In a book edited by John Piper, Calvinist philosopher Mark R. Talbot writes: God . . . brings about all things in accordance with his will. In other words, it isn’t just that God manages to turn…
Author of Sin
Mike Barlotta – Ordaining All that Comes to Pass
The Westminster Confession was drafted in 1646 and is one of the Reformed creeds of faith. In this confession (chapter III section 1) it reads: God from all eternity, did, by the most wise and…
Roger Olson, “Can a Single Act Be Both Determined and Free?”
Some Calvinists (and perhaps others) argue that, in a world ruled by God, the God of the Bible, a single creaturely act can be both determined (pre-programmed by God) and free. And they claim that…
Roger Olson, “Calvinism and God-ordained Suffering: A Follow Up”
This is for those who have been following the recent discussion thread about what a Calvinist care-giver should say, if he or she chose to express a classical Calvinist view of God’s sovereignty, to a…
Roger Olson, “A Question to Calvinists”
One of my most faithful blog visitors and participants signed off recently, telling me in a message not to be posted that he would no longer read my blog. He is a self-identified Calvinist and…
Jerry Walls, “The Sovereignty of God”
The sovereignty of God is a vitally important truth Wesleyans badly need to recover. This is not only because it is crucial for understanding the biblical drama, but also because many Wesleyans have tended to…
Roger Olson, “‘God’s Will’ In Calvinism and Arminianism”
Calvinists and Arminians agree that God “accomplishes all things according to his counsel and will” because so says Ephesians 1:11 and the entire testimony of Scripture. Both, however, interpret this differently. John Calvin, facing this…
David Martinez, “Old Debate, New Day: Calvinism” (Review of the Fischer/Zahnd vs. Montgomery/Jones Debate)
By David Martinez On the night of Wednesday, August 27, 2014, Arminians squared off against Calvinists at Missio Dei Church in Chicago for a theological debate. The participants were: Brian Zahnd and Austin Fischer (Arminians)…
Relevant Magazine’s Interview with Roger Olson on Calvinism
Please click on the link to view Relevant Magazine’s Interview with Roger Olson on Calvinism. “Roger E. Olson, author of Against Calvinism and an Arminian, is convinced that Calvinism represents a serious departure from the revealed truths about God…
Susanna Wesley on Predestination
The following is from a letter written by Susanna Wesley to her son John. This quotation has been taken from John Kirk, The Mother of the Wesleys: A Biography (London: Henry James Tresidder, 1864), 284-86. Explanatory…
Roger Olson, “Is This the Best of All Possible Worlds? What I Would Think If I Were a Calvinist”
Most Calvinists I know believe in meticulous providence. Some have claimed here recently that a Calvinist does not have to believe in meticulous providence (that God plans, ordains and governs all that happens without exception).…
Roger Olson, “Do Arminians and Calvinists Worship the Same God?”
[Editor’s note: Dr. Olson’s position that he would not worship God if he were as Calvinist doctrine depicts him is not representative of all Arminians or a question on which SEA itself has a formal…
Zack Hunt, “Dear John (An Open Letter To John Calvin)”
Please click on the link to view Zack Hunt, “Dear John (An Open Letter To John Calvin)”. Some of the author’s comments in criticism of Calvin may be worded more strongly than we would tend to…
Austin Fischer’s Response to Kevin DeYoung’s Review of Fischer’s Book Young, Restless and No Longer Reformed
My Review of Kevin’s Review Here’s my review of what I thought, generally speaking, was a fair review of my book by Kevin DeYoung. I’ll focus in on a few key critiques and offer some…
Helpful Conversation between Austin Fischer and an Interlocutor
In the comments on Austin Fischer’s reply to John Piper’s criticism of his book,Young, Restless, and No Longer Reformed, a Calvinist named Clayton Hutchins got into a discussion with Fischer that is helpful for laying out…
Dr. Jerry Walls, “Clive (C.S.) Lewis and the Pious Calvinist Confusions of John Piper”
Dr. Jerry Walls speaks about John Piper’s recent book, Does God Desire All to Be Saved?. From the video’s YouTube page: Dr. Jerry Walls gives his critique of Calvinism, and more specifically, John Piper’s written…
Roger Olson, “Does God Foreordain and Render Certain Sins? (And Why Some Questions Annoy Me)”
Does God Foreordain and Render Certain Sins? (And Why Some Questions Annoy Me) Not infrequently some Calvinist confronts me with a question that, in the way it is asked, implies two things: 1) I must…
Arminius on why we sin
this post was written by SEA member, Roy Ingle I was reading from the Works of Arminius and noticed a short note he wrote on why we sin. Arminius wrote, “The efficient cause of actual…
If God Determined Everything, How Would He Be Worthy Of Worship?
When I think about the God as represented by the T.U.L.I.P., I sometimes have to stop myself or else I might get an ulcer. I find God as represented in the T.U.L.I.P as detestable. The…
Dispelling a Delusion about the Subjunctive Mood
(Why Saying I Would Not Worship God “If”…Is Not Insulting to God)
Written by Dr. Roger Olson Ever since I said here that if God were the God described by TULIP and the God of divine determinism, the author of sin and evil, I would not worship him…
Recent Posts
Roy Ingle, “Calvinism and the Atonement”
Why Does God Deny the Opportunity of Choice for or Against Him to Young Children Who Die and the Mentally Impaired?
Mark K. Olson, “Wesley’s ‘Warmed Heart’ at Aldersgate – What Really Happened?”
Adam Roe, “The Crucial Thread of Prevenient Grace: A Wesleyan Perspective on Divine Drawing”
