“Have I any pleasure in the death of the wicked, declares the Lord God, and not rather that he should turn from his way and live?” – Ezekiel 18:23 “The Lord is not slow to…
Two wills of God
Some Helpful Replies from Austin Fischer to Objections to His Recent Post on Calvinism Not Being Beautiful
Here are some helpful comments Austin Fischer made in the comment thread of his recent post “Young, Restless, No Longer Reformed a Year Later: Calvinism (Still) Isn’t Beautiful” at his blog (the post can be found on this…
Adam Omelianchuk, “Two Wills, Yes; A Will to Damn, No: A Response to Piper”
I’ve been reading Piper’s Are There Two Wills in God?; here’s a way of thinking about the issues. Consider the following argument: If the doctrine of Unconditional Election is true, then God prefers that not all…
Murray Vasser, “Jonathan Edwards vs. John Piper: A Critique of *Does God Desire All to Be Saved*”
According to a recent article from the Huffington Post, former evangelical pastor Rob Bell gave the following answer when asked if he was a universalist: “I have no idea what people mean. That just seems…
Roger Olson, “‘God’s Will’ In Calvinism and Arminianism”
Calvinists and Arminians agree that God “accomplishes all things according to his counsel and will” because so says Ephesians 1:11 and the entire testimony of Scripture. Both, however, interpret this differently. John Calvin, facing this…
Adam Harwood, “Reviewing Piper’s *Does God Desire All to Be Saved?*”
[This post was taken from SBC Today, where comments can be made and read.] Does God Desire All to Be Saved? By John Piper. Wheaton: Crossway, 2013. 56 pages. Paperback, $9.99. A book review by Dr.…
Predestined to Eternally Suffer? An Interview with Philosopher Jerry Walls
Please click on the link to view Predestined to Eternally Suffer? An Interview with Philosopher Jerry Walls. [Please note that while Jerry Walls believes in the possibility of post mortem salvation, that is not a…
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…
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 Hamilton: The Wills of God
Does God have contradicting wills? Hamilton presents an Arminian perspective on the “two wills of God”. He argues that this is a question that presents problems for both Calvinism and Arminianism. Click on the link…
Thomas McCall, “We Believe in God’s Sovereign Goodness: A Rejoinder to John Piper”
This article continues McCall’s critique of a popular Calvinistic view of God’s sovereignty as represented by John Piper, which can be applied to the standard view of Calvinism, i.e., exhaustive determinism, which includes God’s unconditional…
A Very Brief Explanation of Jacobus Arminius’ Doctrine of the Twofold Will of God
Calvinism posits that in God there exists a distinction of wills; the will of revelation and the will of sovereignty (i.e. the revealed will and the secret or sovereign will). However, Arminians posit that the problem with this theory of two wills is that when one is put into effect then the other is put to naught. Let me make an example of this.
It is often said by Calvinists in Genesis 50:20 that God has commanded that it is unlawful to do ill to one’s family (in this instance, kidnapping). This is said to be the revealed will of God. And yet, allegedly in this Gen. 50:20 circumstance, Calvinists believe that you can also discern the operation of the sovereign or secret will of God working through the sin of Joseph’s brothers to a good and godly end.
John Piper: Are There Two Wills in God? A Response
John Piper’s chapter, “Are There Two Wills in God?”, found on his website Desiring God, and in the book Still Sovereign: Contemporary Perspectives on Election, Foreknowledge, and Grace (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2000), seeks to…
James Arminius On the One Will of God
There is a connection between the Understanding of God and His Will that is overlooked or neglected by those who hold to a two wills in God theory. In this post we will discover what Arminius believed about God’s Knowledge or Understanding, and its relation to the one Will of God, with its various distinctives.
THE UNDERSTANDING OF GOD
A Fatal Flaw in Calvinism
“The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but those things which are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.” (Deuteronomy 29:29)…
John Calvin on Limiting Our Understanding of God to His Self-revelation in Scripture
“Let us beware lest our words and thoughts go beyond what the Word of God tells us…We must leave to God His own knowledge,…and conceive Him as He makes Himself known to us, without attempting…
