Evangelical History Overturned, D. G. Hart
  4. Using the Past: A Review of the Symposium on Historical Methodology and Activism, Garrett Walden

Theonomy

  1. The Underlying Problem: A Brief Analysis of Meredith G. Kline’s Response to Theonomy, Michael Beck
  2. Historic Protestant Political Theology: Theonomy and Theological Tinkering, Miles Smith IV
  3. Theonomy: A Theological Critique, David VanDrunen
  4. Classical Reformed Theonomy, Stephen Wolfe
  5. Are There Still Theonomists?, Glenn Moots
  6. That One Time Theonomists Didn’t Run Puritan New England, Timon Cline
  7. New Covenant Fulfillment and the End of the Law: A Critique of Theonomic Hermeneutics and Political Ethics, Ben Crenshaw

Christian Platonism

  1. On Classical Christian Platonism: A Philosopher’s Reply to Carter, Paul Gould
  2. Christian Platonism: Some Comments on Its Past and the Need for Its Future, Willemien Otten
  3. Craig Carter’s Christian Platonism, R.T. Mullins
  4. Is Arius a Christian Platonist?, Grant Sutherland
  5. Plato is not the Point: A Critical Defense of Craig Carter’s Proposal, Hunter Hindsman
  6. Which Plato? Whose Platonism? Summarizing the Christian Platonism Symposium, Jordan Steffaniak

The Necessity(?) of Penal Substitutionary Atonement

  1. How (not) to Affirm the Necessity of Penal Substitutionary Atonement: A Response to the 2017 SBC Resolution, Josh McNall
  2. Centering the Atonement: Balancing the Substitutionary Work of Christ, Adam Johnson
  3. Why Denying Penal Substitution Need Not Impugn God’s Perfect Justice, Jonathan C. Rutledge
  4. An Analysis of the 2017 SBC Resolution on Penal Substitutionary Atonement, Carl Mosser
  5. An Early Medieval Pastor-Poet’s Thoughts on the Cross, Ben Wheaton
  6. Substitution, Justice, and Love: Reflections on Penal Substitutionary Atonement,Joshua Thurow
  7. Heading Backwards: Toward a Trinitarian Doctrine of Penal Substitutionary Atonement, Jacob Denhollander

Baptists, Religious Liberty, & the State

  1. No More Nursing Fathers: A Baptist Theological Rational for Religious Liberty, Matt Thomas
  2. A Conscience Rightly Informed: Establishment, Disestablishment, and the Debate Over Human Conscience, Cory Higdon
  3. Is There a Baptist Contribution to Political Theology?, Matt Emerson
  4. The (Past, Present, and Future) Law of Religious Liberty, Matt Martens

Baptists and Slavery

  1. 19th Century American Baptist Response To Slavery, Andrew Morgan
  2. Baptists, Slavery, And The Road To Civil War, Obbie Tyler Todd
  3. Developing A Response To The Slavery Question: Northern Baptist Seminaries And The Unavoidable Controversy, Matthew Shrader
  4. A Tale Of Two Baptist Preachers: W.C. Buck, J.M. Pendleton And Slavery In Antebellum Kentucky, Ben Stratton
  5. “We Cannot Uphold You”: Antebellum Baptists Who Bucked Prevailing Norms On Slavery, David Roach

Baptist Distinctives

  1. The Regulative Principle Among Baptists, Tom Nettles
  2. Baptists And The Sacraments, J. Ryan Davidson
  3. Regenerate Church Membership And The Incoherence Of The “Magisterial Baptist” Position, Casey McCall