Follow the link to view part 1 of distinguished NT scholar Scot McKnight’s review of the books For Calvinism (by Michael Horton) and Against Calvinism (by Roger Olson): “For and Against Calvinism 1”.
Author/Scholar Index: Calvinist
J.I. Packer and Arminianism
by Roger Olson
Today I received an e-mail from a reader who asked why I didn’t mention J. I. Packer in either Arminian Theology: Myths and Realities or Against Calvinism. That’s a good question. I didn’t, so now I will.
To the best of my knowledge, the only lengthy, detailed treatment of Arminianism in print by Packer was his Introduction to John Owen’s The Death of Death in the Death of Christ in A Quest for Godliness. It may be found at this web address. There Packer, a Calvinist, completely misrepresents Arminianism. It’s truly shocking how distorted his understanding of Arminianism was then. I don’t know if it’s improved since then or not.
For example, there he wrote that:
SEA Member Nelson Banuchi Responds To Michael C. Patton On Dr. Olson
Calvinist Michael Patton recently wrote an article in reaction to some of Roger Olson’s rhetoric against Calvinism. Olson has stated: “The God of Calvinism scares me; I’m not sure how to distinguish him from the devil.” Despite the fact the Olson specifically states else where that he believes that Calvinism is Christian, and despite the subjective caveats that Olson places even within that sentence, Patton and others have reacted very strongly what they believe is an Arminian claiming that Calvinists worship another god. Instead of submitting to my impulse to say, “welcome to our world”, I instead wish to highlight a comment that one of our members, Nelson Banuchi, posted on Patton’s blog:
“I can understand Patton’s concern, however, I think he is blowing it up a bit.
James White, Roger Olson & 1 Timothy 2:4
In a recent blog post (10/13/2011), James White took issue with Roger Olson’s references to 1 Timothy 2:4 in his new book, Against Calvinism. How does White’s view stand up when further scrutinized?
Interview with Ken Stewart by Derek Ouellette
Earlier in the year a book was released by Ken Stewart titled ‘Ten Myths About Calvinism‘. It’s a fantastic read which will be shelved in my library right next to Roger Olson’s ‘Arminian Theology: Myths…
Lots of Talk about Angry Calvinists Going On
There seems to be lots of talk about angry Calvinists going on, with Calvinist leaders recognizing that there seems to be a problem with anger/rudeness/harshness/incivility etc. particularly among Calvinists. Here are 2 posts on this:…
Russell Moore, “Dungeons and Dragons and Debating Calvinism”
Some good comments from Calvinist scholar, Russell Moore, who is the Dean of Theology at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary: “Dungeons and Dragons and Debating Calvinism” Follow the link: http://www.christianity.com/blogs/russellmoore/11656252/
What I Mean When I Say I am “Against Calvinism”
by Roger Olson I know I’ve talked about this before here, but many of my subscribers and readers are new since then. So, before my book Against Calvinism comes out about one month from now…
Does Erwin Lutzer Offer False Hope to Calvinist Parents?
I hope to do a few posts on Erwin Lutzer’s [1] book, The Doctrines That Divide: A Fresh Look at the Historic Doctrines That Separate Christians. One might expect that such a book would look…
Bavinck on God’s Sovereignty
Sovereignty typically means authority or right. Both Calvinists and Arminians agree that God is sovereign in all He does, so He has the authority to do what He does. Period. The End. But wait!!! In…
Justin Taylor, Ardel Caneday, and the New (Gnostic) Calvinism
Gnosticism, according to Patheos, refers to “a philosophical and religious movement in the Greco-Roman world that claimed that the path to salvation is through secret knowledge.” Gnostic tendencies among some professing believers began in the…
Some Wise Words of Caution from John Piper to the Young, Restless, & Reformed that Can Be Applied to the Young, Alarmed, and Arminian
Am I recommending some comments by staunch Calvinist John Piper? Yes indeed. I disagree vehemently with him about Calvinism and Arminianism, but count him as a brother in Christ, an erudite Christian scholar, and a…
Assuming Determinism to Disprove Free Will
Phil Johnson of John MacArthur’s Grace to You has authored a post entitled “The Problem for Arminians”. Quoting Phil:
If God knows every detail of the future with infallible certainty, then (by definition) the outcome of all things is already determined. And if things are predetermined but God did not ordain whatsoever comes to pass, then you have two choices:
1. A higher sovereignty belongs to some being (or beings) other than God. That is idolatry.
2. Some impersonal force did the determining. That is fatalism.
The Fallacies of Calvinist Apologetics – Fallacy #9: Faith is Some Reason to Boast?
Original post Related fallacies: Pettifoggery Category Mistake A charge typically leveled by Calvinists is that Christians who don’t believe in irresistible grace would have some reason to boast in their faith. John Hendryx concisely expresses…
A Slightly Less Quick Response
Alan Kurschner recently made a response to my reply to his “question” last week. I first I hesitated on whether or not to reply, since I found his response to be, well, silly. However, there…
Paul Washer’s – “Doctrine” of Election: An Arminian Critique
I have been frequently referred to Paul Washer’s video discussion, “Doctrine” of Election. I found the video transcript and decided it would be beneficial to interact with this apparently influential accounting of Calvinist election. The…
A Quick Response To A Bad Question
Normally, we do not like to respond to poorly-articulated Anti-Arminian arguments when they come up, even when presented by respected scholars or writers, because a) there are sadly too many of them; and b) we…
Eric Holmberg, “Truly Reformed . . . and Truly Wrong”
Eric Holmberg is a convinced and serious Calvinist who produced the Calvinist documentary “Amazing Grace.” In this article, he corrects Calvinists who write Arminians “off as necessarily ill-informed, stupid, deceived, heretical – or worse unredeemed.” Readers should be wary of Holmberg’s affirmations of Calvinist theology.
Calvinism and Harold Camping
Harold Camping, the fellow who’s teaching that the world will end on May 21, 2011, comes from a staunchly Calvinist background. This, of course, doesn’t prove that Calvinism is wrong, only that one of its…
John Piper: Are There Two Wills in God? A Response
John Piper’s chapter, “Are There Two Wills in God?”, found on his website Desiring God, and in the book Still Sovereign: Contemporary Perspectives on Election, Foreknowledge, and Grace (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2000), seeks to…
Recent Posts
William Burt Pope’s Introduction to the Doctrine of Salvation and His Treatment of the Role of the Holy Spirit in It
Richard Coords, “Works”
How Does Arminianism Respond to Calvinism’s Deterministic Claims and Its Appeal to Texts that Seem to Suggest God Ordains Evil?
Steve Lemke on How Jesus’ Encounter with the Rich Young Ruler Implies Grace Is Resistible
