The parable of the Prodigal Son of Luke delivers some interesting theology. It (a) corrects the Calvinist concept of spiritual death to mean separation—not a corpse in a tomb, (b) shows how everyone is 100%…
Responsibility
Wayne Jackson, “Does Free Agency Nullify Personal Responsibility?”
A critic writes that if human beings have true “free agency,” then God could not punish them for their “sins.” He sees a conflict between the ideas of freedom and responsibility. Let us briefly consider…
C. Marion Brown, “Restitution”
While scanning both book lists and library shelves, I was rather startled at the absence of material on restitution. Many volumes have been written on various subjects and many have been “beaten to death” by…
Jabez Burns, “Conversation on Predestination”
This comes from Jabez Burns’s 1849 book Doctrinal Conversations. INQUIRER. “What are we to understand by the doctrine of predestination?” MINISTER. “It is the determination of God’s mind in reference to things to come.” INQUIRER.…
Kevin Timpe, Review of Guillaume Bignon, Excusing Sinners and Blaming God: A Calvinist Assessment of Determinism, Moral Responsibility, and Divine Involvement in Evil
Please click on the link to view Kevin Timpe, Review of Guillaume Bignon, Excusing Sinners and Blaming God: A Calvinist Assessment of Determinism, Moral Responsibility, and Divine Involvement in Evil (Princeton Theological Monograph Series; Eugene:…
When Does The Day End?
I’ve been thinking about this question for a little while now, but what actually determines when the day ends? I don’t mean physically, but rhetorically, like when someone says, “At the end of the day…
Sin and Guilt in John 9
The story of the blind man in John 9 is a study in guilt. What makes us guilty, and what’s the relation between guilt and our ability to obey and believe God? Let’s do a…
J. Warner Wallace, “How Can God Allow Horrific Evil Like School Shootings?”
Please click on the link to view “New Study: Belief in Free Will Linked to Ability to Behave Morally and to Help Others.”
Richard Watson on “Who Maketh Thee to Differ From Another?” as an Argument for Calvinism
1 Corinthians 4:7, “For who maketh thee to differ from another?” The context shows that the apostle was here endeavoring to repress that ostentation which had arisen among many persons in the Church of Corinth,…
Hank Hanegraaff, “How Could Pharaoh Be Morally Responsible if God Hardened His Heart?”
Please click on the link to view Hank Hanegraaff, “How Could Pharaoh Be Morally Responsible if God Hardened His Heart?”.
The Bible Project Video on Job
The Bible Project is a tremendous resource for understanding the Bible that, in the Project’s own words, utilizes short-form, fully animated videos to make the biblical story accessible to everyone, everywhere. We create videos, podcasts, and…
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…
Vic Reasoner, “An Arminian Covenant Theology”
Too many Arminians have pushed their tray through the theological cafeteria, accepting a helping of whatever sounded good. Before we accept all the popular theology of the celebrity teachers, we had better determine upon what…
The Good News of Hell
Is there a hell? The concepts of heaven and hell are as intimately connected as those of good and evil. When we are free to do good, we are also free to do evil; when…
Christian Philosopher Lydia McGrew on Calvinism
This conversation took place in the comment section of one of Dr. Lydia McGrew’s posts at her blog Extra Thoughts: C. M. Granger said… Hi Lydia, why aren’t you a Calvinist? 11/26/2015 6:25 PM Lydia McGrew said……
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…
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…
J. Warner Wallace, “Do Neurological Studies Prove Free Agency Is an Illusion?”
Please click on the link to view J. Warner Wallace, “Do Neurological Studies Prove Free Agency Is An Illusion?” [Original post at the author’s website]
Rich Davis, “Calvinism’s Misplaced Culpability”
Calvinism and TULIP go hand in hand. When you think of the one, it’s rather hard not to think of the other. However, certain qualifications are in order. “The truth is,” says Michael Horton, “there…
Recent Posts
Do Mainstream Calvinists Specifically Deny the Existence of Free Will Entirely?
Richard Coords, “Strawman Argument”
Isn’t God Doing Everything He Can to Save People, Making Prayer for the Lost Pointless?
Roy Ingle, “The Oft Error Made by Calvinists”
