An interesting post by Scot McKnight about an SBC association in Kentucky that denied membership to a new congregation because their confessional statement was too Calvinistic:
See post here: Jesus Creed: SBC and Calvinism
Recent Posts
The SBC and Calvinism
The Implication of the Calvinistic Hermeneutic of Total Depravity
The acronym TULIP1, in my opinion, works well as a system and should be taken as a whole and not in parts. If one accepts the doctrine of Unconditional Election — which is a product of the Calvinist’s view of Total Depravity and Total Inability — then I see no reason for rejecting either the doctrines Limited Atonement, Irresistible Grace, or of course Perseverance of the Saints. I think the only consistent form of Calvinism is Supralapsarian TULIP Calvinism, and any deviation from such is inconsistent. For the sake of space, I do not care to explain my reasons why; I just want to make those statements and carry on to the main point of the post.
The Synod of Dort vs. Arminius and the Remonstrants
Nearly a decade after the death of Arminius, the States General hold a synod (council or assembly), wherein religious and state officials from various regions accuse the Arminians of heresy and expel them from both pulpit ministry and teaching theology in Holland (read “Dutch Calvinists against Religious Freedom: Synod of Dort“). The result of the Synod of Dort comes to us in the Canons of Dort. (“Canons” refer to a Rule of Decrees or Judgments.) Therein are statements of affirmation and denial of various subjects, both theological and soteriological (i.e., doctrine of salvation).
James White, Roger Olson & 1 Timothy 2:4
In a recent blog post (10/13/2011), James White took issue with Roger Olson’s references to 1 Timothy 2:4 in his new book, Against Calvinism. How does White’s view stand up when further scrutinized?
A. W. Tozer, “The Sovereignty of God”
Chapter 22 of A. W. Tozer, Knowledge Of The Holy (taken from http://www.heavendwellers.com/hdt_chapter_22_koh.htm).
The Sovereignty of God
Who wouldst not fear Thee, O Lord God of Hosts, most high and most terrible? For Thou art Lord alone. Thou has made heaven and the heaven of heavens, the earth and all things that are therein, and in Thy hand is the soul of every living thing, Thou sittest king upon the flood; yea, Thou sittest king forever. Thou art a great king over all the earth. Thou art clothed with strength; honor and majesty are before Thee. Amen.
God’s sovereignty is the attribute by which He rules His entire creation, and to be sovereign God must be all-knowing, all-powerful, and absolutely free. The reasons are these:
Calvinists on Hell and the Fate of Everyone Who Ever Lives
I don’t know how Calvinists do it. Like many bloggers Justin Taylor posted an obituary of Steve Jobs. Unlike many bloggers, he receives comments. Not three comments in, the post got this one: Justin Taylor…
SEA Vice President James Leonard Gets his Ph.D.!
A brief press release from the Evangelical Textual Criticism blog about one of SEA’s vice presidents, James Leonard, and his recent successful defense of his doctoral dissertation. Congratulations, Jim!
Bonus: We’ve pulled a comment from Jim on the announcement/blog post, which is humorously related to the Arminian/Calvinist debate, and included it after the announcement.
Here is the announcement, originally posted on 10/13/11 by Jim’s doctoral supervisor, Peter. J. Williams, who is the warden of Tyndale House in Cambridge, England, one of the foremost libraries of biblical studies in the world:
Calvinists Still Honing Their Skill in Misrepresenting Arminianism
In their book The Five Points of Calvinism: Defined, Defended, and Documented David Steele, Curtis Thomas, and S. Lance Quinn utterly misrepresent Arminianism on the subject of Total Depravity, stating that Arminianism teaches: “Although human…
Do Calvinists Seek the Specific Will of God?
This was a comment made by Rebekah Reinagel in regards to the nature of prayer within the Calvinist system. She gave us permission to publish it here.
Calvinists pray, even though they “know” that God has everything decreed in advance. But here’s what I was wondering about: Do Calvinists seek the specific will of God?
And what I mean by that is that Arminians, in addition to following God’s moral law (i.e. Do not murder), also seek God’s will in specific situations in which it isn’t clear which way to go. For example, praying about whether to take a job or not. This presumes that God knows which is the better option, and it is an attempt to seek His will in the matter.
Popular Phrases and the Christians Who Should Have Coined Them
Below are some popular phrases, and next to the phrase is the name of the Christian who should have coined it. This is meant to be lighthearted. Additional suggestions welcome. —————————————————————————————- Nothing is certain but…
No Interpretation Needed: Deliverance from a Naive Approach to Biblical Interpretation
We have all, most likely, encountered believers who insist that they neither adhere to this or that theological position: they are, simply, “biblicists” (i.e., what opponents of this theory call naïve realism1). Such believers “don’t follow a man’s teaching,” they “just read their Bible.” On one level, there is an admirable simplicity in such a confession. On another level, however, such an approach to biblical interpretation is not only naïve but is fallacious and self-deceptive because it neglects the fact that we all read Scripture from cultural and personal presuppositions already in place.
Calvinistic Determinism and the Thoughts of Demons
Pointed questions from one of our members in our private discussion group regarding Calvinism’s doctrine of exhaustive determinism: “What about the thoughts of demons? Did God ordain those too? If, literally, everything is subject to…
The Liberalism Straw Man of Young, Restless Reformers
As Arminians, we often have to deal with a number of scurrilous charges and various innuendos inflicted upon our faith by an assortment of polemicists, predominantly at the hand of the young, restless, Reformed variety and their elder teachers. Whether it is a straw man of “free willism,” salvation by works, or open theism and a host of other unsupportable accusations, each is brought to nothing by the revelation of plain, simple truth. Truth will always bring to naught any straw man fabricated for divisive purposes. I came across another bale of straw dressed up as knowledge today. The following quote was offered to buttress another’s doctrine of mush and as always, truth will grind it to chaff.
“We are living in a day in which practically all of the historic
churches are being attacked from within by unbelief. Many
of them have already succumbed. And most invariably the
line of descent has been from Calvinism to Arminianism,
Arminianism vs. Calvinism Comparison Chart (FACTS vs. TULIP Acronyms)
We have put our outline of the FACTS of Arminianism acronym vs. the TULIP of Calvinism acronym into a convenient chart that places the corresponding positions of the two systems side by side (the horizontal version) rather than presenting one system in its entirety first and then followed by the other (the vertical version). The vertical version can still be found at our FACTS vs. TULIP outline page, but now the chart/horizontal version has been attached to the page for those who would like to access it. It has also been attached to this post.
Is Faith a Work Created by Man?
Here are some edited comments by one of our members posted in our private discussion group concerning the Calvinist claim that the Arminian view of faith makes faith a work created by man: When they…
Dutch Calvinists against Religious Freedom: Synod of Dort
Arminius and the Remonstrants fight tenaciously for religious freedom in Dutch society (link), but early seventeenth-century Calvinists are adamantly opposed to any semblance of theological toleration — not to mention freedom — other than their…
Does Scripture Describe Two Types of Apostasy?
In my series on perseverance I dealt with the warning passages in Hebrews. I have changed my views on certain aspects of apostasy while studying the subject. However, my view that apostasy from true saving…
Finally Arrived
by Roger Olson
I hold in my grubby little hands the first ever copy of Against Calvinism (outside the publisher’s warehouse). I received my author’s advance copy yesterday.
You know, when you’ve worked on a book for two years (and actually longer if one includes the years of preparing to write such a book) and gone through the ordeal of reading the edited manuscript and answering editors’ questions and making revisions and reading page proofs, etc., etc., the arrival of the book itself is kind of anti-climactic. I finished the manuscript well over a year ago and submitted to the publisher. It doesn’t usually take that long to get a book published, but for some reason….
Interview with Ken Stewart by Derek Ouellette
Earlier in the year a book was released by Ken Stewart titled ‘Ten Myths About Calvinism‘. It’s a fantastic read which will be shelved in my library right next to Roger Olson’s ‘Arminian Theology: Myths…
Quotable Quotes – Tozer on Prevenient Grace
“Christian theology teaches the doctrine of prevenient grace, which briefly stated means this, that before a man can seek God, God must first have sought the man. “Before a sinful man can think a right…
Recent Posts
Roy Ingle, “If Anyone Does Not Abide In Me He Is Thrown Away”
Mark K. Olson: Famous Sermons of John Wesley 10: The Circumcision of the Heart
Richard Coords, “Secret Will”
“Do You Call Salvation a Miracle?”
