Over at the blog of my boss, Michael Haykin, he has an interesting post about John Collett Ryland, father of John Ryland, Jr., famed Evangelical Calvinist and friend of Andrew Fuller, William Carey, Robert Hall, Jr., John Sutcliff, and Samuel Pearce. In it, he argues that Ryland, Sr. was not a hyper-Calvinist despite his notoriously difficult to historically reconstruct argument with William Carey (see my previous post on the issue here). I have always agree with Dr. Haykin that Ryland, Sr. was not a hyper-Calvinist for the reasons he lists. Yet, Dr. Malcom Yarnell, a professor at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, argues differently, and makes some good points. I am curious as to what others think? Was Ryland, Sr. a hyper-Calvinist or wasn’t he? You can see the post and interaction here.
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Working out Salvation with Fear and Trembling 
Hyper or not, Ryland, so I understand from very limited reading years ago, later gave his support to Carey. My ordaining pastor who had a Ph.D. from Bob Jones U (of all places) was (in his own words) “a Supralapsarian, a hyper-calvinist,” and he was a soul winner, preached revivals, founded the American Race Track Chaplaincy (cf. Who’s Who in Religion, 2nd edn. Chicago: Marquis Pubs., 1977 where I was honored to be listed in the same volume), and was the only man named in Dr. R.G. Lee’s will to preach his funeral and I am feel rather confident that Dr. Lee knew the views of his former Associate Pastor. Here we are on the verge of the First World Wide Awakening and people are wasting time on trivialities. “Pshaw!” As Dr. Campbell use to say, I wouldn’t be the slightest bit surprised to find out that Dr. John Thomas who was in India 7 years before Carey and who won Krishna Pal whom Carey baptized was a hyper-calvinist, and yet he went insane with elation when Pal responded. Well! Who would ever have thought any hyper-calvinist could care so much for souls? I have prayed for 35 years for a great awakening. Another brother has prayed for over 50 years. I dare say there are others who have been praying even longer. Can it be that our Lord, as Hanserd Knollys declared in his exposition of the bridegroom coming at midnight, getting ready to visit his people spiritually? After all, there is the promise to Abraham that his spiritual descendants would be more numerous than the stars or the sand by the seashore. And the WHOLE EARTH IS SUPPOSED TO BE FILLED WITH HIS KNOWLEDGE AND GLORY AS THE WATERS COVER THE SEA.