Here is the debate between Arminian and SEA member Dr. Michael L. Brown with Calvinist Pastor Bruce Bennett at Grace Reformed Baptist Church in Merrick, Long Island, on May 11, 2013. Note: The video contains the whole debate,…
Sovereignty of God
Monergism: A Doctrine of Demons?
Probably not, but this is SO MUCH FUN to say with a straight face. Let’s run with it a while and see how much mileage we get from it.
First, Calvinists claim that monergism is the only view of salvation that really glorifies God. Any non-Calvinist Christian knows this a lie, and since Satan is the Father of Lies …
Second, Calvinists claim that anyone who rejects monergism is a Pelagian at worst or a semi-Pelagian at best. Arminians know this is a false accusation, and since Satan is the Accuser of the Brethren …
Third, “Calvinism makes it difficult to recognize the difference between God and the devil except that the devil wants everyone to go to hell and God wants many to go to Hell.” (Roger Olson) Calvinists might whine they’re being misrepresented here, but Calvin himself said that election necessarily entails reprobation.
“But God isn’t sending people to Hell by withholding grace; he’s merely allowing them to go,” Calvinists might reply.
From Where Did the First Evil Inclination Come? A Dialogue with a Calvinist
From Where Did the First Evil Inclination Come? A Dialogue with a Calvinist
written by Roger E. Olson, PhD
An Arminian Response to C. Michael Patton’s “The Irrationality of Calvinism” Part 5: Taking The Mystery Out of Mr. Patton’s Strange Arguments
Part 5: Taking the Mystery Out of Mr. Patton’s Strange Arguments
Patton: These two issues, human freedom and sovereign election, are not contradictory when put together, but they are a mystery.
This is the same claim Mr. Patton made in his first post called “Why Calvinism is the Least Rational Option.” We have already begun to highlight the problems with this claim.
An Arminian Response to C. Michael Patton’s “The Irrationality of Calvinism” Part 4: Returning the Favor (Reversing the Argument)
Part 4: Returning the Favor (Reversing the Argument) Patton: To the Calvinists, man is fully responsible for his choice, yet God’s election is unconditional. This creates a problem. It creates great tension. I agree that…
An Arminian Response to C. Michael Patton’s “The Irrationality of Calvinism” Part 3: False Assumptions and Question Begging
Part 3: False Assumptions and Question Begging
Patton: Therefore, [according to Arminianism] God’s predestination of people is “fair” and makes sense. After all, there are too many questions left unanswered when one says that God chooses who will be saved and who will not. Why did he choose some and not others? Did God make people to go to hell? Is God fair? “Why does he still find fault, for who resists his will?”
The Arminian chooses this position because, for them, it is the only way to reconcile human freedom and God’s election.
Here is where Mr. Patton really missteps.
An Arminian Response to C. Michael Patton’s “The Irrationality of Calvinism” Part 2: Theological Imprecision and Misrepresentations
Part 2: Theological Imprecision and Misrepresentations
Patton: However, I think we need take a step back and see that while the shoe fits when it comes to some particular issues in Calvinism these accusations are far from forming the bedrock of the primary issues in Calvinism. You see, one of the many reasons I am a Calvinist has to do with the tension that is allowed within the Calvinistic system that is not allowed in other systems.
The central core of Calvinism primarily centers on one doctrine: predestination. While the sovereignty of God has its place, it does not ultimately determine where one lands.
This is highly debatable among Calvinists. This may be Mr. Patton’s opinion, but I think that he is probably in the minority.
An Arminian Response to C. Michael Patton’s “The Irrationality of Calvinism” Part 1: The Set Up
C.Michael Patton is the President of Credo House. He has now written two separate and similar posts defending the “irrationality” of Calvinism as actually being a strength of the system, specifically over and above Arminianism.…
Roger Olson, “Where Was God when the Fertilizer Plant Exploded?”
If what many Christians believe about God is true, then the West, Texas disaster (like every disaster) was actually good–”designed, ordained and governed by God” necessarily means “good” in a Christian worldview. Something God designs,…
God uses moral power, not force
“The only sort of power that influences in the spirit realm is moral power. By which is not meant goodness, but that sort of power either bad or good which is not of a physical…
Two Wills in God?
The following comments (slightly edited) are taken from a SEA member while discussing the subject of the problem with the Calvinist “two wills” view and the suggestion that the Arminian position must likewise adopt essentially…
Robert B. Chisholm Jr., “ANATOMY OF AN ANTHROPOMORPHISM: DOES GOD DISCOVER FACTS?”
This article is posted with permission from the publisher, the scholarly journal Bibliotheca Sacra. Please click on the attachment to view Robert B. Chisholm Jr., “ANATOMY OF AN ANTHROPOMORPHISM: DOES GOD DISCOVER FACTS?” Bibliotheca Sacra…
Robert B. Chisholm Jr., “Divine Hardening in the Old Testament”
This article is posted with permission from the publisher, the scholarly journal Bibliotheca Sacra. Please click on the attachment to view Robert B. Chisholm Jr., “Divine Hardening in the Old Testament”, Bibliotheca Sacra 153 (Oct.–Dec. 1996) 410-34.
A Milestone in Calvinist Discipleship
A little theological humor with this added title: “Finally, the big day came in Kermit’s Calvinist discipleship program, a monumental step in avoiding the pitfalls of frog centered theology.”
Sermons by A.W. Tozer Available to Listen to Online
Sermons by A.W. Tozer are available to listen to online. Tozer might not have accepted the label “Arminian”, but his theology is basically Arminian. He is well known and respected by Arminians and Calvinists alike…
How Can God’s Glory be “Diminished” in Calvinism?
Calvinist John Mac Arthur in his article, Why Every Calvinist Should be a PreMillennialist, writes: It is impossible to fully understand biblical teaching about the end times apart from understanding the future of Israel, the…
Walter A. Elwell, “Hardening, Hardness of Heart”
Walter A. Elwell, Entry on “Hardening, Hardness of Heart” in *Baker’s Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology*
Is God Good?
This video addresses the problem of evil in a clear, helpful, and succinct way. (See below for a caution.) It can also be viewed on YouTube here. At one point, this piece refers to the…
James Beilby, “DIVINE ASEITY, DIVINE FREEDOM: A CONCEPTUAL PROBLEM FOR EDWARDSIAN-CALVINISM”
Please click on the attachment to view James Beilby, “DIVINE ASEITY, DIVINE FREEDOM: A CONCEPTUAL PROBLEM FOR EDWARDSIAN-CALVINISM”, Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 47/4 (December 2004) 647–58.
John Goodwin, “Redemption Redeemed”
Now available here online, John Goodwin’s Redemption Redeemed may be the best defense of Arminianism ever written. Published in 1651 by the Arminian Puritan John Goodwin (1593-1665), it is written in seventeenth century English with…
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