A few days ago I saw someone wearing a “Calvin is my homeboy” T-shirt. I have to admit that the shirt made me cringe. My thoughts immediately went to questions concerning Calvin’s character. While I…
Henshaw. Ben
Ben Henshaw, “A Brief Review of ‘Free Will: Pagan and Unbiblical'”
A Calvinists site promoted this video on their site a few years ago: “Free Will: Pagan and Unbiblical”. I forced myself to watch it, which wasn’t easy. Here are my brief, informal comments on the…
Highlighting an Important Series Critiquing The Calvinist Interpretation of Romans 9
Back in 2010 J.C. Thibodaux started what would eventually become a four part series on Romans 9, with special focus on the problems inherent in the typical Calvinist interpretation of Romans 9. This short series…
Calvinism And The Fall: The Problem Ignored Again
Just saw this post called “Man’s Will: Before And After the Fall” which opens with these words: Augustine and the Calvinistic tradition in general define the will’s freedom, or lack thereof, in relation to sin….
Sin, Reprobation and Foreknowledge: The Calvinists Attempt to Have Their Cake And Eat it Too
The doctrine of the unconditional election of a part, necessarily implies the unconditional reprobation of the rest. I know some who hold to the former, seem to deny the latter; for they represent God as…
Ben Henshaw, “Various Thoughts on the Use of John 6 and Related Passages from John’s Gospel to Support Calvinism”
Various Thoughts on The Use of John 6 And Related Passages From John’s Gospel to Support Calvinism | Arminian Perspectives I have been meaning to do an extensive post on John 6 and related passages…
Ben Henshaw, “Exposing the Falsity of the Calvinist Claim that Irresistible Grace Is Compatible with the Elect Coming to Christ Freely”
A conversation between Ben Henshaw and a Calvinist in which Ben addresses the oft repeated Calvinist claim that while God works in the elect irresistibly, the elect still freely come to Christ in such a…
Does Prevenient Grace Make Total Depravity Only Hypothetical and Not Actual?
Ben Henshaw has a page at his blog for questions, and he was recently asked this: I have a question about the prevenient grace. According to this doctrine, God enables the dead in sins so…
Ben Henshaw, “Grace For All: The Arminian Dynamics of Salvation (Book Review)”
John D. Wagner has produced an updated and expanded version of “Grace Unlimited”, originally edited by the late Clark H. Pinnock. This updated version is called “Grace For All: The Arminian Dynamics of Salvation.” This…
Expository Sermons by Arminian Pastor Ben Henshaw Now Available Online
Audio files of expository sermons by Arminian pastor Ben Henshaw of Rand Memorial Congregational Church (Seabrook, NH) are now available online at https://randmemorialchurch.wordpress.com/sermons/. Normally, a new sermon goes up every week.
Do Arminians Really Pray Like Calvinists?
It is often said by Calvinists that when Arminians pray, they pray like Calvinists. Typically this is expressed in such a way as to imply that while Arminians may deny the theological claims of Calvinism,…
Calvinism on the Horns: The Problem of Divine Foreknowledge in Calvinism and Why You Should Be an Arminian
Calvinists often lead the charge against Open Theism and traditional Arminians agree that Open Theism is Biblically problematic. However, Calvinists often seem to hide the unfortunate implications of their own view of foreknowledge. Open Calvinism?…
A Telling and Ironic Tweet by John Piper on “Waking up in the Morning” as a Believer
Calvinist John Piper recently gave the following Tweet: I fall asleep quietly confident that I will be a believer in the morning not because of my free will but God’s free grace. This is an obvious…
An Arminian Response to C. Michael Patton’s “The Irrationality of Calvinism” Part 5: Taking The Mystery Out of Mr. Patton’s Strange Arguments
Part 5: Taking the Mystery Out of Mr. Patton’s Strange Arguments
Patton: These two issues, human freedom and sovereign election, are not contradictory when put together, but they are a mystery.
This is the same claim Mr. Patton made in his first post called “Why Calvinism is the Least Rational Option.” We have already begun to highlight the problems with this claim.
An Arminian Response to C. Michael Patton’s “The Irrationality of Calvinism” Part 4: Returning the Favor (Reversing the Argument)
Part 4: Returning the Favor (Reversing the Argument) Patton: To the Calvinists, man is fully responsible for his choice, yet God’s election is unconditional. This creates a problem. It creates great tension. I agree that…
An Arminian Response to C. Michael Patton’s “The Irrationality of Calvinism” Part 3: False Assumptions and Question Begging
Part 3: False Assumptions and Question Begging
Patton: Therefore, [according to Arminianism] God’s predestination of people is “fair” and makes sense. After all, there are too many questions left unanswered when one says that God chooses who will be saved and who will not. Why did he choose some and not others? Did God make people to go to hell? Is God fair? “Why does he still find fault, for who resists his will?”
The Arminian chooses this position because, for them, it is the only way to reconcile human freedom and God’s election.
Here is where Mr. Patton really missteps.
An Arminian Response to C. Michael Patton’s “The Irrationality of Calvinism” Part 2: Theological Imprecision and Misrepresentations
Part 2: Theological Imprecision and Misrepresentations
Patton: However, I think we need take a step back and see that while the shoe fits when it comes to some particular issues in Calvinism these accusations are far from forming the bedrock of the primary issues in Calvinism. You see, one of the many reasons I am a Calvinist has to do with the tension that is allowed within the Calvinistic system that is not allowed in other systems.
The central core of Calvinism primarily centers on one doctrine: predestination. While the sovereignty of God has its place, it does not ultimately determine where one lands.
This is highly debatable among Calvinists. This may be Mr. Patton’s opinion, but I think that he is probably in the minority.
An Arminian Response to C. Michael Patton’s “The Irrationality of Calvinism” Part 1: The Set Up
C.Michael Patton is the President of Credo House. He has now written two separate and similar posts defending the “irrationality” of Calvinism as actually being a strength of the system, specifically over and above Arminianism….
How Can God’s Glory be “Diminished” in Calvinism?
Calvinist John Mac Arthur in his article, Why Every Calvinist Should be a PreMillennialist, writes: It is impossible to fully understand biblical teaching about the end times apart from understanding the future of Israel, the…
Corporate Election Quotes
The following is a series of important excerpts from some of the best scholarly works espousing the corporate view of election. Taken together, these quoted sections give a very detailed description of the fundamental elements…
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The Folly of Doing Theology in an Echo Chamber: A Thorough Examination of Piper’s “Two-Wills” View (Part 25)
Friday Files, 21 February 2020