General

I Bless God

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Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless His Holy Name.

I bless the Arms of God that reached out to me during times of loneliness and despair.
I bless the Artistry of God for the beauty in nature and in every sunrise and sunset.
I bless the Authority of God that makes Him the great and undeniable, “I AM”.
I bless the Breath of God that gave life to all living creatures great and small.
I bless the Brightness of God that outshines the blinding brilliance of the sun.
I bless the Closeness of God that He regards me as His friend.
I bless the Compassion of God that looks beyond my faults as He continually cares for me.
I bless the Creativity of God for all creatures that walk, run, crawl, hop, swim, leap, jump, and fly.
I bless the Cross of Christ that assures the promise of eternal life to every believer.
I bless the Desire of God in that He wants me to be at one with Him forever.

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Jeff Weddle’s Expositional Sermons Online

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Pastor and SEA member Jeff Weddle’s expositional sermons may be found online at http://www.christianity.com/blogs/JWhite/11674264/?utm_source=Christian%20Living%20Connection%20-%20Christianity.com&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=07/24/2012/

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Joshua Johnson’s Expositional Sermons Online

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Pastor and SEA member Joshua Johnson’s expositional sermons (“pericope by pericope” rather than “verse by verse” style) may be found online here. The church he currently serves also has a podcast for which he is…

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Our Official Comment on Billy Birch’s Recent Situation

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We are disturbed and saddened by reports that former SEA member William Birch was arrested Saturday 3/17/12 and charged with sexual assault against another Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary student (on the whole matter, see http://sbcvoices.com/stunned-sad-and-confused-a-blogging-brother-falls-into-sin/,…

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My Response to John Piper

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My Response to John Piper’s Recent Statements about God and Tornadoes
by Roger Olson, PhD

During the last week or two I have received numerous e-mails, some from journalists, asking my opinion about John Piper’s explanation of the recent rash of deadly tornadoes across the South. Apparently, he has at least implied that God sent them as judgments on particular communities and reminders of their need to repent.

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Xenos Christian Fellowship – Soteriology: Calvinism & Arminianism; God’s Providence

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It’s refreshing to see an accurate portrayal of the positions of both Calvinism written so fairly and simply. Obviously, Xenos tends toward Arminianism which is another refreshing aspect of this lesson on Soteriology.

The lesson starts thusly: “The central issue we want to study tonight is the interplay between God’s sovereignty and human choice with regard to salvation. Do humans have free will to believe or reject the gospel? How should we understand the New Testament’s statements about election and predestination?”

For the complete lesson, go to:

http://www.xenos.org/classes/principles/cpu1w6.htm

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Roger Olson, “Strong Meat, Not Milk: Are Some Things Impossible to Believe?”

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Are Some Things Impossible to Believe?

written by Roger E. Olson, PhD

Lewis Carroll’s White Queen tells Alice that sometimes she has believed six impossible things before breakfast. That led some later wits to quip that faith is believing six impossible things before breakfast.

Lately I’ve been re-reading Charles Hodge’s Systematic Theology (having read it many years ago).The first volume was first published in the early 1870s. I wonder if Hodge had read Through the Looking Glass which was published in 1871?

Or perhaps Dodgson (Carroll’s real name) and Hodge had read the same source? Perhaps someone associated with the Scottish Common Sense Philosophy?

In any case, interestingly, and I dare say surprisingly to many of his admirers, Hodge believed there are things it is impossible to believe.

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Who Is (or Might Be) an Arminian?

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By Roger Olson Who Is (or Might Be) an Arminian? One of my favorite visitors and frequent commenters here has challenged me to say what I think is necessary to believe in order to qualify…

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John F. Parkinson on Romans 9

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This interpretation of Romans 9 is taken from (non-Calvinist) John F. Parkinson’s book The Faith of God’s Elect, pages 21 through 28.</p align=”justify”> _____________________________ “The individual Jew had come to believe mistakenly that, since he…

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Roger Olson, Some Thoughts about My Conversation with Michael Horton

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Posted on February 4, 2012 by rogereolson

Some Thoughts about My Conversation with Michael Horton

I spoke about why I am “Against Calvinism” for about 15 minutes focusing on the goodness of God and how classical, “high Calvinism” is inconsistent with any meaning of “good” and “love” known to us. Then Mike spoke for about 15 minutes focusing on humanity’s depravity and God’s mercy in electing some to salvation. In other words, he also said that God is good even if not in terms of our “fairness” (because he doesn’t save everyone).

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Where I Have a Problem with Calvinism

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Posted on February 1, 2012 by rogereolson

One commenter has raised a question about my statement that I have no problem with Calvinism in confessionally Reformed circles (churches, denominations, etc.). I made that statement in my previous post about my public conversation with Mike Horton.

So, let me clarify that.

First, by “no problem with” I don’t mean “agree with!” What I mean is, I don’t object to Reformed folks holding to their Calvinism within their own ecclesiastical settings that are confessionally bound. The same is true of many other doctrines with which I disagree in other confessional traditions (or non-confessional but with unwritten or supposedly non-binding statements of faith).

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Seedbed - sow extravagently

Check out Seedbed – A New Arminian Resource

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Asbury Theological Seminary has started a new theological resource site called Seedbed [asburyseedbed.com]. They have an RSS feed, and regularly post free content from an Arminian and Wesleyan Perspective. You can sign up to be on their email list, and on a monthly basis they will send you a free resource (such as an e-book). They also have an online store with reasonably priced resources.

Be sure to check them out!

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Dr. Phil Fernandes on Calvinism and Arminianism

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A video of Dr. Phil Fernandes on Calvinism and Arminianism: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=AESUv09eXFQ

Dr. Fernandes, a 4 point Arminian and member of SEA, is President of the Institute of Biblical Defense (http://instituteofbiblicaldefense.com/). He is a Christian Apologist, Author and Pastor of Trinity Bible Fellowship. Dr. Fernandes holds the following degrees: Ph.D. in Philosophy of Religion degree from Greenwich University, Master of Arts in Religion degree from Liberty University, Bachelor of Theology Degree from Columbia Evangelical Seminary.

He has authored 6 books: Contend Earnestly for the Faith, God, Government, and the Road to Tyranny, The God Who Sits Enthroned: Evidence for Gods Existence, No Other Gods: A Defense of Biblical Christianity, Theism Vs. Atheism: The Internet Debate, The Decay of a Nation

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