Can one be both a Calvinist and a Molinist? Many Reformed Christians have deemed this an impossibility, while some prominent Reformed philosophers like Alvin Plantinga and Del Ratzsch profess to be simultaneously Calvinists and Molinists….
Fatalism
Ben Witherington and Keith Stanglin, Jacob Arminius, Theologian of Grace – Part Fourteen
BEN: As we conclude this discussion, let’s talk about the practical implications of Arminius’ thought for today. It seems clear to me that Arminius, and Wesley as well, would have rejected recent ideas that have…
Determinism in the Hebrew Scriptures: Hosea
What scholars refer to as the Minor Prophets, which include the books following the prophet Daniel (from Hosea to Malachi), we discover that the consistent theme of God’s sovereignty and humanity’s relative free will remain…
Determinism in the Hebrew Scriptures: Daniel
The prophet Daniel offers believers a startling portrait of our sovereign God while faithfully maintaining the biblical truth of genuine human freedom and responsibility. His doctrine of God’s sovereignty appears methodically organized in the exact…
Determinism in the Hebrew Scriptures: Ezekiel
As should be expected, the prophet Ezekiel promotes the same theoretical unCalvinistic and libertarian worldview as do both prophets Isaiah and Jeremiah. This is not surprising, given the notion of Scripture as being wholly agreeable,…
Brian Abasciano, “True Love, Free Will, and Heaven”
Several years ago, a friend of mine asked the following question on his blog: The argument that there must be freedom of choice in order for their to be love towards God makes total sense…
Determinism in the Hebrew Scriptures: Jeremiah
“I don’t see how anyone could read the Old Testament and not conclude that Calvinism is right,” was the conclusion of one Calvinist professor, admitted in front of his class. In context, by “Calvinism” he…
Determinism in the Hebrew Scriptures: Isaiah
For consistent Calvinists like John Piper, an inevitable implication of the sovereignty of God — and what it means for God to be God — is a prominent thread easily detected throughout all of their…
Perhaps Compatibilistic Calvinism is the Answer … Perhaps Not
Relatively recently, Arminian scholar Jerry Walls has engaged Calvinist responses to his 2011 article, “Why No Classical Theist, Let Alone Orthodox Christian, Should Ever Be a Compatibilist.” Steve Hays, of Triablogue, attempts to undermine the…
Glen Shellrude, “My Problems with Calvinism (Summary)”
[This article may also be downloaded as a pdf.] 1. There is an inadequate exegetical basis for Calvinism. Determinism is based on a relatively small number of texts which are read in isolation from their…
Video: Bruxy Cavey, “Can There Be Free Will in Heaven?”
From the video’s YouTube page: What would it look like if you were absolutely free and absolutely good? Bruxy explains what Heaven will look like and what this means for us.
Ben Witherington and Keith Stanglin, Jacob Arminius, Theologian of Grace– Part Four
BEN: Arminius seems to work hard to avoid making God the author of sin, or of anything evil for that matter, including the Fall. He is very willing to talk about God’s ‘permissive’ will when…
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…
Jerry L. Walls, “Pharaoh’s Magicians Foiled Again: Reply to Cowan and Welty”
Please click on the link to view Jerry L. Walls, “Pharaoh’s Magicians Foiled Again: Reply to Cowan and Welty,” Philosophia Christi Vol. 17, No. 2 (2015) 411-26. Here is the author’s abstract: In this paper, I respond to…
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…
J. Warner Wallace, “The Problem of Evil: The Role of Eternity and Free Will (Cold-Case Christianity Broadcast #57)”
From the video’s YouTube page: In this episode of the Cold-Case Christianity Broadcast, J. Warner Wallace examines the classic problem of evil and offers a cumulative case response. In this first of several related broadcasts, J….
Video: Bruxy Cavey, “How Do We Have Free Will If God Already Knows What We’ll Do?”
Kevin Timpe, “Truth-making and Divine Eternity” (A Defense of the Compatibility of Divine Foreknowledge and Libertarian Human Freedom)
Please click on the link to view Kevin Timpe, “Truth-making and Divine Eternity,” Religious Studies 43 (2007) 299–315. Here is the author’s abstract of the article: According to a widespread tradition in philosophical theology, God is necessarily…
Ben Witherington and Chad Thornhill on *The Chosen People: Election, Paul and Second Temple Judaism*, Part 8: Conclusions
I hope to have demonstrated the value and necessity of placing Paul’s election language back in its original context, which was a decidedly Jewish one. As we reviewed the Jewish literature, we discovered a view…
Ben Witherington and Chad Thornhill on *The Chosen People: Election, Paul and Second Temple Judaism*, Part 7
BEN: In terms of the modus operandi of this book, one of the basic approaches you take is to argue that if an idea is not found elsewhere in early Jewish literature, then it is…
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