Is it possible for you to live a more holy life? Does God want you to sin? Does God grant grace to live in closer communion with Him? These questions are central to the Yield…
Patristics
Mark K. Olson, “Clement of Alexandria: An Early Church Wesleyan?”
[To view the footnotes on this page, scroll down to the bottom of the page. Clicking on the hyperlinked footnotes will take you off site to the notes in the original article location.] Introduction When…
Applied Truth, “A Critique of TULIP Usage in Reformed Theology”
A synopsis of the relationship between the simple acronym TULIP and the rich tradition of the Reformation. http://appliedtruth.org/theology/2019/9/30/a-critique-of-tulip-usage-in-reformed-theology?fbclid=IwAR28LDdqu63yt_svMTPQ0ZShbPLEJrRbRK8xcx35636vIh8tTRepVhfTrp4
Accepting/Rejecting Calvinism (Pt. 13: Calvinism, Church History, and Prevenient Grace)
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: https://jordanapodaca.wordpress.com/2017/08/01/acceptingrejecting-calvinism-pt-13-calvinism-church-history-and-prevenient-grace/…
Christopher T. Bounds, “The Scope of The Atonement in the Early Church Fathers”
Please click on the link to view Christopher T. Bounds, “The Scope of The Atonement in the Early Church Fathers,” Wesleyan Theological Journal 47.2 (Fall 2012) 7-26. Here is the author’s conclusion: In conclusion, while Thomas Oden in…
Ben Henshaw, “A Brief Review of ‘Free Will: Pagan and Unbiblical'”
A Calvinists site promoted this video on their site a few years ago: “Free Will: Pagan and Unbiblical”. I forced myself to watch it, which wasn’t easy. Here are my brief, informal comments on the…
Eric Landstrom, “Thomas Oden’s Paleo-Orthodoxy”
12/09/02 “It is never too late to rediscover the joy of studying God.”1 Goal Setting “And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.…
Micah Currado, “Early Church Fathers on the Freedom of the Will and Romans 9”
Please click on the link to view “Early Church Fathers on the Freedom of the Will and Romans 9.” The early church resoundingly affirmed the liberty of the will, in spite of the well-known philosophical option…
Church Fathers on Libertarian Free Will
Clement of Rome: (Knew Peter and Paul personally. He was the third or fourth bishop of Rome. Tradition has identified him with the Clement who is mentioned in Philippians 4:3) “For no other reason does…
Jack Cottrell, “Did The Early Christian Fathers Teach Calvinism?”
The following appeared on non-Calvinist scholar Jack Cottrell’s Facebook page (dated July 25, 2011): QUESTION: Some say that the doctrines of Calvinism did not begin with John Calvin, nor even with Augustine (died A.D. 430).…
David L. Allen, “Review of *From Heaven He Came and Sought Her: Definite Atonement in Historical, Biblical, Theological, and Pastoral Perspective* – Part 3” (On the ancient church’s view)
Please click on the link to view David L. Allen, “Review of From Heaven He Came and Sought Her: Definite Atonement in Historical, Biblical, Theological, and Pastoral Perspective – Part 3,” which covers Michael Haykin’s chapter, “We…
Tertullian on the Problem of Evil and Free Will
This is part of a series of posts that captures the early church views on free will and determinism. The idea for this series was motivated by Calvinist claims that their view was held by the early…
Christopher Fisher, “The Pelagian Heresy and Today’s Sexual Revolution”
Who would guess that the ancient heresy of Pelagianism would rear its head again in our generation in the context of the sexual revolution? Yet there it is, underlying a significant argument for the legitimacy…
Steve Witzki, Early Christian Writers on Apostasy
In the attached article, Steve Witzki surveys the thought of the early church on the topic of apostasy, concluding: “It seems rather apparent that the Ante-Nicene Fathers believed that a Christian could sever their saving…
Church Fathers on Foreknowledge and Freewill
Some Calvinists suggest that God’s foreknowledge is based on His plan and/or knowledge of causal relations rather then based on the future. I thought I would look up what the church fathers had to say…
Back to the Fathers: A Christianity Today Interview with Thomas Oden
Please follow the link to view an interview with distinguished Arminian scholar, Thomas Oden: “Back to the Fathers: A Christianity Today Interview with Thomas Oden”.
(Article by-line: “Every turn in Thomas Oden’s theology took him further left, until he came face to face with Augustine and Wesley.”)
Augustine on Falling from Grace
The fifth point of Calvinism is Perseverance of the Saints. The Westminster Confession defines Perseverance of the Saints as: They, whom God hath accepted in his Beloved, effectually called, and sanctified by his Spirit, can…
Calvinists Interpreting Church History
In a previous post I suggested that when it comes to interpreting non-Calvinistic Church history or representing Arminian or non-Calvinistic theology, many Calvinists cannot be trusted. We find very few academic exceptions (and this can…
Calvinists Now Appealing to the Early Church as a Historical Witness?
This document looks through some common quotes from the Church fathers that some Calvinists have used to attempt to argue that an embryonic Calvinism existed in their thoughts. Unsurprisingly enough, a little context seems to…
On Man’s Free Will: What the Early Church Believed
“On Man’s Free Will: What The Early Church Fathers Believed” [Quotes are from The Ante-Nicene Fathers, ed. Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson; 1885-1887; repr. 10 vols. Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson, 1994. They are cited in A…
Recent Posts
How Do You Deal with the Limited Atonement Argument that If Jesus Paid the Penalty for All, Then People Sent to Hell Would Be Paying the Penalty a Second Time?
Roy Ingle, “Preach Perseverance”
X-Calvinist Corner Files: Testimony # 41
Richard Coords, “Regeneration”
