This comes from Jabez Burns’s 1849 book Doctrinal Conversations. INQUIRER. “What are we to understand by the doctrine of predestination?” MINISTER. “It is the determination of God’s mind in reference to things to come.” INQUIRER.…
Determinism
Proverbs 16:4 – Were the Ungodly Created for Destruction?
A question came to our SEA outreach group: Can someone help me understand Prov. 16:4 from a non-Calvinist perspective? 4 The Lord has made everything for its purpose, even the wicked for the day of trouble.…
Book Review: “Free Will Revisited: A Respectful Response to Luther, Calvin, and Edwards. By Robert E. Picirilli”
Please click on the link to read Dr. Steve W. Lemke’s review of Free Will Revisited: A Respectful Response to Luther, Calvin, and Edwards by Arminian scholar Robert E. Picirilli. This review is published in…
Great Quotes: Thomas Ralston on the Compatibility of Freedom and Foreknowledge With Regards to Judas Betraying Jesus
It has been said that “knowledge is power;” but it is not implied by that expression that it is a power capable of exerting itself. All that is implied is, that it directs an active…
Kevin Timpe, Review of Guillaume Bignon, Excusing Sinners and Blaming God: A Calvinist Assessment of Determinism, Moral Responsibility, and Divine Involvement in Evil
Please click on the link to view Kevin Timpe, Review of Guillaume Bignon, Excusing Sinners and Blaming God: A Calvinist Assessment of Determinism, Moral Responsibility, and Divine Involvement in Evil (Princeton Theological Monograph Series; Eugene:…
Book Recommendation: Free Will: Sourcehood and Its Alternatives
This book, Free Will: Sourcehood and Its Alternatives (second edition) by Dr Timpe, is one that should be read by those who want to have an introduction to the contemporary philosophical work on free will.…
Responding to the Problem of Moral Evil
When the atheist asks– “If God exists how can he allow evils like rape, theft and murder to exist?”– it is critical to take note of the fact that the atheist is working off the…
“Why Doesn’t God Stop Evil”
A clip from Ravi Zacharias
This clip was recently shared on our Facebook page. It is a powerful demonstration of why understanding God and understanding the Bible needs to be done through a lens of our relationship with Him.
Justin Brierley, “Why Both Atheists and Christians Need to Believe in Free Will”
From our perspective, this article should be read in the light of humanity’s need for God’s grace to free us to be able to believe in Christ. On that point, see the Freed to Believe…
I Kings 12:24 – Is Free Will or God the Causative Agent in Rebellion Against Him?
This post is a discussion between some members of The Society of Evangelical Arminians. Members will not be identified by name but rather by a letter. ‘Thus says the LORD, You shall not go up…
Roger Olson, “Again with ‘Good God’ and Calvinism”
Throughout the years of this blog (and before and outside of it) I have wrestled with people objecting most strenuously to my contention that true, historical, consistent Calvinism undermines the goodness of God. If God foreordains…
Roy Ingle, “Did God Cause The Fall of Man?”
The debate over the sovereignty of God often takes a strange turn whenever you begin to discuss the issue as it concerns the fall of humanity into sin. No one in the entire Christian world…
Predestination and Free Will in Romans 9 – 11, by Mako A. Nagasawa
Editor’s Note: Mako Nagasawa does not formally identify as Arminian, but his essay is a good representation of the narrative understanding of election shared by many Arminians. Romans 9 – 11 is sometimes taken as…
Arminius – Nine Theological Questions
THE NINE QUESTIONS: NINE OPPOSITE QUESTIONS 1. Which is first, Election, or Faith Truly Foreseen, so that God elected his people according to faith foreseen? 1. Is the decree “for bestowing Faith on any one,”…
Michael Egnor, “More Than Material Minds”
As a Christian and a neuroscientist, I keep learning that to be human is to have a soul. Please click on the link to view Michael Egnor, “More Than Material Minds,” Christianity Today September 14, 2014.
Book Review: Free Will Revisited by Robert Picirilli
Opening my inbox, I saw an email that caused me to pause. The subject line was Arminian Theology and the author was Robert Picirilli. Expecting anything but an email from the noted theologian of that name, I clicked…
Brief Video: J. Warner Wallace, “How Can We Reconcile God’s Sovereignty with Man’s Free Will?”
J. Warner Wallace is interviewed by Brittany Valadez about the complex relationship between God’s sovereign knowledge and man’s free agency. If God is in control, how can humans truly experience free will?The video can also…
Adam Omelianchuk, “A Response to Theological Fatalism”
I had the privilege of taking a class with William Lane Craig on divine omniscience this past January and he had us respond to this argument by the Open Theist philosopher William Hasker: It is now true that…
Ben Henshaw, “What Purpose Does Regeneration Serve in Calvinism?”
Calvinists make a big deal out of the need for regeneration before one can believe. For them this is the primary function of regeneration. Regeneration irresistibly causes a faith response, and without this regeneration, faith…
Ed Jarrett, “Arminianism: Sovereignty and Free Will”
This post was originally published on A Clay Jar. It is the fourth in a series on Arminian soteriology. Any comments to this post can be left there at Arminianism: Sovereignty and Free Will. I had…
Recent Posts
Does Matthew 7:24-27 Support Once saved Always Saved?
Richard Coords, “1 Kings 21:29”
Roy Ingle, “Acts 14:2 – An Interesting Verse”
David deSilva, “What Is the Mystery of the Trinity? (Global Methodist Church Catechism)”
