Abstract: This second installment [you can see the first one here] examines how early Methodists understood Methodism as an eschatological movement, called to help usher in the millennium through the proclamation of salvation and holiness.…
Edwards, Jonathan
Jonathan Edwards and George Whitefield: Slaveholding and Calvinism
Asking someone to define Jonathan Edwards’ historical and theological legacy can vary from person to person. There is no denying that Edwards was a towering force of intellectual influence in his day. Sadly our…
The Folly of Doing Theology in an Echo Chamber: A Thorough Examination of Piper’s “Two-Wills” View (Part 25)
[StriderMTB’s lengthy article, “The Folly of Doing Theology in an Echo Chamber: A Thorough Examination of Piper’s ‘Two-Wills’ View,” has been divided into 30 parts and edited for serial publication on this website. Here is…
The Folly of Doing Theology in an Echo Chamber: A Thorough Examination of Piper’s “Two-Wills” View (Part 24)
[StriderMTB’s lengthy article, “The Folly of Doing Theology in an Echo Chamber: A Thorough Examination of Piper’s ‘Two-Wills’ View,” has been divided into 30 parts and edited for serial publication on this website. Here is…
Roger Olson, “Again with ‘Good God’ and Calvinism”
Throughout the years of this blog (and before and outside of it) I have wrestled with people objecting most strenuously to my contention that true, historical, consistent Calvinism undermines the goodness of God. If God foreordains…
Book Review: Free Will Revisited by Robert Picirilli
Opening my inbox, I saw an email that caused me to pause. The subject line was Arminian Theology and the author was Robert Picirilli. Expecting anything but an email from the noted theologian of that name, I clicked…
A Letter to Dr. R. C. Sproul Sr. by John Wagner
SEA member John Wagner recently sent a letter to Dr. R. C. Sproul Sr. in response to issues with Sproul’s well-known book Chosen By God. Here is the letter: JohnWagner_LetterTo_RCSproul
Ben Witherington and Roger Olson, “Roger Olson’s Arminian Theology – Part 13”
BEN: Jonathan Edwards in his Freedom of the Will argues that there is no compulsion or coercion involved, only predetermination when it comes to human choosing. People choose according to their desires and will and…
Rich Davis, “The “C” in Calvinism?”
In 2009 Time magazine ran a story entitled “10 Ideas Changing the World Right Now” (Thursday, March 12). Not surprisingly, the top two spots were occupied by new trend setting thinking on career/workplace and life…
Murray Vasser, “Jonathan Edwards vs. John Piper: A Critique of *Does God Desire All to Be Saved*”
According to a recent article from the Huffington Post, former evangelical pastor Rob Bell gave the following answer when asked if he was a universalist: “I have no idea what people mean. That just seems…
Roger Olson, “The ‘Chief End of Man’…God’s Glory…Yes and Amen (But…)”
Recently I re-read Jonathan Edwards “Dissertation on the End for Which God Created the World.” And I watched and listened to John Piper’s address about why the evangelical church needs Edwards’ “God-entranced vision” today. (It’s…
Roger Olson, “John Piper, Jonathan Edwards, Austin Fischer, and God”
So, John Piper has now responded to Austin Fischer’s book “Young, Restless, No Longer Reformed” (Wipf & Stock, 2013). (For those of you who don’t know, Austin is Teaching Pastor at The Vista Community in…
Austin Fischer’s Response to John Piper’s Criticism of His Book about Leaving Calvinism
I wake up this morning to find John Piper has posted a video with some thoughts on my book. [Full disclosure: if you’ve read the book, you know Piper had a huge impact on my…
James Beilby, “DIVINE ASEITY, DIVINE FREEDOM: A CONCEPTUAL PROBLEM FOR EDWARDSIAN-CALVINISM”
Please click on the attachment to view James Beilby, “DIVINE ASEITY, DIVINE FREEDOM: A CONCEPTUAL PROBLEM FOR EDWARDSIAN-CALVINISM”, Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 47/4 (December 2004) 647–58.
Wesley as a Happy Puritan
Wesley as a Happy Puritan written by Dr. Fred Sanders Although not a member of SEA, Dr. Fred Sanders draws some interesting parallels between Wesley and Jonathan Edwards and John Owen as well as J.I.…
Refutation of Jonathan Edwards
Following up on Roger Olson’s post about Jonathan Edwards, I would like to draw attention to some resources we have that refute Edwards’ influential Calvinistic views on free will. First, we have a list of…
Why is Jonathan Edwards considered so great?
WHY IS JONATHAN EDWARDS CONSIDERED SO GREAT? by Roger E Olson, PhD I know. I’m almost committing blasphemy by questioning Jonathan Edwards’ greatness. I wouldn’t be doing it except there seems to be a kind…
Book Review: Whedon’s Freedom of the Will
John Wagner recently edited and republished Daniel Whedon’s Freedom of the Will: A Wesleyan response to Jonathan Edwards. The book is an outstanding refutation of Edward’s Inquiry into the Will. Whedon seeks and engages top authors and arguments like Hobbs’ argument (later adopted by Locke and Edwards) that free will is incoherent, because it either amounts to a causeless cause or infinite regression of causes. Whedon responds by pointing out 1) the will is the cause of choice (74); 2) defining indeterministic causes (38-39); and 3) explaining that indeterministic causes account for either choice (71-72). In other words, indeterministic causes explain the goal of our choices (or reason for our choices), but the will is the cause we choose this goal, not that goal. This is essentially agent causation.
Refuting Edwards and Calvinist Compatibilism and Arguments against Genuine Free Will
We have recently added a few book length resources that advance the Arminian view of free will and take on Calvinist arguments against genuine free will, especially the view that has become the dominant view…
The Lazy Man’s Guide to Refuting Edwards and Compatibilism
Recently we posted a list of resources that refute Jonathan Edwards and Calvinistic compatibilism and defend genuine free will (http://evangelicalarminians.org/refuting-edwards-and-calvinist-compatibilism-and-arguments-against-genuine-free-will/). Some of them are pretty hefty. So if you would like to get to the…