We are excited to have added two articles by Thomas McCall, assistant professor of Biblical and systematic theology at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, which critique John Piper’s theology of God’s sovereignty.
Calvinism
Do Calvinists Read the Same Bible?
Here is an exchange that took place in our private discussion group (edited a bit): One SEA member said: I read the following during my daily reading time today. FIRST: David was being pursued by…
The Jealousy of God and Calvinism
Do not worship any other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God. –Exodus 34:14 A disturbing aspect of Calvinism is how it does damage to God’s character. By improperly defining…
The Calvinists Who Became Arminians at Dort
One of the fascinating facts of history is the “conversion” to Arminianism of several of the Calvinists who participated in the proceedings at the Synod of Dort. Below are accounts of three Calvinists, two whom changed their views during the actual proceedings, and one who had already changed his opinion prior.
Two New Audio Resources Added to Links and Books
We have added two new audio resources to Links and Books.
John Calvin on Limiting Our Understanding of God to His Self-revelation in Scripture
“Let us beware lest our words and thoughts go beyond what the Word of God tells us…We must leave to God His own knowledge,…and conceive Him as He makes Himself known to us, without attempting…
Is the “New Heart” of Ezekiel 36:26-27 a Reference to Regeneration Preceding Faith?
Calvinists will often quote Ezekiel 36:26-27 as a proof text for regeneration preceding faith. The Calvinist doctrine insists that one must be given a new heart before that person can believe the gospel. For that…
Gerald Owens, “Defining” God
How does one define God? For both Arminians and Calvinists, God is defined by how he saves. Calvinists emphasize God’s sovereignty by way of his power and right to save and damn, while Arminians emphasize…
Why Is Calvin Controversial?
Doug Wilson, Mark Talbot, and Sam Storms are three speakers at the upcoming Desiring God conference, and each answer the question, “Why was Calvin controversial?”
I’ll admit, I was stunned by these three interviews. I think that the problem is that they were each presented with a complex question, and simply shot from the hip. The result was quite astounding.
Doug Wilson posits: “Calvin is associated with so much controversy because he was a good man and a faithful servant.”
If you asked the current Watchtower, Mormon or Seventh Day Adventist leadership about why their cult leaders were controversial, would you expect them to answer differently?
Dilemmas of Calvinism
Some problems with Calvinism based on the book, The Five Dilemmas of Calvinism by Calvinist Craig. R. Brown: First, the chapter on Responsibility emphasizes that God decrees everything, controls everything and is the primary cause…
Calvinist Justice
Calvinist Justice Some time ago a Calvinist made a parody of the song “Amazing Grace,” called “Arminian grace,” where the Calvinist confuses Arminianism with Pelagianism. It can be found here. Here is an attempt to…
Church History and Calvinism
The attached article (below) complements the post by Godismyjudge entitled Prereformation Church History & the Arminian/Calvinist Debate in showing that Arminianism not only has strong historical precedent in Christian history, but actually has far greater…
Prereformation Church History & the Calvinist/Arminian Debate
Calivinists have a rich heritage – one that they can be proud of. It’s unquestionable that Augustine, many of the Reformers and Puritans, held Calvinist ideas. But after reading Boettner’s introduction of the Reformed Doctrine…
Does God Fail if We Resist?
Hodge’s first argument1 against resistible grace is: P1: God, being infinite, cannot fail in any of His “serious intentions” P2: God ordains all things according to His purpose P3: If God wants His grace to…
Friday Files: Laurence Vance, “A Critique of The Potter’s Freedom by James White”
Laurence Vance’s article A CRITIQUE OF THE POTTER’S FREEDOM by James White identifies, catalogues and handles White’s rhetoric in favor of Calvinism. While the focus of the article is on rhetoric, Vance does make some…
The Funniest Anti-Arminian Post I Have Ever Seen
OK, this post by Triablogue is so absolutely ridiculous that I find it comical and wanted to share it. Here Steve Hays actually tries to claim that Arminianism is a form of Manichaeism . Wow. Just wow. For those not familiar with what Manichaeism is, let me say that this would be akin to Michael Moore calling Republicans Communist. Seriously.
Dort, Synod of
Dort, Synod of (SYNODUS DORDRACENA), a national synod of the United Provinces, held at Dort (Dordrecht; Lat. Dordracum) in 1618-19. I. Origin of the Synod. — The opposition of James Arminius to the Augustinian and…
The Apostle John’s World
Recently, I have found myself focusing on the effects of a word or two, sovereignty and dominion being the last foray. Today the word world comes into play. It is a long disputed term, used…
The Calvinistic Hermeneutic, Opposed
Calvinism’s view of the sovereignty of God is its hermeneutical grid by which the rest of the Bible is interpreted. As Silva writes, “The God who controls the events of history is the God who interprets those events in Scripture . . .”1 He cites 1 Kings 12:15 as a proof text to support his thesis: “So the king did not listen to the people, for this turn of events was from the LORD, to fulfill the word the LORD had spoken to Jeroboam.” Thus, for the Calvinist, everything that happens in the earth was meticulously predetermined by God’s causative, unchangeable will. And somehow, God is not responsible for all that he brings about.
The Calvinistic Hermeneutic, Stated
Hermeneutics is “the discipline that studies the theory, principles, and methods used to interpret texts, especially ancient ones such as the sacred Scriptures. Traditional hermeneutics focuses primarily on the discovery of the historical meaning as intended by the author and understood by the original audience.”1 Thus a Calvinistic hermeneutic is the discipline that studies the theory, principles, and methods which Calvinists use to interpret the Bible.
Recent Posts
Richard Coords, “2 Kings 20:1-7”
Simon Peter Sutherland, “A 20th century revival of 17th century Tulip Mania”
Roy Ingle, “How Easy It Is to Swerve From the Faith”
Video: David Pallmann, “Introduction to Soteriology: Calvinism, Arminianism, and Molinism”
