Posts By SEA

Arminius on Our Election Being in Christ

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Arminius on Our Election Being in Christ This post is provided by SEA member, Roy Ingle Arminius wrote the following in a debate over the subject of predestination. He clearly shows that he taught that…

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Is Faith a Work?

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Is Faith a Work?

This post is written by SEA member, Roy Ingle

In Romans 4:4-5 we read the following:

4 Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due. 5 And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness.

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Calvinism, Arminianism and Omnibenevolence

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Calvinism, Arminianism and Omnibenevolence

This post was written by Randal Rauser, PhD

[Please note that Dr. Rauser is not a member of SEA and that SEA does not necessarily endorse all of his theological positions. We include this post on our site because we think it helpful in some respects.]

Arminians like to point out that according to Calvinism God elects some people to damnation. Of course some Calvinists try to soften this teaching by claiming that the election to damnation is a passive divine act according to which God simply “passes over” and thereby opts not to redeem these people.

Unfortunately this shift in nomenclature doesn’t really make the divine act of election to damnation passive in an ethically significant way. Indeed, it calls to mind James Rachels’ famous thought experiment on passive euthanasia so I’m going to borrow from that thought experiment to make my point.

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Arminius on Repentance

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This was published by SEA member Roy Ingle

DISPUTATION XLIII

ON THE REPENTANCE BY WHICH MEN ANSWER TO THE DIVINE VOCATION

I. As, in the matter of salvation, it has pleased God to treat with man by the method of a covenant, that is, by a stipulation, or a demand and a promise, and as even vocation has regard to a participation in the covenant; it is instituted on both sides and separately, that man may perform the requisition or command of God, by which he may obtain [the fulfillment of] his promise. But this is the mutual relation between these two — the promise is tantamount to an argument, which God employs, that he may obtain from man that which he demands; and the compliance with the demand, on the other hand, is the condition, without which man cannot obtain what has been promised by God, and through [the performance of] which he most assuredly obtains the promise.

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John Wesley’s Approach to Spiritual Formation

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This post was written by Ben Espinoza on the Seedbed.com website Perhaps my greatest research interest as of late is studying how various theologians and church leaders throughout history sought to form and educate believers…

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Wesley as a Happy Puritan

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Wesley as a Happy Puritan written by Dr. Fred Sanders Although not a member of SEA, Dr. Fred Sanders draws some interesting parallels between Wesley and Jonathan Edwards and John Owen as well as J.I.…

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The Toymaker

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Though not a member of SEA, Rev DeCrastos gives an interesting illustration regarding God’s desire to have a relationship with His creation. THE TOYMAKER by Rev. DeCrastos It had been a long day, and the…

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