Out of all the arguments for Calvinism, this is the one that I probably hear the most. It comes in a variety of forms but usually imagines two people under the influence of prevenient grace,…
Synergism
Friday Files: Monergism
Calvinists often love the terms ‘monergism’ and ‘synergism’. The usefulness of these terms is dubious, and the use of the term ‘monergism’ as some test for orthodoxy can be question begging, but they have become…
An Arminian Response to John Hendryx on the Meaning and Implications of Spiritual Death Part 3: John Hendryx Concedes That it is a Plain “Fact” that Faith Precedes Regeneration
[You can find part one of this series here, and part two here] John Hendryx continues his response to the “synergist” visitor: Finally, your attempt to overturn the doctrine of total depravity relies entirely too…
An Arminian Response to John Hendryx on the Meaning and Implications of Spiritual Death Part 2: Dead Reckoning
Continuing from Part 1… Hendryx begins his response to the visitor: (John) Dear Brother …You say, “monergists take the ‘dead in sin’ phrase too far” but, I would turn that around to say that you…
An Arminian Response to John Hendryx on the Meaning and Implications of Spiritual Death Part 1: What Does it Mean to be “Dead in Sin?”
Calvinist John Hendryx takes a “synergist” to task in an article entitled Can We Make an Exact Analogy Between Unbelievers’ who are “Dead in Sin” and Believers who are “Dead to Sin”?(Excerpts From Debate in…
Work Out Your Salvation: A Proper Illustration
Let’s look at a specific example: Philippians 2:12-13 “Work out your own salvation…for God is at work in you….” Some (e.g., D. M. Baillie) have labeled this the “paradox of grace.” I have used that…
Roger Olson, “A Sermon: ‘Grace Works’ Philippians 2:12-13”
No two verses in the Bible have been discussed and debated more than these together. Throughout Christian history, these two verses, this passage, has provided comfort and affliction to numerous Bible readers. Among the many biblical scholars, theologians and…
Roger Olson, “My Response to John Piper Regarding ‘The Heart of the Calvinist-Arminian Divide’”
Before reading this you should read and/or watch/listen to John Piper’s June 24, 2019 explanation of his perspective on the “heart of the Calvinist-Arminian Divide.” (You can locate it by using a search engine to…
Brian Abasciano, “A Response to John Piper on the Heart of the Divide Between Arminianism and Calvinism”
On the 6/24/19 episode of the “Ask Pastor John” podcast, John Piper addressed what he considers to be the heart of the divide between Arminianism and Calvinism. In his mind, it has to do with…
Eric Landstrom, A Response to Phillip Tachin’s Characterization of Arminianism
For his part, Calvinist Phillip Tachin has attempted to harmonize synergism and monergism within the confines of Calvinism. While interest in the symmetry between monergism and synergism has continued to broaden due to increasing theological…
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,…
Adam Dodds, “Regeneration and Resistible Grace: A Synergistic Proposal”
Please click on the attachment to view Adam Dodds, “Regeneration and Resistible Grace: A Synergistic Proposal”, Evangelical Quarterly Vol. 83 Issue 1 (January 2011: 29-48) (This PDF link is from the author’s biography at his…
Does Paul Support Calvinism’s View of Irresistible Grace in 1 Cor. 4:7?
The following is a comment I made in response to a Calvinist appealing to 1 Cor. 4:7 to show that unless faith is an irresistible gift from God, it would give us reason to boast. Links to…
A Revamped Response to a Revamped Post That Was Terrible
So I was looking through Alpha and Omega ministries looking for a concise presentation of Dr. White’s view of Romans 9, for reference purposes, when I came across a primer in their blog roll. Now,…
Ben Witherington and Roger Olson, “Roger Olson’s Arminian Theology – Part 14”
BEN: It seems reasonably clear that Arminius took the Calvinistic view that regeneration precedes conversion. I suppose it depends on what one means by regeneration— the ability to repent? In any case, various later Arminians…
Ben Witherington and Roger Olson, “Roger Olson’s Arminian Theology – Part 5”
BEN: One of the major emphases in Stanglin and McCall’s fine book on Jacob Arminius is that Arminius did not agree with Beza et al. on the issue of monergism, which is to say that…
Matthew Pinson, “Who’s Afraid of the Word ‘Synergist’?”
A Theological Dirty Word Recently I’ve noticed that, over the past century, Arminians have increasingly used the word “synergist” to describe themselves, rather than seeing it as a negative epithet, as most Christian theologians have.…
Joshua Thibodaux, The Fallacies of Calvinist Apologetics – Fallacy #14: Conditional Election Makes God a Respecter of Persons?
Related Fallacies: Equivocation John Hendryx, who we’ve noted has employed numerous fallacies in defense of Calvinism and distortions against Arminianism, is at it yet again. This time he’s trying to prove that it’s conditional election,…
Chad Thornhill, On William Klein’s Revised and Expanded Book on Corporate Election, Part 3
[This post was taken from Scot McKnight’s Blog, where comments can be made.] Klein’s Conclusions and Questions on Election, by Chad Thornhill In The New Chosen People, William Klein challenges the view that “election” in…
Joshua Thibodaux, The Fallacies of Calvinist Apologetics – Fallacy #8: “Calvinism Doesn’t Charge God With the Authorship of Sin”
Related Fallacies: Red Herring Equivocation “All I have tried to do here is show how clearly, succinctly and simply that Calvinism does NOT charge God with the authorship of sin and so (to employ the…
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