It’s the St. Gwinear’s Day edition of the Friday Files, SEA’s weekly rundown of stuff from the SEA archives, and relevant recent articles on Arminian/Calvinist issues.
Inclusion on this page absoutely does not guarantee SEA’s endorsement: Some of the articles are by Calvinists. And some by SEA members, whose names are in blue. K.W. Leslie writes the summaries, and they also aren’t guaranteed SEA’s endorsement.
From the SEA archives:
Jack Cottrell.
• “Critique of Robert Reymond, ‘Consistent Supralapsarianism.’ ”
[2006, PDF] From Perspectives on Election: Five Views—a rebuttal of Reymond’s essay in that same book.
• “Critique of Thomas Talbott, ‘Universal reconciliation and the inclusive nature of election.’ ”
[2006, PDF] Also from Perspectives on Election: Five Views—now responding to Tablott’s essay.
• “Critique of Bruce A. Ware, ‘Divine election to salvation: Unconditional, individual, and infralapsarian.’ ”
[2006, PDF] Also from Perspectives on Election: Five Views—now responding to Ware.
• “Pharaoh as a paradigm for Israel in Romans 9:18.”
[2003, PDF] People presume God showed mercy to Moses and severity to the pharaoh. Really, God showed both to the pharaoh.
• “The hardening of Pharaoh’s heart in its literary and cultural contexts.”
[July-Sept 2006, PDF] Exodus doesn’t explain how the pharaoh’s heart was hardened, but in no way does it suggest the Egyptians were unwilling puppets, nor not responsible for their actions.
• “Prevenient grace—a Wesleyan view.”
[1969, PDF] Prevenient grace both restrains humanity’s sins, and lifts us to a point where God can save us.
• “When a Christian sins: 1 Corinthians 10:13 and the power of contrary choice in relation to the compatabilist-libertarian debate.”
[June 2011, PDF] The Christian who faces temptation has a legitimate struggle—and the Holy Spirit provides a legitimate way out.
• The Calvinistic Doctrine of Predestination Examined and Refuted: Being the Substance of a Series of Discourses.
[1855, PDF] The text of Hodgson’s book, consisting of lectures examining how Calvinists view predestination.
• “Ephesians 1:3-4: An explanation of the corporate and Christocentric nature of election.”
[Fall 2009, PDF] Ephesians 1 isn’t about God choosing individuals to follow Jesus, but choosing gentiles as a whole. The language doesn’t work for individual election.
• Review of F. Leroy Forelines’ Classical Arminianism.
[Fall 2011, PDF] Forlines describes “classical Arminianism,” and the reviwers spell out some of the differences between that and Wesleyan Arminianism.
From the interwebs:
Adam Ford (Calvinist), The Babylon Bee.
• “BuzzFeed acquires The Gospel Coalition.”
[15 Mar 2018] Because BuzzFeed knows a good source of clickbait when they see it. (Yes, it’s satire… I guess.)Ed Jarrett, A Clay Jar.
• “The doctrine of sin.”
[19 Mar 2018] How does sin affect humanity, depravity, and our relationship with God?K.W. Leslie, Christ Almighty!
• “My God, why have you forsaken me?”
[22 Mar 2018] Why Jesus quoted Psalm 22 from the cross, and why it doesn’t mean, contrary to Wayne Grudem, that the Father separated himself from the Son.Jeff Maples (Calvinist), Reformation Charlotte.
• “Five marks of a false gospel.”
[17 Mar 2018] In which Maples repeats the old slander that Arminianism is man-centered ’cause we supposedly don’t believe in total depravity. (Oh, and apparently following the Holy Spirit is another sign of a false gospel.)Jeremy D. Myers, Grace Evangelical Society.
• “The dark side of Calvinism.”
[17 Mar 2018] A review of George Bryson’s The Dark Side of Calvinism, and the fact that, taken to its logical conclusions, Calvinism can’t help but teach reprobation, that God causes sin, and a lack of assurance.Matt O’Reilly, Orthodoxy for Everyone.
• “Getting grace.”
[13 Mar 2018] Links to Joe Iovino’s articles, discussing grace with O’Reilly, at UMC.org.Randal Rauser.
• “Does Calvinism offer a basis for the assurance of salvation?”
[17 Mar 2018] It sure claims to. But since no Calvinist truly knows whether they were ever elect to begin with, the doctrine of perseverance provides no objective advantage over Arminianism. (You want assurance? Look for fruit.)Sinners in the Hands of an Angry Blog (Calvinist).
• “Arminian NOT Armenian.”
[12 Mar 2018] It bugs him too. He also makes the point that if you can’t even spell the title of our movement properly, y’maybe aren’t yet ready to debate anything.
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