Posts By SEA

Why Christians Don’t React With Violence

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This post came from SEA member Dale Wayman’s blog Ironstrikes which was taken from the blog of Mike Lee While He was still speaking, Judas, one of the Twelve, suddenly arrived. A large mob, with…

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Daniel L. Migliore on Election as Corporate

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The following quotes are from Daniel L. Migliore, Faith Seeking Understanding: An Introduction to Christian Theology (2nd ed.; Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2004). The Westminster Confession of Faith, for example, states that by God’s secret decrees…

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William Lane Craig on Romans 9

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Here are some excellent comments on Romans 9 from Dr. William Lane Craig. (This is an excerpt from Dr. Craig’s answer to a question from an atheist, taken from http://www.reasonablefaith.org/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&id=6675.)

[L]et’s talk about Paul’s doctrine of election in Romans. I want to share with you a perspective on Paul’s teaching that I think you’ll find very illuminating and encouraging. Typically, as a result of Reformed theology, we have a tendency to read Paul as narrowing down the scope of God’s election to the very select few, and those not so chosen can’t complain if God in His sovereignty overlooks them. I think this is a fundamental misreading of the chapter which makes very little sense in the context of Paul’s letter.

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The Sermons of Dr. Vincent G. Artese Online

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The sermons of Wesleyan-Arminian pastor Dr. Vincent G. Artese, who serves at Pilgrim’s Pathway Christian Church in Monroe, Connecticut, may be found online here: http://www.pilgrimspathway.org/Sermons.htm.

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The Arminian vs. Calvinist Recall Notice

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One of our members drew attention to a clever comparison of God’s offer in the gospel to a manufacturer issuing a recall notice. It struck me as Arminian in orientation. So, I thought it would…

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Roger Olson, “Prevenient Grace: Why It Matters”

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“Prevenient Grace: Why It Matters”

by Roger Olson

This is a follow up to my earlier post regarding the statement of the traditional Southern Baptist view of salvation by certain Southern Baptist non-Calvinist, non-Arminian pastors and theologians. If you have not read that post, go back and read it before reading this one. Here I am picking up where I left off there and taking some comments subsequent to it into account.

Also, here, I am not delving into the debate between Calvinists and Arminians over the nature of prevenient grace as irresistible or resistible. That’s certainly interesting and much discussed in evangelical and Baptist circles, but here I am simply talking about prevenient grace AS IT IS BELIEVED BY BOTH CALVINISTS AND ARMINIANS.

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Steve Witzki, Early Christian Writers on Apostasy

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In the attached article, Steve Witzki surveys the thought of the early church on the topic of apostasy, concluding: “It seems rather apparent that the Ante-Nicene Fathers believed that a Christian could sever their saving…

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A New Perspective on Ephesians 1 and 2

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This post was originally published as the third installment of a series, the first two numbers being “The New Perspective on Paul” and “The New Perspective and the Development of Reformed Doctrine.” The background for…

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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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