Product Description

"Through the years, I have read carefully every serious work on the question of election-I found no work that addressed itself to the question in this thorough, objective, competent manner or afforded such satisfactory, obviously Biblical constructions-. I have every confidence that time will prove this to be the definitive work on the difficult question of election."

from the Introduction by Dr. William W. Adams of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary

In this comprehensive treatment of all pertinent Scripture passages dealing with election, Dr. Shank demonstrates that Calvin's doctrine of the unconditional election and the reprobation of particular people is without foundation in the Scriptures. He challenges the use of certain "proof passages" and shows that their application in this manner requires circumventing some of the most explicitly categorical affirmations of Scripture.

Dr. Shank demonstrates that the election of grace does not rule out the salvation of any man, that God truly wills all men to be saved. The cross is seen as the focal point of election and the event in which time and eternity find their true perspective.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #246275 in Books
• Published on: 1989-01-01
• Released on: 1989-01-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 242 pages

About the Author
size : 5.3 x 8.3

Customer Reviews

Classic Book on Class Election
Dr. Robert Shank is best known for his book, LIFE IN THE SON, in which he set out to prove eternal security only to write a book against the popular notion of "once saved, always saved." This book, ELECT IN THE SON, is a follow up to his first work.

The book dives into the history and theology of John Calvin and Calvinist. Shank first allows Calvin and other Calvinist theologians to merely state in their own words their position on election and/or predestination. Shank then spends the remainder of the book building his case for class election or that Christians become the elect (1 Timothy 4:10) in the elected one, the Lord Jesus (Isaiah 53:11-12; Matthew 1:21; Eph. 1:3-14). Shank covers nearly every major passage on election in the New Testament including Romans 9-11.

My only drawback with the book is that it is somewhat dated, Shank uses the King James Version throughout, and I don't fully agree with Shank that every case of election is class election. Certainly Israel was a chosen nation as is the Church (Deut. 6; 1 Peter 2:4-11) but there are cases where God elected individuals as in the case of the prophets, Paul (Acts 26:18; 1 Timothy 1:12-15), and many other biblical characters.

A good read on election is John Wagner's edited book REDEMPTION REDEEMED: A PURITAN DEFENSE OF UNLIMITED ATONEMENT or Norman Geisler's CHOSEN BUT FREE (Second Edition).

Great book about corporate election and against Calvinism.
Originally published in 1970 by Westcott, Shank's work is probably destined to be a classic in this genre. For those looking for an intellectual work against five-point Calvinism and for an Arminian interpretation of divine election, "Elect in the Son" is highly recommended. First, it presents a strong case for class or corporate election--meaning God has sovereignly chosen the body as his special people, but people ENTER the body through faith, belief, and repentence. Shank loosely ties in his previous book "Life in the Son," which is about how Christians need to perservere to avoid losing their salvation. As a moderate Arminian who accepts eternal security, I don't agree with that position. But "Elect in the Son" is still to be praised, overall. It is also a strong defense for the idea that Christ died for all men and desires all men to be saved and presents a strong polemic against five-point Calvinism. "Nothing could be more fraught with theological problems than Calvin's central complex," Shank writes. He is right!

Very well done, but not terribly easy to read
Dr. Robert Shank's Elect In the Son is an excellent, scholarly work that closely follows Jacobus Arminius' scheme of election (election of Christ, first and foremost, then election of the church as Christ's body, and finally, election of individuals as foreseen entering the body by faith).

Dr. Shank shows that this scheme is, indeed, Biblical, when Scripture is taken in context. He largely avoids the "one sentence here, another sentence there" style of proof-texting that seems to invariably accompany defenses of Calvinism. He does the same kind of contextual quoting of Calvin and other scholars...rather than just quoting a brief sentence of two, he re-prints long passages from their work. The good news is that, by doing this, he is careful to not mis-quote anyone or take them out of context. The bad news is that the frequent and extended quotes from others break up the flow of his own writing, making Elect In The Son sort of difficult to read.

If there is one drawback of this book, I would say that that is it: the book is not nearly as "user-friendly" and easy to read as some other treatises on election that I have read. Dr. Shank seems to lack the relatability and communication skills of an R.C. Sproul...although his exegesis and conclusions are, I believe, much closer to the truth than Dr. Sproul's.

Overall, I think the basic message of this book is magnificent, but don't attempt to read it if you're not REALLY serious about election, etc. It's not easy reading.