by Roger Olson It happens all the time. I move around in evangelical circles quite a bit and overhear conversations and receive comments about Arminianism. And I invite Calvinists to my classes. I am certainly…
Grace
Resistible Grace or Sinless Perfection? A Call For Theological Precision in The Calvinist Accounting of Monergistic Conversion
A recent question in the ??Questions?? thread reminded me of an issue I raised long ago [1]. I thought it would be beneficial to raise this question again in more detail and maybe get some…
A Quick Response To A Bad Question
Normally, we do not like to respond to poorly-articulated Anti-Arminian arguments when they come up, even when presented by respected scholars or writers, because a) there are sadly too many of them; and b) we…
David Pawson, “Grace: Saving, Sovereign, or Free?”
This is a good audio sermon on the nature of grace. UK preacher and teacher David Pawson preached a sermon on Monday, May 16, 2011, when he gave a good summary on the nature of…
Chrysostom on the ‘Drawing’ and ‘Giving’ in John 6
Chrysostom makes a great point. John 6:45 really helps explain John 6:37 and 44. God teaches and we learn, if we choose to, but some choose not to learn. Those that learn from the Father…
Calvinism and Evangelistic Method
In my Evangelism class at The College at Southeastern, composed of both seminary and college students, the professor had the class form groups of four in order for each group to construct a gospel tract, each group having its own leader (chosen by date of birth). The leader of our group was taking advice from the other members and was very open to suggestions. When he declared that we were nearly finished, except for a few statements which needed to be nuanced, I responded, “Wait, but we have yet to inform the person what to do with this information.” He responded, “Well, I’m against anything like ‘pray this prayer after me.'” I agreed and said, “Is that our only option? We must tell the person to trust in Christ.” He was not fond of that idea.
Ben Witherington III, Review of Rob Bell, “Love Wins: A Book About Heaven, Hell, and the Fate of Every Person Who Ever Lived”
Distinguished Arminian scholar Ben Witherington III has reviewed Rob Bell’s Love Wins: A Book About Heaven, Hell, and the Fate of Every Person Who Ever Lived chapter by chapter in a series of posts at…
J. Matthew Pinson, “Will the Real Arminius Please Stand Up? A Study of the Theology of Jacobus Arminius in Light of His Interpreters”
The article was originally published in Integrity 2 (2003) 121-139, and is posted here with permission by the author. Pinson on Arminius
“When in Rome” and Irresistible Grace
I recently saw the movie When In Rome. What’s fascinating about the movie is that the plot bears a lot of similarity to the Calvinistic concept of irresistible grace. [Warning, spoilers ahead] In the movie,…
God and the Miners
As reported by CNN International, all 33 of the Chilean miners were rescued from their desperate plight. Most of the survivors were released from the hospital yesterday afternoon, 14 October 2010. This event reminded me…
Robert Hamilton: Can You Do Anything to Gain God’s Acceptance?
Hamilton addresses works salvation, faith, and repentance. Click on pdf to view article. Can You Do Anything to Gain God’s Acceptance
Robert Hamilton: How Good Must You Be?
Robert Hamilton addresses, how good must you be to be acceptable to God? Click on the attachment to view the PDF file: How Good Must You Be
Eric Landstrom, God, Evil, and Grace in Calvinist and Arminian Theology
As early as Episcopius Arminians have argued that if acts arise necessarily from decree, then God must have included within his decree for the implementation of how to bring the decree to fruition. Popularly it…
Robert Hamilton: Grace to Be Holy
An essay by Robert Hamilton on grace, assurance and sanctification. “How can a Christian have any reasonable assurance that he will in fact persevere in the faith, not to mention experience consistent victory over deliberate…
Paul Copan, “Divine Exasperation”
Please click on the link to view Paul Copan, “Divine Exasperation”, which surveys biblical passages that express God’s exasperation with sinful, human resistance to his grace, revealing “God’s legitimate expectation of spiritual fruitfulness, repentance, or obedience.…
The Biblical Doctrine of Grace for Everybody Else
I have for years found the Calvinist use of the phrase “Doctrines of Grace” to be offensive to the Christian body. Perhaps it is because of the lack of any real set of doctrines derived…
God’s “Wasteful Scatteration of Grace”
by Roger E. Olson I rarely post other people’s writings, but this sermon by Bill Smelvoe (preached in chapel at Regent College, Vancouver) especially expresses my belief about God’s grace. I couldn’t have said it…
How Revelation 3:20 Creates a Dilemma for Calvinism
In Revelation 1, 2, and 3 John prophesies to the seven churches in Asia. The last group he addresses is the church in Laodicea. After addressing the Ladocians, he concludes with the following prophesy:
- (Jesus speaking) Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me. To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. –Revelation 3:20-22
This passage can be interpreted in two ways, both of which present problems for Calvinism.
Pelagianism: A Monergist Model of Redemption
“Pelagianism? Monergist? Martin, I think you need to recheck your definitions.” No, it’s true! For those that read mostly internet Calvinist literature, the word “monergism” is understood to be synonymous with determinism. However, the term…
Arminians are Christians, Barely
In the introduction to his book, Willing to Believe: The Controversy over Free Will, R. C. Sproul, Sr., when asked if he thinks Arminians are Christians, answers, “‘Yes, barely.’ They are Christians by what we call a felicitous inconsistency.”1 He agrees with J. I. Packer and O. R. Johnston, who insist that Arminians, because they reject the (unproven and eminently philosophical) theory that regeneration must precede faith, they “thereby deny man’s utter helplessness in sin, and affirm that a form of semi-Pelagianism is true after all.”2 This is the reason, so the authors are convinced, that “Reformed theology condemned Arminianism as being in principal a return to Rome (because in effect it turned faith into a meritorious work) and a betrayal of the Reformation (because it denied the sovereignty of God in saving sinners . . .).3
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