A common question that Calvinists pose to the Arminian is “If Jesus died for all, then why aren’t all saved?” John Owen popularised this argument with his “triple dilemma” or “triple choice” where he said…
Calvinism
Review of “Calvinism in the Las Vegas Airport”
The motivation for this book is an attempt to recognize the way in which Calvinism connects with non-Calvinists, and why those who *are* Calvinists, do not run away in horror, but zealously embrace its theology.…
Is There Trauma in Sovereignty? A Response to James Swan by Brennon Hartshorn
Arminians and other Libertarians are concerned with determinism, the proposition that all of our actions are made necessary by God in some way. We are concerned because determinism seems to make God the author of sin.
The compatibilist wants to show that we can still be free and responsible for our own actions and they can be determined. David Hume, a skeptic philosopher, tried to show this is the case on a naturalistic framework. Theist determinists adopt some of Hume’s arguments and augment them in order to argue that it is possible that all our actions have been pre-determined, but we freely do those actions and are therefore responsible for them. There have also been other attempts at trying to show that this is possible.
Provisional Atonement Part 3: The Integrity and Justice of God in the Gospel Offer
In this post we will defend the premise that only a universal provisional atonement view can maintain the integrity of God in the gospel offer and the universal command to repent. The Bible is clear…
Infralapsarian (Moderate) Calvinism’s Doctrine of Unconditional Election
from The Arminian site. Did God create some souls for hell and others for heaven, as John Calvin1 insisted? Calvinist C. H. Spurgeon, quoted from Kenneth D. Keathley, Professor of Theology and Dean of Graduate…
Conflating Arminianism and Secularism
Calvinist Southern Baptist pastor Mark E. Dever, having reviewed Richard A. Muller’s 1991 book, God, Creation, and Providence in the Thought of Jacob Arminius, notes, in his concluding remarks: Personally, as a pastor with Reformed…
Calvinism and Arminianism Compared
In 1824, James Nichols wrote a two volume book called: Calvinism and Arminianism Compared in Their Principles and Tendency. In his Introduction he states that Arminianism has “been frequently (and I may add purposely) misrepresented…
Does the Atonement Actually Save Anyone?
Calvinist James White insists that the message Christians should give to the lost is that Jesus does not “merely try” to save them but that He “saves them perfectly” (Youtube video link, beginning at 28:15).…
Addressing a Boettner Quote About Limited Atonement
If you surf the Calvinist blogoshpere, you will have probably seen the following quote by Loraine Boettner. It it is frequently used to argue for Limited Atonement: “Let there be no misunderstanding at this point.…
Arminianism vs. Calvinism: The FACTS vs. TULIP Acronyms
One of the most frustrating aspects of the Arminian and Calvinist debate is the amount of misunderstanding that goes on about the two positions. We have found that caricatures of both sides seem to be more common than honest descriptions. This site has been devoted to bringing clarity as to what defines the Arminian position, and promoting the position while being fair to Calvinism.
We have just set up a new primary link that gives a detailed comparison between the Arminian and Calvinist sides. You will find it under An Outline of the FACTS of Arminianism vs. the TULIP of Calvinism
Friday Files: Audio File of Dr. Pinson on the Albert Mohler Show
On SEA’s links and books page, there is an interview with Drs. Matt Pinson and Mark Dever discussing Calvin and Calvinism (link). The moderator is a Calvinist and it shows at times, but overall he…
A Fatal Flaw in Calvinism
“The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but those things which are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.” (Deuteronomy 29:29)…
A Brief Quid Pro Quo: What is Right about Calvinism
Since I spend so much time expounding upon what I find wrong in Calvinism, I thought I would briefly survey what I find right in Calvinism. This will be my brief quid pro quo —…
Messianic Jew David Stern and the Security of the Believer
Article compiled by Steve Witzki. Below is the intro, click on the PDF link for the complete article. “David Stern is a Messianic Jew who believes that Yeshua (Jesus) is the Messiah. He has written…
Church History vs. Calvinism (Part Two)
Emperor Constantine (AD 272-337), according to Laurence M. Vance,
- became the sole ruler of the Western branch of the Roman empire after defeating Maxentius (c. 283-312) at the famous Battle of the Mulvian Bridge, near Rome, in 312. It was here that Constantine claimed to have seen a vision of a shining cross that led to his victory. . . .
After supposedly attributing his victory to the “Christian God,” Constantine joined with Licinius (c. 265-325), one of the emperors of the East, in issuing in 313, at Milan, a decree of toleration toward Christianity.1
By this time, the marriage of the Church to the state would be her downfall. Thus, in many cases, the redeemed sat alongside the unredeemed in every church service. Theodosius, Constantine’s successor, by AD 381, proclaimed to all people that they “steadfastly adhere to the religion which was taught by St. Peter to the Romans, which has been faithfully preserved by tradition.”2
Church History vs. Calvinism (Part One)
To say that any semblance of a Calvinistic framework is entirely absent from the teachings of the early Church fathers, as will become evident shortly, is an understatement. Ironically enough, however, John Calvin was not…
Ironside on Calvinism
Taken from: http://www.thebereancall.org/node/8145 Ironside on Calvinism “Turn to your Bible and read for yourself in the only two chapters in which this word predestinate or predestinated is found. The first is Romans 8:29-30, the other…
Some Basic Thoughts on “Decisional Regeneration” From an Arminian Perspective
Someone asked a while back in the comments thread to one of my blog posts what I thought of “Decisional Regeneration”. Since this is a rather new label being thrown around mostly by Calvinists in a seeming attempt to mock a view of salvation conditioned by faith, it is important to address. Rather than write a new post I will just quote my initial response to the question below:
- I think “decisional regeneration” is a hard phrase to pin down and is just thrown around as a slander by Calvinists towards those who do not believe that regeneration precedes faith or that regeneration is irresistibly and unconditionally given to the “elect” alone. But there can be much more to it and so I wanted to be clear as to what your specific concern was.
The Calvinist Dictionary (Satire)
A dictionary to help Arminians better understand Calvinist terminology.
(Don’t take this too seriously, this is meant in good fun)
All: The elect
Altar Call: An insult to God
Arminianism: Man centered theology
Assurance: hoping that you’re elect
Augustine: The first church father.
Calvinism: The gospel
Call (effectual): to be irresistibly dragged
Call (general): God’s justification to condemn the reprobate.
An Apparently Not so Brief Response to C. Michael Patton on Rom. 9
Below is a response to C. Michael Patton from my site. It has been slightly edited for publication here. I wrote a lengthy response to C. Michael Patton’s post on Rom. 9 entitled “Why Doe…
Recent Posts
William Burt Pope, “The Moral Attributes of God Part 3: Righteousness/Justice”
Simon Peter Sutherland, “Calvinistic Determinism Refuted”
H. Wayne Johnson, “Disappointed with God’s Sovereignty? You May Need a Dose of Kingdom Eschatology”
Roy Ingle, “But I Want To Sin”
