In this brief post I intend to engage a thought experiment I had when I suggested that God, in Calvinism, cannot foreknow the future; hence that is why God, in Calvinism, must decree or foreordain…
Problem of evil
In Calvinism, God Is the Problem of Evil
John Piper argues that, when kings are “in their God-appointed place, with or without Satan’s agency, they are in the sway of God’s sovereign will.”1 He quotes Daniel 2:20-21; 4:17, and Proverbs 21:1, failing to…
Ben Witherington and Keith Stanglin, Jacob Arminius, Theologian of Grace– Part Four
BEN: Arminius seems to work hard to avoid making God the author of sin, or of anything evil for that matter, including the Fall. He is very willing to talk about God’s ‘permissive’ will when…
The Calvinist Conception of God on Trial
A Calvinist named Jared responds to an Arminian post entitled “The Devious and Duplicitous Mind of the Calvinist God,” and entitles his response “God on Trial,” which I think is quite the misnomer. God is…
J. Warner Wallace, “The Problem of Evil: The Role of Eternity and Free Will (Cold-Case Christianity Broadcast #57)”
From the video’s YouTube page: In this episode of the Cold-Case Christianity Broadcast, J. Warner Wallace examines the classic problem of evil and offers a cumulative case response. In this first of several related broadcasts, J.…
Video: Seven Minute Seminary: The Problem of Evil
How do you reconcile the reality of pain and suffering in our world with the existence of a loving God? Dr. Michael Peterson, Professor of Philosophy of Religion at Asbury Theological Seminary, explains. This video…
Joe Manzari, “God, Freedom, and Evil”
Please click on the link to view Joe Manzari, “God, Freedom, and Evil”.
Reward and Punishment Necessitate Libertarian Freedom
As is stated in previous posts on this site, libertarian free will is assumed throughout the tenor of the entire Bible, and determinism is exposed as not merely flawed but erroneous and damaging to the…
Jerry L. Walls, “Why No Classical Theist, Let Alone Orthodox Christian, Should Ever Be a Compatibilist”
Please click on the link to view Jerry L. Walls, “Why No Classical Theist, Let Alone Orthodox Christian, Should Ever Be a Compatibilist,” Philosophia Christi 13.1 (Summer 2011), 75-104. The author’s abstract of the article: I argue…
The Genius of Arminian Theodicy
I do not accept what is known as a Greater-Good theodicy1 — that all sin and evil serve a purpose in the mind and plan of God, from which He will bring about a greater…
Video: Sean McDowell, “Why Does God Allow Evil?”
Evil is one of the most common objections raised against the existence and goodness of God. Sean briefly provides one reason God may allow evil and how evil, when it is properly understood, is an…
Cheryl Schatz, “Purposeless Evil”
Is there purposeless evil if God did not foreordain all things? Calvinists often talk about “purposeless evil”. In fact, Dr. James White, a Calvinist apologist from Alpha and Omega Ministries, has stated that if God did…
Roy Ingle, “Did God Predestine the Fall of Man?”
One of the difficult elements of Calvinism is that when you logically work through the doctrine of predestination you ultimately come to the conclusion that God caused Adam to sin or that He predestined the…
Roger Olson, “Calvinist Attempts to Rescue God’s Character Considered and Refuted”
As anyone who has read me or listened to me (on the subject of Calvinism) knows, my main complaint about Calvinism is that it undermines the character of God. Of course, I do not mean…
Was Arminius an Open Theist?
There exists a false charge that Arminius’ theology, when consistently maintained, renders one an Open Theist. This charge is merely a rhetorical one, synonymous with the insistence that the only consistent Calvinism is hyper-Calvinism, or…
Roger Olson, “C. S. Lewis Said It: God’s ‘Goodness’ Cannot Be Wholly Other”
For years now I have been insisting that the main reason I am not a Calvinist (or any kind of divine determinist) is that, taken to its “good and necessary consequences,” Calvinism makes God morally…
Roger Olson, “Is There a Difference between ‘Permitting Evil’ and ‘Doing Evil?’”
They may make strange bedfellows but on one issue some Calvinists, many atheists, and most process theologians agree: there is no real difference between “doing evil” and “permitting evil.” For them, the traditional claim of…
Roger Olson, “Review of Oliver Crisp’s *Deviant Calvinism: Broadening Reformed Theology* Part Five”
This is Part Five of my series of review essays of Oliver Crisp’s new book Deviant Calvinism: Broadening Reformed Theology and deals with Chapter 5 : Universalism and Particularism.” I invite those reading the book…
God’s Exploitation of the Devil’s “Thorns”
God’s sovereignty should never be seen as unilaterally determining or decreeing the evil actions or intentions of free agents (human or demonic) before the foundation of the world. Rather God’s sovereignty is best understood as…
Roger Olson, “Calvinism and God-ordained Suffering: A Follow Up”
This is for those who have been following the recent discussion thread about what a Calvinist care-giver should say, if he or she chose to express a classical Calvinist view of God’s sovereignty, to a…
