“If God is all sovereign then free will is impossible. If people have free will then God is not sovereign” is what one Calvinist said to me once. I’ve heard this complaint a few times…
Determinism
Does God Lament?
Recently I watched this video by a Calvinist who clearly isn’t the sort to engage in intellectual discourse. In order to show the incomprehensibility of Arminianism, he performs a scene which he believes typifies God’s…
Roger Olson, “Does God Foreordain and Render Certain Sins? (And Why Some Questions Annoy Me)”
Does God Foreordain and Render Certain Sins? (And Why Some Questions Annoy Me) Not infrequently some Calvinist confronts me with a question that, in the way it is asked, implies two things: 1) I must…
Calvinism on the Horns: The Problem of Divine Foreknowledge in Calvinism and Why You Should Be an Arminian
Calvinists often lead the charge against Open Theism and traditional Arminians agree that Open Theism is Biblically problematic. However, Calvinists often seem to hide the unfortunate implications of their own view of foreknowledge. Open Calvinism?…
Something For Calvinists to Chew On
I’ve been reading the latter part of the Old Testament and something really interesting occurred to me. God spends so many chapters complaining about all the evil that Israel and Judah have been doing and…
The Incompatibility Of Compatiblism
Compatiblist freedom isn’t freedom at all. The compatiblist will say “You’re free because you do whatever you want to do” but the fact is, you can’t control your wants. Your desires have been programmed into…
A Telling and Ironic Tweet by John Piper on “Waking up in the Morning” as a Believer
Calvinist John Piper recently gave the following Tweet: I fall asleep quietly confident that I will be a believer in the morning not because of my free will but God’s free grace. This is an obvious…
Why I Am An Arminian
Part IV: Theology
I do not know whether or not you have noticed, but as I’ve been going, I am moving from my least relevant reasons to my most relevant reasons as to why I am an Arminian…
Roger Olson, “Can a Calvinist Pray for His Child to Be ‘Elect?'”
Recently I heard of a well-known Calvinist pastor, author, speaker, who, on a podcast, testified that he often goes into his little son’s bedroom after he’s asleep and prays over him that he be among…
If God Determined Everything, How Would He Be Worthy Of Worship?
When I think about the God as represented by the T.U.L.I.P., I sometimes have to stop myself or else I might get an ulcer. I find God as represented in the T.U.L.I.P as detestable. The…
Calvinism Makes Perfect Sense?
Roger Olson, “My Response to Two Books about Arminius”
Response to W. Stephen Gunter, Arminius and His Declaration of Sentiments and Keith D. Stanglin and Thomas H. McCall, Jacob Arminius: Theologian of Grace Roger E. Olson These two books are significant contributions to what I call the…
J. W. Wartick, “A Denial of Theological Determinism”
Click on the link to view J. W. Wartick, “A Denial of Theological Determinism”.
Against Theological Determinism / Compatibilism
[Taken from http://theosophical.wordpress.com/2012/01/18/against-theological-determinism-compatibilism/. Please note: The edition of Philosophia Christi referred to is no longer the latest edition. We would also qualify the author’s definition of a “theological determinist” from being merely that God’s sovereignty extends meticulously…
Calvinism’s Problems with Total Depravity
This post will be an attempt to add some detail to earlier comments about problems reconciling Calvinism and total depravity using John Hendryx’s post as an example (here). To my knowledge, it’s a new argument…
2 Samuel 24:1 and 1 Chronicles 21:1 – A Conversation with an Inquirer
We received a question through our public website about 2 Sam 24:1 and 1 Chron 21:1 and the inciting of David to take the sinful census. Here is the exchange between one of our members…
Roger Olson, “A Dip into the Depths of the Doctrine of God: Discussion of the Non-Competitive View of Divine and Human Agencies”
[Taken from here, where comments can be made.] Recently I posted here an imaginary conversation between a Calvinist and an Arminian—about God’s sovereignty. At one point I inserted a common comment made by especially intellectually…
Middle Knowledge and Arminianism Are Compatible: A Response to Roger Olson
This post was written by SEA member Adam Omelianchuk specifically for SEA What exactly is the problem that Roger Olson has with Molinism? Answer: it collapses into determinism. But it isn’t clear what he means…
Why Some Arminians Believe Molinism Is Incoherent
[This post was taken from here, where comments can be made, and was originally a comment on this Roger Olson post.] Very nice essay, Roger. You’ve put your finger on a key internal tension within…
Roger Olson, “Are Arminian Theology and Middle Knowledge Compatible?”
[This post was taken from here, where comments can be made.] One of the most basic impulses of Arminianism is that God is not the author of sin and evil—even indirectly. On this virtually everyone knowledgeable…
