Often my Calvinist friends say that the reason they are Calvinists is because of total depravity—that the entire Calvinistic system flows from total depravity, because there is no way to rescue people from their total…
Sovereignty of God
Sid Litke, “Why Is There Suffering?”
Please click on the link to view Sid Litke, “Why Is There Suffering?”
Susanna Wesley on Predestination
The following is from a letter written by Susanna Wesley to her son John. This quotation has been taken from John Kirk, The Mother of the Wesleys: A Biography (London: Henry James Tresidder, 1864), 284-86. Explanatory…
Roger Olson, “Arminianism FAQ 2 (Everything You Always Wanted to Know…)”
FAQ: What’s the difference between Arminianism and Wesleyanism? A: Not all Arminians are Wesleyans. Certainly Arminius wasn’t! He lived a century before Wesley. Free Will Baptists, many Pentecostals (e.g., Assemblies of God), and Restorationists (e.g., Churches of…
Middle Knowledge in Scripture
Description of Middle Knowledge The twin foundations for middle knowledge are the beliefs that the bible teaches libertarian free will and the bible teaches God’s providence over all things. Middle knowledge reconciles the two by…
Roger Olson, “Is This the Best of All Possible Worlds? What I Would Think If I Were a Calvinist”
Most Calvinists I know believe in meticulous providence. Some have claimed here recently that a Calvinist does not have to believe in meticulous providence (that God plans, ordains and governs all that happens without exception).…
Craig L. Adams, “Calvinism and John 6:44”
An email and my response: Hello Mr. Adams, I read with interest your comments on Calvin’s comments on John 3:16 on your web site. I was wondering what your thoughts are on Jesus’ words as…
Zack Hunt, “Dear John (An Open Letter To John Calvin)”
Please click on the link to view Zack Hunt, “Dear John (An Open Letter To John Calvin)”. Some of the author’s comments in criticism of Calvin may be worded more strongly than we would tend to…
Austin Fischer’s Response to Kevin DeYoung’s Review of Fischer’s Book Young, Restless and No Longer Reformed
My Review of Kevin’s Review Here’s my review of what I thought, generally speaking, was a fair review of my book by Kevin DeYoung. I’ll focus in on a few key critiques and offer some…
Craig L. Adams, “Proof I Could Never Be a Calvinist”
In this passage John Calvin says that God sends people to Hell for no other reason than that God wishes to do so: “Many professing a desire to defend the Deity from an invidious charge admit the…
Helpful Conversation between Austin Fischer and an Interlocutor
In the comments on Austin Fischer’s reply to John Piper’s criticism of his book,Young, Restless, and No Longer Reformed, a Calvinist named Clayton Hutchins got into a discussion with Fischer that is helpful for laying out…
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…
Roger Olson, “The ‘Chief End of Man’…God’s Glory…Yes and Amen (But…)”
Recently I re-read Jonathan Edwards “Dissertation on the End for Which God Created the World.” And I watched and listened to John Piper’s address about why the evangelical church needs Edwards’ “God-entranced vision” today. (It’s…
Ronnie Rogers, “Calvinism Diminishes God”
Please click on the link to view to view Ronnie Rogers, “Calvinism Diminishes God”.
Ronnie Rogers, “Is Libertarian Free Will Eternal?”
Please click on the link to view Ronnie Rogers, “Is Libertarian Free Will Eternal?“
Roger Olson, “Follow Up to Why (High) Calvinism Is Impossible”
Suppose someone said “God is sovereign but God’s sovereignty is different from our ideas of sovereignty. God is sovereign but possesses only the power of persuasion.” Someone else objects saying “But wait. There is no…
Austin Fischer, “Conversations with the Damned”
Over the next few weeks, I’ll be responding, directly and indirectly, to some questions and thoughts surrounding the book [ed. note: the author’s book, Young, Restless, No Longer Reformed]. In the next couple of posts,…
Are The Sovereignty of God and Free Will Incompatible?
“If God is all sovereign then free will is impossible. If people have free will then God is not sovereign” is what one Calvinist said to me once. I’ve heard this complaint a few times…
Roger Olson, “Arminianism and Providence”
One of the questions I’m asked most often is about God’s providence in Arminian theology. Most people know that Arminians do not believe that God micromanages history or human lives–especially not in terms of evil.…
Roger Olson, “Does God Foreordain and Render Certain Sins? (And Why Some Questions Annoy Me)”
Does God Foreordain and Render Certain Sins? (And Why Some Questions Annoy Me) Not infrequently some Calvinist confronts me with a question that, in the way it is asked, implies two things: 1) I must…
Recent Posts
Why Does There Seem to Be So Much More Calvinist Than Arminian Scholarship and Is Evangelism a Problem for Calvinism?
Roy Ingle, “When Do They Become ‘Never Saved To Begin With?'”
Video: “A Wesleyan-Arminian View of Election,” with Dr. Ben Witherington III
Mark K. Olson: Famous Sermons of John Wesley 13: Justification by Faith
