Brian McLaren in Focus: A New Kind of Apologetics (Abilene Christian University Press, August 2016) By Scott R. Burson, Associate Professor of Philosophical Theology, Indiana Wesleyan University Why a New Book on Brian McLaren?…
Hermeneutics
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…
Leighton Flowers Interview on 1 John 5:1 and Acts 13:48 with Dr. Brian Abasciano
Leighton Flowers interviewed Brian Abasciano on his “Soteriology 101” podcast to address James White’s response to a previous interview with Abasciano concerning the Greek of 1 John 5:1 and the order of faith and regeneration. The…
Brian Abasciano, “A Reply to James White on 1 John 5:1 and the Order of Faith and Regeneration”
Leighton Flowers interviewed me on his “Soteriology 101” podcast about the claims of James White concerning the Greek of 1 John 5:1 and the order of faith and regeneration. The podcast episode can be found here and on “Soteriology…
Ben Witherington and Chad Thornhill on *The Chosen People: Election, Paul and Second Temple Judaism*, Part 8: Conclusions
I hope to have demonstrated the value and necessity of placing Paul’s election language back in its original context, which was a decidedly Jewish one. As we reviewed the Jewish literature, we discovered a view…
Ben Witherington and Chad Thornhill on *The Chosen People: Election, Paul and Second Temple Judaism*, Part 7
BEN: In terms of the modus operandi of this book, one of the basic approaches you take is to argue that if an idea is not found elsewhere in early Jewish literature, then it is…
Ben Witherington and Chad Thornhill on *The Chosen People: Election, Paul and Second Temple Judaism*, Part 6
BEN: The discussion in chapter six about the heavenly tablets in Jubilees and their relationship to the book of life and the book of destruction is especially interesting in light of the discussion in Revelation…
Ben Witherington and Chad Thornhill on *The Chosen People: Election, Paul and Second Temple Judaism*, Part 5
BEN: In Chapter 5 it becomes clear that early Jews mostly thought that election was conditional, and the condition was faithfulness to the Mosaic covenant and its Law. You quote deSilva approvingly as follows “fidelity…
Ben Witherington and Chad Thornhill on *The Chosen People: Election, Paul and Second Temple Judaism*, Part 4
BEN: Chad in this chapter you talk about the ‘limited non-nationalistic understanding of election’ (p. 135) as permeating early Jewish literature. By this I take you to mean that Jews did view themselves as God’s…
Ben Witherington and Chad Thornhill on *The Chosen People: Election, Paul and Second Temple Judaism*, Part 3
BEN: One of the greatest difficulties to overcome in trying to get people to see the Bible with ancient rather than modern assumptions, is the problem of modern radical individualism warping the way we read…
Ben Witherington and Chad Thornhill on *The Chosen People: Election, Paul and Second Temple Judaism*, Part 2
BEN: One of the things that surprised me about your response about the covenants is that it does not reflect the work of various OT scholars, like Meredith Kline, who made quite clear how similar…
Ben Witherington and Chad Thornhill on *The Chosen People: Election, Paul and Second Temple Judaism*, Part 1
One of the most important books I have read in a long time in regard to the theology of election in Paul’s letters is the recent book by Dr. Chad Thornhill of Liberty entitled The…
Michael McGhee Canham, “Potuit Non Peccare or Non Potuit Peccare: Evangelicals, Hermeneutics, and the Impeccability Debate”
Please click on the link to view Michael McGhee Canham, “Potuit Non Peccare or Non Potuit Peccare: Evangelicals, Hermeneutics, and the Impeccability Debate,” The Master’s Seminary Journal 11/1 (Spring 2000) 93-114. Abastract: The debate over whether Christ was…
The Word “Elect” Does Not Infer Unconditional Election
Among John Piper’s “Five Reasons to Embrace Unconditional Election,” he lists, “We embrace unconditional election because God designed it to make us fearless in our proclamation of his grace in a hostile world.” (link) He…
Dan Chapa, “Calvinism & Determinism”
It seems Calvinism is simply determinism in the context of soteriology. Determinism is the cause and TULIP is the result. Let’s walk through TULIP to see if we can spot determinism. Total Depravity – Hum……
Recent Debate with SEA Member Martin Glynn on Eternal Security
This was a debate that I was asked to join last minute. I had a really good time and the guys involved were true brothers in the Lord. The topic was on eternal security and…
Roger Olson, “What’s Wrong with Calvinism?”
This is a talk I (Dr Roger Olson) gave recently at City on a Hill Church in Seattle, Washington. (City on a Hill is a mostly Russian evangelical church. It’s leaders are concerned about infiltration…
Charles Edward White, “Does God Call All the Shots?”
Please see below or click on the attachment to view Charles Edward White, “Does God Call All the Shots?” Light and Life (July/August 2003), pp. 29-31. Does God Call All the Shots? By Charles Edward White …
Brian Abasciano, “A Reply to James White Concerning His Faulty Treatment of the Greek and Context of Acts 13:48”
[For a pdf of this article, see here.] James White responded to my brief article, “James White’s Faulty Treatment of the Greek and Context of Acts 13:48” on his “Dividing Line” radio program of March 8,…
Charles Edward White, “John Calvin’s Five-point Misunderstanding of Romans 9: An Intertextual Analysis”
Please click on the attachment to view Charles Edward White, “John Calvin’s five-point misunderstanding of Romans 9: An Intertextual Analysis,” Wesleyan Theological Journal 41 (Fall 2006) 28-50.
Recent Posts
Roy Ingle, “Calvinism and the Atonement”
Why Does God Deny the Opportunity of Choice for or Against Him to Young Children Who Die and the Mentally Impaired?
Mark K. Olson, “Wesley’s ‘Warmed Heart’ at Aldersgate – What Really Happened?”
Adam Roe, “The Crucial Thread of Prevenient Grace: A Wesleyan Perspective on Divine Drawing”
