Friday Files, 22 Dec 17

It’s the third-week-of-Advent, three-days-till-Christmas edition of The Friday Files, our weekly stack of links: We highlight older SEA posts, and highlight stuff from around the Arminian and non-Calvinist blogosphere. Names in green indicate SEA members.

Inclusion isn’t necessarily approval or endorsement. (Some articles are by Calvinists!) We offer these links because they’re thought to be of potential interest to those interested in Arminian/Calvinist issues. Blame K.W. Leslie for the brief summaries.

From the SEA archives:

David L. Allen (Traditionalist): “Recovering the gospel.” [13 Aug 12] Salvation to all is a genuine offer, for Christ’s death makes it possible.

John Kebbel:

• “Monergism: Brother, can you spare me a dime?” [1 Aug 12] Satire: Thanks to monergism, evangelists and accusers alike are out of work.

• “Monergism versus synergism: Beware, Kobayashi Maru ahead!” [1 Aug 12] The monergism/synergism debate is a no-win battlefield. Don’t play that game.

Gregory Koukl, Stand to Reason: “A good reason for evil.” [1997] Objecting to the idea, “Evil is a thing, and since God created all things, evil’s among them.” Evil’s the absence of good.

Marie, A Miniature Clay Pot: “So you still think God is a merciful God?” [20-22 Jul 12] When a gunman began shooting up the Aurora, Colorado theater she and her family were in, this blogger realized she was ready to die—and knew the God she believes in.

Roger E. Olson, My Evangelical Arminian Theological Musings:

• “Evangelical Calvinism?” [5 Jul 12] On a new book about Calvinism—and Olson’s usual complaint about how Calvinists irresponsibly don’t bother to seek Arminian sources for Arminian views.

• “Why is Jonathan Edwards considered so great?” [31 Jul 12] The Calvinist saint committed some pretty grievous theological boners from time to time.

Ronnie Rogers, SBC Today:

• “Interview with Ronnie Rogers, a former Calvinist.” [16 Jul 12] In his pursuit of theology, Rogers read Lewis Sperry Chafer’s eight volumes and became a 4-point Calvinist. (He’s not one now.)

• “Ronnie Rogers interview, part 2.” [17 Jul 12] The road away from Calvinism came from Rogers’ expositional, contextual reading of the scriptures.

• “The Lamb’s book of life: Who’s in and who’s out? Part 1 of 4.” [18 Jul 12] Chapter 16 of Rogers’s book, “Reflections of a Disenchanted Calvinist,” on election.

• “The Lamb’s book of life: Who’s in and who’s out? Part 2 of 4.” [19 Jul 12] According to scripture, we’re in the book of life because we didn’t reject God’s forgiveness—not because of some secret counsel in eternity past.

• “The Lamb’s book of life: Who’s in and who’s out? Part 3 of 4.” [20 Jul 12] To reconcile their beliefs with the scriptures, or to avoid the obvious inconsistencies, Calvinists are forced to engage in doubletalk.

• “The Lamb’s book of life: Who’s in and who’s out? Part 4 of 4.” [21 Jul 12] Calvinists want the lost to come to Christ, but if they’re being consistent, it’s not out of any passion or love for them.

• “Ronnie Rogers responds to selected comments from his recent posts.” [28 Jul 12] Just clarifying a few ideas and misconceptions.

J.C. Thibodeaux: “Double-talk from a double predestinarian.” [3 Aug 12] When John Piper describes how the reprobate reject salvation, he can’t help but be inconsistent with his own deterministic beliefs—for how can they reject salvation which was never truly offered to them?

Calvinism:

Shawn Lazar (Calvinist), Grace Evangelical Society: “Is eternal security essential to saving faith?” [15 Dec 17] Confusing Arminianism with Pelagianism, Lazar believes we teach we might forfeit our salvation if we don’t behave ourselves. Whereas he teaches we might deny God’s salvation (and, um, forfeit it?) if we won’t believe in eternal security.

Michael Patton (Calvinist), Credo House: “12 myths about Calvinism.” [21 Sep 17] They’re where you’ll arrive once Calvinism is taken to its logical conclusions, but Patton correctly points out most Calvinists don’t believe them. (They know better than to go there.)

Kate Shellnutt, Christianity Today: Died: R.C. Sproul, Reformed theologian who founded Ligonier Ministries. [14 Dec 17] Prolific Calvinist author and lecturer Sproul is remembered by fans and followers.

Arminianism:

Roger E. Olson, My Evangelical Arminian Theological Musings: “Book recommendations: Most important books for seminary students and books that have influenced me most.” [10 Dec 17] Because seminarians wanna know what to read, Olson points to his faves.

Arminian-leaning:

Leighton Flowers (Traditionalist), Soteriology 101: “Born haters of God? The Calvinist’s view of humanity is too high!” [20 Dec 17] Total depravity, in Calvinist hands, becomes total inability: One can’t repent—yet one is condemned for it.

Reminder: Feedreaders!

SEA members have blogs, and would appreciate it if you read ’em. And the best way to keep up with their latest is with a feedreader or news aggregator—like Digg Reader, Feeder, Feedreader, Feedly, G2Reader, Inoreader, NewsBlur, and The Old Reader. Find your favorite site’s RSS or Atom feed, put it in your feedreader, and stay up with the latest.

Or tune in next Friday, the fifth day of Christmas.