Elect in the Son

by Robert Shank

"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...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1556610920
• ISBN13: 9781556610929
• Release Date: January 1989
• Publisher: Bethany House Publishers
• Length: 242 Pages
• Weight: 0.80 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.4" x 8.4"

Customer Reviews

Elect in the Son

the author has written this in an easy to understand concept. My questions and concerns regarding the election has been satisfying. I would reccommend this book to anyone looking for understanding of chosen people from scriptures.

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).

An important and truly wonderful book

"Elect in the Son" is an important addition to the disposal of the unbiblical doctrine that God predestines some to Heaven and then predestines all others to Hell, the second petal of the odorous TULIP of Calvinisim. Calvinisim is a so-called "Christian doctrine" that has steadily decreased in adherents and influence over the last several hundreds of years due to the ever-increasing availability of the Bible and the true understanding that the real gospel message is that salvation is available to "who so ever will". Calvinistic 5-Point double-talk has been increasingly defeated with the simplicity of the good news; that Jesus died for "the sins of the whole world" (1 Jn. 2:2), and for "any man" (Rev. 3:20) and to "who-so-ever-will believe will be saved" (Jn. 3:15). In spite of the over whelming preponderance of scriptural proofs against Calvinisim, some misguided people still try to keep this dinosaur of darker ages alive, where it once was able to thrive due to the lack of the availability of both the Bible and literacy. Unfortunately many new Christian's end up being indoctrinated into this sad dogma, where God has fore-ordained the vast majority of mankind to eternal damnation to demonstrate His sovereign will; where Christ's sacrificial death is for only those who have been arbitrarily chosen by God for salvation (known as `limited atonement'); and where free will is only a dream...... such is the world of Calvinists. It should also be noted, that according to Hyper-Calvinists or as they prefer to be called, "High-Calvinists", only those (Christian's) who believe in all five points of Calvinism are actually the true "elect", all other will perish along with the unbelieving world. Therefore, to these Calvinists the blood of Jesus Christ is not sufficient for salvation, but one must also add the doctrine of John Calvin. "Elect in the Son" is an important work in understanding who really are the true "elect" of God, from a Biblical perspective. Robert Shank's contribution in the refutation of "predestination" in "Elect in the Son" is presented in a clear and concise manner, which isn't always easy especially as it regards doctrinal issues. For a wonderful refutation of the final widely accepted bastion of Calvinistic doctrine, "perseverance of the saints", a.k.a. "once saved always saved", Robert Shank's "Life in the Son" is a must read. For a great book regarding the Biblical doctrine of "free will" may I recommend, "God's Strategy in Human History, God's Sovereignty and Man's Responsibility", by Roger T. Forster & V. Paul Marston. Finally, for a comprehensive understanding and overthrow of all 5 points of the doctrine of John Calvin, I highly recommend "The Other Side of Calvinisim", by Laurence M. Vance. R. Natello

This makes good sense

A church I was attending was divided partly arminian and the other half calvinistic. I had a hard time understanding the issues until I read this book. Mr. Shank opened my eyes the the errors of calvinism. I'm glad I read this book, for me and my family

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!