The Friday Files is SEA’s weekly look back at our archives. Our members’ names are in blue. Not everything in them reflects SEA’s positions (including my summaries), but they’re considered of interest to Arminians.
From last year: May 2019.
- Admin, “Proverbs 16:4—Were the Ungodly Created for Destruction?” The way this verse is usually translated implies double predestination. That’s not what the author had in mind.
- Jabez Burns, “Conversation on Predestination.” From Burns’s Doctrinal Conversations: How to properly understand how God predestines people.
- Ben Henshaw, “How Does the Arminian Understanding of Soteriology Deal with the Text of 1 Thessalonians 1:2-4?” How we can be confident of our salvation in a way Calvinists can’t.
- The Remonstrance Podcast, “Optimism of Grace.” [audio] In two parts: Episode 62 and Episode 63. On John Wesley’s optimism, and how an optimistic or pessimistic emphasis affects the Christian walk.
- Richard Coords, “X-Calvinist Corner Files: Testimony #8.” When your entire church goes into cage-stage Calvinism.
- Roy Ingle, “Perseverance of the Saints or Preservation of Sinners.” “Abide in me” is found throughout the New Testament. “Once saved always saved,” without this condition, is not.
From five years ago: May 2015.
- Martin Glynn, “Recent Debate with SEA Member Martin Glynn on Eternal Security.”
- Evan Minton, “If Jesus Wants Everyone Saved, Why Did He Not Pray for the World?” Well, in the proof text Calvinists point to, Jesus wasn’t currently praying for the world. Context, folks.
- Marc Cortez, “Synergism Is Not Semi-Pelagianism.” Back to the dictionary, folks.
- Roger E. Olson, “Review of Recanting Calvinism for a Dynamic Gospel by Steven L. Hitchcock.” Y’know how some people try to find a middle ground between Calvinism and Arminianism, and wind up really just repackaging Arminianism? Yep, happened again.
- Charles Edward White, “‘Ye Need Not One Be Left Behind/For God Hath Bidden All Mankind’:
Charles Wesley’s Response to the Doctrine of Limited Atonement.” [PDF] “Thou bid’st; and would’st thou bid us chuse, / When purpos’d not to save? / Command us all a power to use, / Thy mercy never gave?” - Nathan Finn, “Is Synergism Necessarily Semi-Pelagian?” No; that’s just sloppy thinking.
- William Birch, “Jacob Arminius’ Reformed Views on Justification.” Despite “Reformers” who claim Arminius taught we had to earn our own righteousness instead of having Christ’s imputed to us, he taught just the contrary.
From ten years ago: May 2010.
- William Birch, “Reinterpreting Cain and Abel: A Disturbing Satire.” Why is the LORD so outraged at Cain?—since every good Calvinist knows God influences the desires and decisions of people.
- Kevin Jackson, “A Quiz for Your Calvinist Friends (Satire).” Let’s do a little biblical reading comprehension. Try not to let your presuppositions get too much in the way.
- John Wesley, “A Dialogue Between a Predestinarian and His Friend.” Although the predestinarian appears to have all his quotes predetermined for him by his Calvinist forebears.
- William Birch, “Answering Colin Maxwell, a Free Presbyterian in Northern Ireland.” Maxwell wrote a response to Birch’s bit on Cain and Abel. It’s not on the internet anymore, but you can suss out what his general objections are in Birch’s response to his response.
- Frank A. DeCenso Jr., “On Man’s Free Will: What the Early Church Believed.” Quotes from the ancient Christians on the topic.
- Dan Chapa, “Arminian Internet Resources on Romans 9.” Chapa’s top 11 books on Romans 9, plus some additional resources.
- Kevin Jackson, “David Pawson—Audio Series on Romans 9-11.” Some audio resources by an historian and preacher, whose view is Paul wrote Romans to address antisemitism among gentile Christians.
- Warren Rachele, “The Honest Reading Canard: John 6:37-40.” Arminian and Calvinist alike claim if we just gave John 6 an honest reading, we’d join the other side. Well let’s honestly read it.
- Admin, “Another Chilling Calvinist Quote.” What are the chances it came from John Piper?
Today: SEA’s links and books.
Hopefully this peek into SEA’s archive inspires you to dig into it further. If not—or if you’ve already done so—our links and books page provides plenty of reading material from other Arminians, particularly those who blog regularly. Have a look!
