JOHN WESLEY’S VIEW OF MAN: VERSUS FREE WILL
From the Wesleyan Theological Journal
Irwin W. Reist, Th. M., S. T. D. (candidate)
Associate Professor, Bible and Theology, Houghton College
I. INTRODUCTION: THE IMPORTANCE OF MAN FOR THEOLOGY
Depravity
John Wesley On the Origins of Evil
John Wesley On the Origins of Evil
From the Wesleyan Theological Journal
Barry E. Bryant
One of the more important questions ever confronted by Christian theologians has been how to reconcile the idea that God is loving, good, and just with the presence of evil in the world. The Greek Epicurus summarized the issue well when he asked, “What is the cause of evil?” In answering this question he concluded:
God. . . either wished to take away evils, and is unable; or He is able, and is unwilling; or He is neither willing nor able, or He is both willing and able, which alone is suitable to God, from what source then are evils? or why does He not remove them?2
JOHN WESLEY AND JONATHAN EDWARDS ON RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS
JOHN WESLEY AND JONATHAN EDWARDS ON RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE:
A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS
From the Wesleyan Theological Journal
Robert Doyle Smith
Introduction
The tone of the eighteenth-century debate between Arminians and Calvinists finds apt description in John Wesley’s observation that to say, “This man is an Arminian,” was, to some, much the same thing as saying, “This man is a mad dog.”1
BIBLICAL CONCEPTS OF SIN
BIBLICAL CONCEPTS OF SIN From the Wesleyan Theological Journal KENNETH KINGHORN, Ph.D. There is no precise biblical definition of sin. The Bible is concerned more with the remedy for sin than with a definition of…
What Can The Dead in Sin Do?
Calvinists love to point out that we are dead in sin. That we are dead in sin prior to conversion cannot be denied (Eph. 2:1, 5; Col. 2:13); the question has to do with what it means to be dead in sin.
Calvinist are fond of comparing spiritual death to physical death. This gives them the framework with which to press their theological conviction that regeneration precedes faith. If being dead in sin means that we are as helpless as physical corpses then we are told that we certainly can no more “hear” the gospel or “see” our need for Christ than a physical corpse can hear or see. But is there any justification for such a strict parallel between the spiritual and the physical?
Made in the Image of God
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. – Genesis 1:27 AV What does it mean for us to have been…
Wilbur Fisk, “Moral Agency and Accountability”
The following article was taken from http://revivaltheology.gharvest.com/1_cal_arm/fisk08.html Moral Agency and Accountability by The Rev. Wilbur Fisk, D. D. (This essay comes from Chapter 9 of Fisk’s book “Calvinistic Controversy: Embracing a Sermon on Predestination and…
Does Jesus Teach That Regeneration Precedes Faith In John 3:3, 6?
The content of this post was authored by Ben Henshaw and is posted on his behalf. Probably the favorite Calvinist proof text for their doctrine of irresistible regeneration is John 3:3, 6. Here Jesus directly…
Fletcher on Being “Dead in Sin” Part 2
The content of this post was authored by Ben Henshaw and is posted on his behalf. Fletcher demonstrated that the Scriptures use the word “dead” in more than one way, and to understand the term…
John Fletcher on Being “Dead in Sin”
The content of this post was authored by Ben Henshaw and is posted on his behalf. In my interactions with Calvinists the conversation always seems to go back to their conception of being dead in…
Are Arminians Semi-Pelagian?
Calling Arminians Pelagian or Semi-Pelagian is somewhat of a tradition within Calvinism. The Synod of Dort repeatedly did so, clearing the path for generations to come. I recently completed a study on John Owen’s book…
Eric Landstrom, Semi-Pelagian or Semi-Augustinian?
The term “Semi-Pelagian” is often bandied about by laymen as a summary term that is descriptive of those persons who follow in the Arminian and Wesleyan theological traditions. AA. Hodge defined the term, stating: Semi-Pelagianism…
Answering Greg Elmquist’s “Four Unanswerable Questions”
The content of this post was authored by J.C. Thibodaux and is posted on his behalf. I came across a writing some time back by Pastor Greg Elmquist called, ‘Four Unanswerable Questions,’ which I’ve seen…
Eric Landstrom, Adam’s Fall from Grace in the Eastern-Wesleyan Tradition
It is not within our capacity to say anything about God beyond what he has revealed to us. Sometimes it is best to step away from our presuppositions that we proof-text with the Bible and…
Regeneration Precedes Faith, and Faith is the Gift of God?
In his book How to Be Born Again, Billy Graham states, “Jesus said that God can change men and women from the inside out. It was a challenge -a command. He didn’t say, ‘It would…
Eric Landstrom, What Are Those Arminians Thinking?
How does your perception of what is and is not Arminian theology dovetail into the following true story that relates to mans’ sin nature? The great Wesley scholar, Albert Outler was once giving a lecture…
Robert Picirilli, “Salvation by Faith, Applied”
Please click on the link to view Robert Picirilli, “Salvation by Faith, Applied.”
The Nature of Saving Faith
The subject of this post is to define faith from an Arminian perspective and demonstrate that the Calvinist charge that faith within the Arminian system would promote boasting, is inaccurate. Saving faith, when Biblically understood,…
