One of Jesus’ best known parables is the story of “The Prodigal Son” (Luke 15:11-32). The parable is particularly relevant to Arminian theology. It shows the extent of freedom that God gives to his children.…
Character of God
God and the Miners
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…
A Good Analogy to the ULI of TULIP
by Roger Olson Arminian scholar William Klein provides this analogy to help understand the difference between classical, high Calvinist soteriology and Arminian soteriology (posted here with his permission): Possible Analogy for ‘the biblical doctrine of…
For God so Loved the World
Merry Christmas all. This post was first published by Dr. Olson on the 8th of Decemeber, hence it being an “Advent Meditation”. However, we felt that it was such a wonderful expression of God’s love through Christ that it would be perfect for Christmas day:
by Roger E. Olson
For God so loved the world . . . that He couldn’t stay away. Yes, to academics and scholars it sounds simplistic and even smacks of folk religion. But if you strip from it any connotation of God being “lonely” or absent it’s an apt statement of the gospel itself. And it nicely expresses the essence of Arminian theology: that God’s love for the whole world demonstrated in the incarnation and cross stands at the center of theology as its critical principle.
For God So Loved the World?
I was asked the following question by a Calvinistic Christian and want to answer his question in the following post. My initial argument was that for Calvinism, at least with regard to the doctrine of Unconditional Election, an explanation must be given how God is displaying His love towards those whom He has not unconditionally elected unto salvation. I insist that Calvinism dishonors God’s character in this regard, and was asked “why” or “how so” by this individual. I was also asked to demonstrate my answer from Scripture.
Dealing With a Dealt-With Deal: An Overview of the Author of Sin Controversy
Even though many of us Arminian e-pologists (as we are affectionately known) have dealt with this issue (see here, and here, and here, and here, and here, and here, and here, and here, and here, and here, and here), it is still…
John Piper on the Relationship between God’s Sovereignty and Tragedy
John Piper was asked by Cathy Grossman, from USA Today, what he would tell the children who lost their parents on 9/11. She understood Piper to be suggesting that a victim should concentrate on the…
In Defense of Resistible Grace to Retain the Goodness of God
To Calvinists, God’s grace is irresistible. This follows naturally in their entire scheme of salvation by logical necessity. It is a point that must stand or the system falls. If God has not made His…
Gerald Owens, The Incarnation as Divine Self-Defintion
Fundamentally, salvation is very simple. In 1 John 4:14-15 we read:
14 And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. 15 If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and he in God.[NIV]
This central claim of Christianity is the most controversial: that a man who looked like everyone else and had a body just like everyone else’s that died like everyone else’s, was God. To deny that claim it is to depart from Orthodoxy Christianity as seen by both Calvinists and Arminians. However, its implications call into question some of the core assumptions of Calvinism, for what definition of God permits Jesus to be God?
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…
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…
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…
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 Farmer, the Boys, and the Pond
In his book “Chosen but Free“, Dr. Norman Geisler* gives an illustration that vividly explains the problem with the Calvinistic teaching of Limited Atonement. Here is a paraphrase of the story: There was a farmer…
Necessity of the Divine Will
Everything is about God in one way shape or form. So my biggest problem with Edwards’ arguments regards the nature of God. Outline of Edwards’ Arguments About the Necessity of God’s Will – Part IV.VII…
I John 4:20-21; A Devotional
If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. 21…
The Love of God and Calvinism’s Election (Part Two)
On the heels of my recent post, I am still vying for the universality of the love of God for all people. Again, Fritz Guy writes, “If the preeminent characteristic of God is love, and…
Essay on Ephesians 2.1-10
I. Grace Is Essential Because Sinners Are In A “Dead” State Of Mind. (2:1-3) The Greek text of Ephesians 2:1 begins with, Kai hymas ontas nekros, literally, “and you were dead.” The New King James…
Theology and the Slave Trade
I was recently reading the blog Ancient Christian Defender. The author Jnorm888 had a provocative post entitled Was Jonathan Edwards a racist? It is a well known fact that Edwards was a proponent of slavery,…
Recent Posts
How Do You Deal with the Limited Atonement Argument that If Jesus Paid the Penalty for All, Then People Sent to Hell Would Be Paying the Penalty a Second Time?
Roy Ingle, “Preach Perseverance”
X-Calvinist Corner Files: Testimony # 41
Richard Coords, “Regeneration”
