John Piper video clip: How Do Arminians Pray? In Piper’s words, Arminians praying to God for someone’s salvation: “Arminians don’t believe that He has the right and authority and power to save anybody. Do they?…
Determinism
Steve Sewell, “Does Compatibilism Make Sense?”
My definition of “Compatibilism” : A desperate attempt by Calvinists to exonerate God of evil doing. Calvinists believe that God has predetermined all things, that all things happen in the world — including all sin…
The Practical Implications of Free Will
In the follow-up post to “A Beginner’s Guide to ‘Free Will’,” entitled “Six Practical Reasons ‘Free Will’ Matters,” John Piper expounds upon the practicality of Free Will. After all, he states, “It is a great…
A Beginner’s Guide to Free Will
Free Will regards the ability to make choices — choices that were not necessitated and brought into reality by a proactive and eternal decree of God — choices that lead to belief systems resulting in…
Arminian Theology Superior to Calvinism Regarding God’s Decrees
[Editor’s note: While SEA vigorously opposes supralapsarianism, it does not question whether supralapsarian Calvinists worship the God of the Bible as the author seems to. We generally accept both supralapsarian and infralapsarian Calvinists as brothers…
God and Foresight
Bombastic Calvinist James White thinks that the deterministic-Calvinistic view of the sovereignty of God is “the single issue that separates the supernatural religion of Christianity from the man-centered religions that surround us.”1 James White, who…
Ben Witherington and Keith Stanglin, Jacob Arminius, Theologian of Grace – Part Fourteen
BEN: As we conclude this discussion, let’s talk about the practical implications of Arminius’ thought for today. It seems clear to me that Arminius, and Wesley as well, would have rejected recent ideas that have…
Determinism in the Hebrew Scriptures: Hosea
What scholars refer to as the Minor Prophets, which include the books following the prophet Daniel (from Hosea to Malachi), we discover that the consistent theme of God’s sovereignty and humanity’s relative free will remain…
Determinism in the Hebrew Scriptures: Daniel
The prophet Daniel offers believers a startling portrait of our sovereign God while faithfully maintaining the biblical truth of genuine human freedom and responsibility. His doctrine of God’s sovereignty appears methodically organized in the exact…
Determinism in the Hebrew Scriptures: Ezekiel
As should be expected, the prophet Ezekiel promotes the same theoretical unCalvinistic and libertarian worldview as do both prophets Isaiah and Jeremiah. This is not surprising, given the notion of Scripture as being wholly agreeable,…
Brian Abasciano, “True Love, Free Will, and Heaven”
Several years ago, a friend of mine asked the following question on his blog: The argument that there must be freedom of choice in order for their to be love towards God makes total sense…
New Study: Belief in Free Will Linked to Ability to Behave Morally and to Help Others
Please click on the link to view “New Study: Belief in Free Will Linked to Ability to Behave Morally and to Help Others.”
Determinism in the Hebrew Scriptures: Jeremiah
“I don’t see how anyone could read the Old Testament and not conclude that Calvinism is right,” was the conclusion of one Calvinist professor, admitted in front of his class. In context, by “Calvinism” he…
Video: Michael Brown, “Hebrew Insights into the Hardening of Pharaoh’s Heart”
Dr. Brown opens up the Hebrew Bible in order to understand what really happened with the hardening of Pharaoh’s heart in Exodus. The video may also be found on YouTube here.
Determinism in the Hebrew Scriptures: Isaiah
For consistent Calvinists like John Piper, an inevitable implication of the sovereignty of God — and what it means for God to be God — is a prominent thread easily detected throughout all of their…
Steve Sewell, “Why the Draw to Calvinism?”
I find it strange for a Christian to be drawn to Calvinism — an anomaly, really. I don’t believe that Calvinistic theology is in harmony with who we are as followers of Christ. Christians are…
“Take It Up with Paul”
On Tuesday, I got a Calvinist to say, essentially, “Who cares that God made you sin; he’s God and he does what he wants.” Those weren’t the exact words, but if you read on, you…
Glen Shellrude, “My Problems with Calvinism (Summary)”
[This article may also be downloaded as a pdf.] 1. There is an inadequate exegetical basis for Calvinism. Determinism is based on a relatively small number of texts which are read in isolation from their…
Calvinism and the Knowledge of God
In this brief post I intend to engage a thought experiment I had when I suggested that God, in Calvinism, cannot foreknow the future; hence that is why God, in Calvinism, must decree or foreordain…
In Calvinism, God Is the Problem of Evil
John Piper argues that, when kings are “in their God-appointed place, with or without Satan’s agency, they are in the sway of God’s sovereign will.”1 He quotes Daniel 2:20-21; 4:17, and Proverbs 21:1, failing to…
Recent Posts
Eric Landstrom, Grace and Responsibility: A Response to the Calvinist Question, “Why One and Not Another?”
If Jesus Died for All to Save Them Yet Not All Are Saved, Does That Mean He Failed or That He Requires the Lost to Pay for Sins Already Paid For?
William Burt Pope on the Creation and Nature of Man
The Arminian Magazine 17 Issue 1 (Spring 1999)
