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Calvinism

More On the Authorship of Sin

April 8, 2011 , JC_Thibodaux , No Comment

[Editor’s note: This post was originally posted at http://arminianperspectives.wordpress.com/, so any time references are no longer applicable.]

A few weeks ago I wrote on a fallacy common to Calvinist apologetics, namely, that they often claim that while they teach exhaustive determinism, they still claim that God isn’t the author of sin. It garnered substantially more responses than I expected. To clarify things and answer some common questions/objections, I’m putting together a synopsis of the relevant arguments (this is part 1).

Moral problems?

The Fallacies of Calvinist Apologetics

April 7, 2011 , JC_Thibodaux , No Comment

Related Fallacies:
Red Herring
Equivocation

“All I have tried to do here is show how clearly, succinctly and simply that Calvinism does NOT charge God with the authorship of sin and so (to employ the somewhat aggressive language of Scripture) to shut the mouths of the gainsayers. If any have a case against Calvinism, then let it be based on truth and not on falsehood and slander.” – Colin Maxwell, Do Calvinists believe and teach that God is the Author of Sin?

Colin Maxwell put up the page linked to above showing various quotes from prominent Calvinist sources indicating that they do not believe or teach that God is the author of sin. His point apparently, judging from the content and page’s title, is to stop non-Calvinists from ‘slandering’ them by claiming they teach such a thing.

Problems with this logic

The Fallacies of Calvinist Apologetics

March 30, 2011 , JC_Thibodaux , No Comment

Related Fallacies:
Oversimplification
Non-Sequitur
Slippery Slope

“The choices are not between Calvinism and Arminianism; it’s between Calvinism and universalism. Arminianism is a self-contradictory mess that can never defend itself.” – James White

This is a favorite rhetorical jab of many Calvinists, but is in fact one of the more obvious fallacies they often employ. The logic behind it is simple and can be summed up with the statement:

“If Christ’s death saves, and Christ died for everyone, then everyone would be saved.”

Seems pretty easy, right?

Problems with this logic

Turns out the simplicity of the argument is its weakness, because it masks a hidden difference in underlying assumptions. The critical distinction lies in the first part of the sentence, “…Christ’s death saves….”

The differences in viewpoint on atonement

Our Common Enemy

March 21, 2011 , , 1 Comment

I mentioned recently that Arminians and Calvinists are not enemies (even though there are people in both camps who at times disagree — or at least behave as though they disagree — with this statement).…

The Fallacies of Calvinist Apologetics

March 15, 2011 , JC_Thibodaux , No Comment

Related Fallacies:
Special Pleading (Double Standard)
Equivocation
Straw man

“Of course, this raises the question, why does their God save a person to damn him? Why not simply leave him in his unsaved state?” – Steve Hays, ‘Tender Mercies‘

To get a better view of this fallacy, let’s examine the author’s argument more fully from the analogy he gives:

Calvinist Air Safety

March 11, 2011 , SEA , Comment Closed

Some theological humor: Calvinist Air Safety

Calvinists Now Appealing to the Early Church as a Historical Witness?

March 4, 2011 , postpre , No Comment

This document looks through some common quotes from the Church fathers that some Calvinists have used to attempt to argue that an embryonic Calvinism existed in their thoughts. Unsurprisingly enough, a little context seems to…

Guard Your Thoughts Against Calvinism with CALVINIX!

February 21, 2011 , SEA , Comment Closed

For some good theological humor: http://tominthebox.blogspot.com/2007/02/guard-your-thoughts-against-calvinism.html.

John Goodwin Responds to John Owen and Other Calvinist Critics

February 15, 2011 , SEA , Comment Closed

This 1658 work is a lengthy rejoinder to multiple Calvinist rebuttals written against Goodwin’s Arminian magnum opus, Redemption Redeemed (1651). It includes response to John Owen’s critique. The book runs 515 pages. It has a…

Marc Monte on Limited Atonement

February 11, 2011 , postpre , No Comment

From a sermon delivered at his Church (Faith Baptist Church in Avon, Indiana) from 2004, Pastor Monte points out what he feels are inconsistencies in the Calvinist teaching of Limited Atonement: Update (5/9/18): Please note:…

Did You Catch the Calvinist Contradiction Alert?

February 10, 2011 , SEA , Comment Closed

Recently, we posted an analysis by one of our members (Robert) of a portion of Justin Taylor’s interview of Calvinist scholar, John Feinberg, about his book Ethics for a Brave New World. In that analysis,…

Roger Olson, Review of Whosoever Will: A Biblical-Theological Critique of Five-Point Calvinism

February 8, 2011 , SEA , Comment Closed

Roger Olson, Review of Whosoever Will: A Biblical-Theological Critique of Five-Point Calvinism, at the “Baptist Theology” website.

Orthodox Christian Matthew Gallatin on Eastern vs. Western Thinking

January 28, 2011 , postpre , No Comment

In the following YouTube video Matthew Gallatin, of Ancient Faith Radio, highlights the differences between Eastern and Western perceptions about God.

Jack Cottrell: Election, Calvinism, and the Bible

January 26, 2011 , Kevin Jackson , No Comment

This was a two part essay posted on facebook by theologian Jack Cottrell. The original posts can be found here: part1,part2. Dr. Cottrell has graciously permitted us to post it here at SEA for our…

Eight [Silly] Reasons Why Calvinists Believe in Evangelism

January 24, 2011 , Matthew Murphy , No Comment

Please click the attachment to view “Eight [Silly] Reasons Why Calvinists Believe in Evangelism”. Eight Silly Reasons

“When in Rome” and Irresistible Grace

January 21, 2011 , Kevin Jackson , No Comment

I recently saw the movie When In Rome. What’s fascinating about the movie is that the plot bears a lot of similarity to the Calvinistic concept of irresistible grace. [Warning, spoilers ahead] In the movie,…

Questions for Calvinists

January 20, 2011 , Kevin Jackson , No Comment

by Kevin Jackson Here are some questions for Calvinists. Most of these have to do with God’s character. These are genuine questions that I as an Arminian haven’t heard good answers for, and help explain…

The Meaning of “World” in First John

January 19, 2011 , Kevin Jackson , No Comment

The letter of First John makes several direct references to the universality of Jesus’ atonement.

He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world. (1 John 2:2 NIV – bold mine)

And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. -1 John 4:14

In these passages John states that Jesus atoned for the sins of the whole world, and came to be Savior of the the world. The Greek word for world is kosmos. The English word “cosmos” is derived from this word.

Calvinists sometimes assert that kosmos in the context of John’s letter is limited to “to elect individuals from all nations”. The problem is that this interpretation is not applied consistently. And it does not make sense in context of how John uses the word elsewhere in the letter.

James White on Romans 9

January 13, 2011 , Godismyjudge , No Comment

I recently listened to James White’s explanation of Romans 9. I was surprised by his technique. He did very little explaining of the scripture, or showing the connection between the text and Calvinism. Rather, he…

God and the Miners

January 12, 2011 , , No Comment

As reported by CNN International, all 33 of the Chilean miners were rescued from their desperate plight. Most of the survivors were released from the hospital yesterday afternoon, 14 October 2010. This event reminded me…