Christians of every stripe agree that Christ’s substitutionary and atoning work on Calvary’s cross is marvelous beyond comprehension. It is an act of unspeakable mercy, condescension, and grace—on the human level, wholly unearned and uninitiated,…
Sovereignty of God
Steve Sewell: Response to John Piper: “How Do Arminians Pray?”
John Piper video clip: How Do Arminians Pray? In Piper’s words, Arminians praying to God for someone’s salvation: “Arminians don’t believe that He has the right and authority and power to save anybody. Do they?…
Steve Sewell, “Does Compatibilism Make Sense?”
My definition of “Compatibilism” : A desperate attempt by Calvinists to exonerate God of evil doing. Calvinists believe that God has predetermined all things, that all things happen in the world — including all sin…
The Practical Implications of Free Will
In the follow-up post to “A Beginner’s Guide to ‘Free Will’,” entitled “Six Practical Reasons ‘Free Will’ Matters,” John Piper expounds upon the practicality of Free Will. After all, he states, “It is a great…
A Beginner’s Guide to Free Will
Free Will regards the ability to make choices — choices that were not necessitated and brought into reality by a proactive and eternal decree of God — choices that lead to belief systems resulting in…
Arminian Theology Superior to Calvinism Regarding God’s Decrees
[Editor’s note: While SEA vigorously opposes supralapsarianism, it does not question whether supralapsarian Calvinists worship the God of the Bible as the author seems to. We generally accept both supralapsarian and infralapsarian Calvinists as brothers…
God and Foresight
Bombastic Calvinist James White thinks that the deterministic-Calvinistic view of the sovereignty of God is “the single issue that separates the supernatural religion of Christianity from the man-centered religions that surround us.”1 James White, who…
Determinism in the Hebrew Scriptures: Hosea
What scholars refer to as the Minor Prophets, which include the books following the prophet Daniel (from Hosea to Malachi), we discover that the consistent theme of God’s sovereignty and humanity’s relative free will remain…
Causal vs Social Centered — Part I: Glory
What Is Centeredness I have often heard it said by Calvinists that they are God centered while we are man centered. Now as far as I have seen, they’ve never really given a definition about…
Roy Ingle, “Answered Prayer and Divine Providence”
The Scriptures make it clear that God answers prayer. Jeremiah 33:3 says, “Call to Me and I will answer you, and I will tell you great and mighty things, which you do not know” (NASB).…
Determinism in the Hebrew Scriptures: Daniel
The prophet Daniel offers believers a startling portrait of our sovereign God while faithfully maintaining the biblical truth of genuine human freedom and responsibility. His doctrine of God’s sovereignty appears methodically organized in the exact…
Video: Ben Witherington III, “The Problem with Evangelical Theology”
A roughly half hour interview of Ben Witherington discussing points from his book The Problem with Evangelical Theology Testing the Exegetical Foundations of Calvinism, Dispensationalism, Wesleyanism, and Pentecostalism. The video may also be found on YouTube here.…
Determinism in the Hebrew Scriptures: Ezekiel
As should be expected, the prophet Ezekiel promotes the same theoretical unCalvinistic and libertarian worldview as do both prophets Isaiah and Jeremiah. This is not surprising, given the notion of Scripture as being wholly agreeable,…
Determinism in the Hebrew Scriptures: Jeremiah
“I don’t see how anyone could read the Old Testament and not conclude that Calvinism is right,” was the conclusion of one Calvinist professor, admitted in front of his class. In context, by “Calvinism” he…
Video: Michael Brown, “Hebrew Insights into the Hardening of Pharaoh’s Heart”
Dr. Brown opens up the Hebrew Bible in order to understand what really happened with the hardening of Pharaoh’s heart in Exodus. The video may also be found on YouTube here.
Determinism in the Hebrew Scriptures: Isaiah
For consistent Calvinists like John Piper, an inevitable implication of the sovereignty of God — and what it means for God to be God — is a prominent thread easily detected throughout all of their…
Steve Sewell, “Why the Draw to Calvinism?”
I find it strange for a Christian to be drawn to Calvinism — an anomaly, really. I don’t believe that Calvinistic theology is in harmony with who we are as followers of Christ. Christians are…
Ben Witherington and Keith Stanglin, Jacob Arminius, Theologian of Grace – Part Six
BEN: In regard to the old chestnut about God’s knowing and willing it seems clear that Calvin would say God knows it because he wills it, and therefore Calvin makes God’s will (and its exercise…
Perhaps Compatibilistic Calvinism is the Answer … Perhaps Not
Relatively recently, Arminian scholar Jerry Walls has engaged Calvinist responses to his 2011 article, “Why No Classical Theist, Let Alone Orthodox Christian, Should Ever Be a Compatibilist.” Steve Hays, of Triablogue, attempts to undermine the…
“Take It Up with Paul”
On Tuesday, I got a Calvinist to say, essentially, “Who cares that God made you sin; he’s God and he does what he wants.” Those weren’t the exact words, but if you read on, you…
Recent Posts
Roy Ingle, “Calvinism and the Atonement”
Why Does God Deny the Opportunity of Choice for or Against Him to Young Children Who Die and the Mentally Impaired?
Mark K. Olson, “Wesley’s ‘Warmed Heart’ at Aldersgate – What Really Happened?”
Adam Roe, “The Crucial Thread of Prevenient Grace: A Wesleyan Perspective on Divine Drawing”
