BEN: On p. 89 you talk about the idea of nominalistic voluntarism, which is to say the idea that God is free to do anything he chooses to do, without being constrained or limited by…
Calvinism
Jerry Walls: Calvinism & The God Of Love
Dr. Jerry Walls speaks about logical argument which exposes Calvinism’s inherit contradiction regarding God’s loving nature. From the video’s YouTube page: “Published on Nov 14, 2016 In this edition of the Evangel University Guest Lecture…
Ben Witherington and Roger Olson, “Roger Olson’s Arminian Theology – Part 7”
BEN: I take it as given that you have established both that there are some strong incompatibilities between Calvinism and Arminianism, but at the same time there are some strong agreements between the two theological…
Augustine’s Evolving Views on God’s Sovereignty (Part 2)
We have been examining Augustine’s changing views on faith, free will, and God’s sovereignty. His original views on these topics evolved from a synergistic model (where God and man cooperate in coming to faith) to…
Ben Witherington and Roger Olson, “Roger Olson’s Arminian Theology – Part 6”
BEN: At one point you say (p. 70) “Scripture alone cannot prove one side right and other side wrong”. I think I must disagree. Scripture is consistent on these issues precisely because it reflects the…
CALVINIST RHETORIC: Piety
Or “Being A Friend To Job”
What I Mean by Rhetorical Piety It is important to note that I am not suggesting that Calvinists are doing anything deceptive here. So when I mean piety, I don’t mean false piety. More simply,…
Ben Witherington and Roger Olson, “Roger Olson’s Arminian Theology – Part 5”
BEN: One of the major emphases in Stanglin and McCall’s fine book on Jacob Arminius is that Arminius did not agree with Beza et al. on the issue of monergism, which is to say that…
Can One Be Both a Calvinist and a Molinist?
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.…
Life is like a …
On one of the Society of Evangelical Arminian (SEA) forums, we were exploring illustrations on how we might describe the world, specifically how can we describe the interactions between God’s sovereignty and man’s freedom and…
Rich Davis, “What’s Not Wrong with Jerry Walls’ Argument Against Calvinism”
In a guest post (here) on James Anderson’s blog Analogical Thoughts, Daniel Johnson, Associate Professor of Philosophy and co-editor of Calvinism and the Problem of Evil, claims that a invalid argument lies at the heart…
Joe Dongell and Jerry Walls Dismantle the Famous Churchill Analogy Used by Some Calvinists
Arminian scholars Joe Dongell and Jerry Walls respond to Calvinist scholar Bruce Ware’s use of an analogy involving Winston Churchill at a debate between Dongell and Walls (Arminian side) vs. Ware and Thomas Schreiner (Calvinist side)…
Jonathan Sheehan, “Teaching Calvin in California”
Please click on the link to view this opinion piece that appeared in The New York Times on 9/12/16 by a professor of history and a co-director of the Berkeley Center for the Study of…
Rich Davis, “Clary’s 10 Concerns”
In my “The ‘C’ in Calvinism?” (reproduced here), I set out three difficulties for Calvinistic choice. In his “Calvinism and Choice,” historical theologian Ian Clary lists ten points at which my thinking is in need…
Can God Love All People?
Calvinist John Piper answers the question he himself frames and thus poses: “Why can’t God eternally love those who don’t believe in Him?” (link) Is there not at least one obvious and inherent flaw in…
Calvinist Misconceptions: The Arminian View Of Man’s Fallen State
Calvinists often accuse Arminians of being Pelagian, or Semi-pelagian at best, when it comes to original sin and the depravity of man. And it’s no wonder, as many Calvinist websites paint quite an inaccurate picture…
Roger Olson, “Does God Love Everyone? Review of New Book about Calvinism and Arminianism”
Yesterday I was asked by bright, eager, young Christian student of theology to identify “the one major difference between Calvinism and Arminianism.” Without hesitation I identified it the way evangelical Arminian philosopher Jerry Walls does…
Rich Davis, “Calvinism’s Gospel Tautology”
Christians of every stripe agree that Christ’s substitutionary and atoning work on Calvary’s cross is marvelous beyond comprehension. It is an act of unspeakable mercy, condescension, and grace—on the human level, wholly unearned and uninitiated,…
Steve Sewell: Response to John Piper: “How Do Arminians Pray?”
John Piper video clip: How Do Arminians Pray? In Piper’s words, Arminians praying to God for someone’s salvation: “Arminians don’t believe that He has the right and authority and power to save anybody. Do they?…
Causal vs Social Centered Part VI: Security
So what is the debate about security really about? Well, there are two realms within which this debate takes place: pastoral and theological. So instead of looking at the two positions in succession, we’ll be…
Book Notice and Reviews: Jerry Walls, Does God Love Everyone?: The Heart of What’s Wrong with Calvinism
Jerry Walls has published Does God Love Everyone?: The Heart of What’s Wrong with Calvinism (Eugene: Cascade Books, 2016). Here is the book’s description at its page on Amazon: Does God truly love all persons? Most…
