Reformed theologian RC Sproul has given up the ghost after a long battle with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease at the age of 78.

RC Sproul was a genuine Calvinist in the Covenant theology sense that John Calvin was, in effect equating Baptism with circumcision and sprinkling infants etc. He was not a mere adherent to the 'TULIP' of The Remonstrance of Dort. He was additionally a staunch cessationist. These, of course, are doctrinal positions we at Moriel do not share, but still his dogma was by no means all erroneous and RC Sproul could indeed be a voice for scriptural orthodoxy in an age of compromise and apostasy.

While we did not hold a very positive view of RC Sproul doctrinally or theologically overall, he was to his credit and by God's grace not ecumenical and we appreciated his strong positions on intelligent design, pro-life opposition to non-therapeutic abortion, and above all we must pay tribute to his firm position on the inerrancy of scripture as God's infallible and inspired Word in opposition to the satanically inspired quagmire of higher critical theological liberalism that he very correctly and often nobly challenged.

We must not be hypocritical in eulogizing him; RC Sproul admittedly was not a great champion of truth to us or anything like it - his pneumatology was flawed and infant baptism is fundamentally unscriptural. Yet Dr Sproul certainly was not devoid of his areas of personal virtue. In addition to his negative points of doctrine theologically, as a conservative Evangelical scholar he most definitely also exhibited better points in the sphere of apologetics in particularly We do believe him to have been a brother in Christ, (how be it one with whom we often disagreed as well as at other times found ourselves agreeing with). Our prayers are with his family at this time.

When we meet Jesus face to face, Jesus will surely straighten out all of our imperfect doctrines.

(JJ Prasch/ Moriel)