“The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our sons forever, that we may observe all the words of this law.” The context is in…
mystery
Roger Olson, “A Mysterious Topic: Mystery, Paradox, Contradiction”
One way in which some well-meaning but misguided persons have attempted to resolve the seemingly intractable differences between divine determinism, including evil as part of God’s plan rendered certain by God, and creaturely free will…
Mark K. Olson, “Luther & Wesley on The Theologia Germanica”
The Christian mystics were devotional writers of the Reformation and post-Reformation eras. They stressed union with God through inner purification and illumination. Many of them were Roman Catholic. Their influence was enormous among Catholics and…
Richard Coords, “Mystery”
The general perspective of Calvinists is that since we know that God is sovereign, who determines whatsoever comes to pass, and since we know that man is free, we must simply accept the mystery in…
Accepting/Rejecting Calvinism (Pt. 2: Defending Calvinism)
This is from a series of posts which was copied with permission from Jordan Apodaca’s blog, “Thoughts & Anti-Thoughts,” which can be accessed here: https://jordanapodaca.wordpress.com/ This particular post, which allows comments, can be accessed here:…
Dr. Jerry Walls, “Clive (C.S.) Lewis and the Pious Calvinist Confusions of John Piper”
Dr. Jerry Walls speaks about John Piper’s recent book, Does God Desire All to Be Saved?. From the video’s YouTube page: Dr. Jerry Walls gives his critique of Calvinism, and more specifically, John Piper’s written…
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?…
A Conversation between a Calvinist and an Arminian about God’s Sovereignty
written by Roger E Olson, PhD Calvinist to Arminian: “You Arminians don’t really believe in God’s sovereignty.” Arminian: “You Calvinists don’t really believe in God’s love.” Calvinist: “Oh, but we do. You’re so wrong! The…
An Arminian Response to C. Michael Patton’s “The Irrationality of Calvinism” Part 5: Taking The Mystery Out of Mr. Patton’s Strange Arguments
Part 5: Taking the Mystery Out of Mr. Patton’s Strange Arguments
Patton: These two issues, human freedom and sovereign election, are not contradictory when put together, but they are a mystery.
This is the same claim Mr. Patton made in his first post called “Why Calvinism is the Least Rational Option.” We have already begun to highlight the problems with this claim.
Mystery
The biblical concept of mystery is simple. Mystery is an aspect of God’s plan which has not been revealed to humanity. Indeed, the biblical usage of mystery is always in anticipation of the mystery’s revelation.…
