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……
Sovereignty of God
Rich Davis, “Carter’s Calvinism — Once More”
[Editor’s note: Dr. Rich Davis, professor of philosophy at Tyndale University College & Seminary and chair of its philosophy department, wrote “A Demonstration Against Calvinism,” to which his colleague, Professor Craig Carter, replied with a piece “In…
Rich Davis, “On Carter’s Calvinism”
[Editor’s note: Dr. Rich Davis, professor of philosophy at Tyndale University College & Seminary and chair of its philosophy department, wrote “A Demonstration Against Calvinism,” to which his colleague, Professor Craig Carter, replied with a piece “In…
New Calvinist Bible – John (satire)
The following post is a satire, written from the perspective of an overzealous Calvinist. This post is part of a series on the New Calvinist Bible (NCB) – a new Bible translation designed to show…
A. Chadwick Thornhill, “Election, Paul, and Second Temple Judaism”
Few issues exist in the interpretation of the New Testament which can become as contentious as questions of “sovereignty” and “free will.” Various terms like “election,” “predestination,” “foreknowledge,” etc., get thrown around in these discussions.…
Steve Sewell, “Get God’s Character Right, You’ll Get His Sovereignty Right”
Get God’s character right, and you’ll get His sovereignty right. God’s character defines His sovereignty, not the other way around. What separates Calvinists and Arminians, primarily, is our view of God. Calvinists are determinists. There…
Leah E. Hartman, “God’s Sovereignty Doesn’t Mean What You Think it Means”
My husband, Caleb, and I met in college and the rest, as they say, is history. Except that’s not what happened. After college graduation and before the engagement, we decided to take one of those…
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…
David L. Hatton, “Saving God from Philosophical Determinism”
In Bible College, I took a philosophy course where a heated discussion erupted about the conflict between a Calvinistic view of predestination and the philosophical position of free will. I believe my professor, a Calvinist,…
Video: William Lane Craig, “Evaluating Views of Appropriating God’s Grace and Salvation”
Defenders is Dr. William Lane Craig’s weekly Sunday school class on Christian doctrine and apologetics. This video is part 17 of his material on the doctrine of man. His is a link to the video…
Compatibilism and Wireless Technology, Part 2: The Wireless Transmitter Analogy
In this post I hope to show by way of analogy the incompatibility of soft determinism with human freedom. I will first lay out the technological terms and give a brief explanation of how they work. I…
Compatibilism and Wireless Technology, Part 1: Why Calvinism’s Explanation for Human Freedom and Responsibility Doesn’t Satisfy Me
In this post I will discuss why Compatibilistic Calvinism really offers no satisfactory explanation of how genuine human choice (in the common understanding of the word) is possible within the scheme of divine determinism. William Birch…
Günther H. Juncker, “The Dilemma of Theistic Determinism”
Please click on the link to view Günther H. Juncker, “The Dilemma of Theistic Determinism,” Journal for Theology and Ministry 12.2 (Fall 2015) 15-22. The link goes to a download of a pdf of the entire edition of…
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…
Audio of Hank Hanegraaff Briefly Explaining that Romans 9 Does Not Teach Calvinism
Please click on the link to access the audio file of Hank Hanegraaff Briefly Explaining How Romans 9 Does Not Teach Calvinism.
Anthony Chadwick Thornhill, “To the Jew First: A Socio-Historical and Biblical-Theological Analysis of the Pauline Teaching of ‘Election’ in Light of Second Temple Jewish Patterns of Thought”
Please click on the attachment to view Anthony Chadwick Thornhill, “To the Jew First: A Socio-Historical and Biblical-Theological Analysis of the Pauline Teaching of ‘Election’ in Light of Second Temple Jewish Patterns of Thought.” This…
God’s Circus
The Bible everywhere assumes free will within the context of God’s sovereignty. This renders any semblance of determinism erroneous at best and damaging to the character and integrity of God at worst. If God influences our…
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…
The Parable of the Midwives
BREAKING: the midwife murderers have just entered the court room. Tamar and Gomer are each charged with 10 counts of infanticide. In the process of helping young Hebrew parents deliver their babies, Tamar and Gomer…
