In Part 1 of this series on the theology of Charles Hodge I claimed that Hodge remains the “gold standard” for Reformed theology for most American Calvinist evangelical theologians. Again, as I said there, that…
Search Result
Roger Olson, “What Did Charles Hodge Say about ‘The Decrees of God?'”
First of all, who cares what Charles Hodge said about anything? Well, many conservative evangelicals care—whether they know it or not. Charles Hodge was and remains such an influential 19th century theologian that I included…
Arminius on the Decrees of God Concerning Salvation of Sinful Men
Arminius on the Decrees of God Concerning Salvation of Sinful Men submitted by SEA member, Roy Ingle XV. ON THE DECREES OF GOD WHICH CONCERN THE SALVATION OF SINFUL MEN, ACCORDING TO HIS OWN SENSE…
Arminian Theology Superior to Calvinism Regarding God’s Decrees
[Editor’s note: While SEA vigorously opposes supralapsarianism, it does not question whether supralapsarian Calvinists worship the God of the Bible as the author seems to. We generally accept both supralapsarian and infralapsarian Calvinists as brothers…
Bavinck on the Unknowability of God’s Decrees
In Bavinck’s article on supralapsarian and infralapsarian predestination (link), he disagrees with supralapsarianism and infralapsarianism about 90% of the time, so we get very few glimpses of what he actually believes. I went through the article and pulled out all the positive statements by Bavinck about predestination. I came out with 10 statements. Upon examining the statements, I noted that the majority of them are either in tension with each other or leave a major term undefined.
Statements in tension with each other (i.e. that seem to move in opposite directions – although they don’t formally contradict each other, no reconciliation is provided):
J. D. Walt, “I Will Harden Pharaoh’s Heart—On Sovereignty, Freedom, and the Will of God”
PRAYER OF CONSECRATION Wake up, sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you. Jesus, I belong to you. I lift up my heart to you. I set my mind on you. I…
Richard Coords, “Holiness of God”
James 1:17 states: “Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.” One of the most fundamental…
Arminius: ON THE DECREE OF GOD
1. The decrees of God are the extrinsic acts of God, though they are internal, and, therefore, made by the free will of God, without any absolute necessity. Yet one decree seems to require the…
God’s Eternal Decree of Predestination – Where Is It in God’s Word?
“It might be a good idea to examine what the Bible actually says about this singular, eternal, sovereign, all-encompassing decree. Certainly the Scripture has much to say about this decree of God? Think again. The…
Early Arminian Baptist Thomas Grantham on God’s Permission vs Decree (1678)
Here is early English Arminian Baptist church planter and preacher Thomas Grantham on God’s providence and permission, from his 1678 work Christianismus Primitivus: Sect. XIII. Nothing can be done without God’s Providence, though contrary to…
Shane Scott, “Calvinism and the Two ‘Wills’ of God”
Those who hold to the Calvinistic concept of predestination believe that God predetermined everything that would happen before the foundation of the world in an eternal and unconditional decree. The Westminster Confession of Faith outlines…
God, Predestination & Foreknowledge
I recently heard someone say that God is watching and waiting, to see what we are going to do and what choices we will make. This person went on to say that because God is…
Calvinism and the Knowledge of God
In this brief post I intend to engage a thought experiment I had when I suggested that God, in Calvinism, cannot foreknow the future; hence that is why God, in Calvinism, must decree or foreordain…
In Calvinism, God Is the Problem of Evil
John Piper argues that, when kings are “in their God-appointed place, with or without Satan’s agency, they are in the sway of God’s sovereign will.”1 He quotes Daniel 2:20-21; 4:17, and Proverbs 21:1, failing to…
The Calvinist Conception of God on Trial
A Calvinist named Jared responds to an Arminian post entitled “The Devious and Duplicitous Mind of the Calvinist God,” and entitles his response “God on Trial,” which I think is quite the misnomer. God is…
That Wonderful (Mind-Controlling) God?
“You have searched me, LORD, and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are…
Joshua Thibodaux, The Fallacies of Calvinist Apologetics – Fallacy #8: “Calvinism Doesn’t Charge God With the Authorship of Sin”
Related Fallacies: Red Herring Equivocation “All I have tried to do here is show how clearly, succinctly and simply that Calvinism does NOT charge God with the authorship of sin and so (to employ the…
Does God Want All to Be Saved? A Response to Dr. Kruger
Dr. Kruger is the President and Professor of New Testament and Early Christianity at Reformed Theological Seminary (RTS). His interests in the formation of the NT canon and the early history of the church align with…
Does God Have Two Wills?
“Have I any pleasure in the death of the wicked, declares the Lord God, and not rather that he should turn from his way and live?” – Ezekiel 18:23 “The Lord is not slow to…
God’s Circus
The Bible everywhere assumes free will within the context of God’s sovereignty. This renders any semblance of determinism erroneous at best and damaging to the character and integrity of God at worst. If God influences our…
