All Arminius, all month! William Birch will be recognizing the work of Arminius on his blog Classical Arminianism. October 19, 2009 marks the 400th anniversary of the death of Jacob Arminius. Calvinist Joshua is becoming…
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Interesting Links 10-4-09
Ephesians 2:3; A Devotional
Along with them, we all once lived by the passions of our flesh, doing the desires of the body and of the mind. Like the rest of them, we were children of wrath. What do…
Friday Files: Dunn, A DISCOURSE ON THE FREEDOM OF THE WILL
In Dunn’s article, A Discourse on the Freedom of the Will he dispatches Jonathan Edwards two main arguments in a quick and decisive manor. He responds to Edwards’ cause of a volition dilemma (infinite regression…
A Calvary-Focused Faith
“And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses; Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross; [And] having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it.” (Col 2:13-15 AV)
During a recent discussion of the relevance of the resurrection with regard to Christ’s crucifixion at Calvary, this passage from Paul’s epistle to the Colossians came to mind. There is a thought I want to touch on dealing with the sufficiency of Christ’s finished work at Calvary.
Church History and Calvinism
The attached article (below) complements the post by Godismyjudge entitled Prereformation Church History & the Arminian/Calvinist Debate in showing that Arminianism not only has strong historical precedent in Christian history, but actually has far greater…
Resistible vs. Irresistible Grace: The Key Issue
The topic of resistible vs. irresistible grace is of vital importance. In my experience, the Calvinist’s biggest objection to Arminianism is that it is a man-centered theology and gives man a reason to boast. In…
Ephesians 2:1-2; A Devotional
And you were dead because of the transgressions and sins in which you once walked, as the world has through the ages according to the ruler of domain of the air ; the spirit now working in the unyielding6 sons.
A major aspect of Christian life is remembering where you came from. Christianity is fundamentally a faith of redemption. Part of redemption is being redeemed from something.
There are two common problems we encounter when dealing with our sinful past.
Book Review: The Shack
(Warning: this review contains spoilers)
What would you do if you were invited to spend a weekend with God? What questions would you ask him? Maybe, why does evil exist? Why is there pain? That is the background for the book “The Shack” (Author: William P. Young).
“The Shack” has become a phenomenon. As of today (9-24-09) it is ranked #11 in sales on Amazon.com, and has over 3700 reviews.
There is a dual reaction to the book in Christian circles: people either love it or despise it. I fall into the former category, with a reservation. I enjoyed the story. It brought me to tears a number of times. As a father of two girls, I empathized with the main character, “Mack”.
Prereformation Church History & the Calvinist/Arminian Debate
Calivinists have a rich heritage – one that they can be proud of. It’s unquestionable that Augustine, many of the Reformers and Puritans, held Calvinist ideas. But after reading Boettner’s introduction of the Reformed Doctrine…
Does God Fail if We Resist?
Hodge’s first argument1 against resistible grace is: P1: God, being infinite, cannot fail in any of His “serious intentions” P2: God ordains all things according to His purpose P3: If God wants His grace to…
Interesting Links 9-20-09
This month’s Christianity Today has some articles by Arminians in praise of John Calvin (yes, you read that right). Man of the Bible: What Calvin gets Right, by Ben Witherington. Theologian of the Spirit, by…
Ephesians 1:22-23; A Devotional
And He set everything under His feet, and made Him head over the assembly which is His body: the very thing which fills every bit of everything.
Ok, let us recall Paul’s context:
Friday Files: Laurence Vance, “A Critique of The Potter’s Freedom by James White”
Laurence Vance’s article A CRITIQUE OF THE POTTER’S FREEDOM by James White identifies, catalogues and handles White’s rhetoric in favor of Calvinism. While the focus of the article is on rhetoric, Vance does make some…
The Difference Maker
Hodges’ Argument
Hodge argues that unless grace is resistible, the ultimate reason some believe and not others is found in us and not in God. Hodge says this would make believers better, more impressible or less obstinate than others.1
Problem Non-Unique
Personally, I find this one of the most powerful Calvinistic arguments. The idea that I can take credit for my salvation is intolerable, as is the idea that I am better than someone else. But the Calvinistic solution is no solution, and it creates more problems than it resolves.
Let’s take the argument that believers can take credit for their faith. But Calvinists also say that people believe. Therefore Calvinism entails that people can take credit for their faith.
The Equivocation of Regeneration
In the order of salvation, which comes first, faith or regeneration? Before we can answer that, don’t we first need to understand what regeneration is? In this post I plan on contrasting Charles Hodge’s view…
Brennon Hartshorn, “Eternal Security and the Bible”
Can you lose your faith in Christ? No, not if by lose you literally mean lose. We cannot simply forget our faith. We also cannot have our faith stolen from us by any outside force…
The Funniest Anti-Arminian Post I Have Ever Seen
OK, this post by Triablogue is so absolutely ridiculous that I find it comical and wanted to share it. Here Steve Hays actually tries to claim that Arminianism is a form of Manichaeism . Wow. Just wow. For those not familiar with what Manichaeism is, let me say that this would be akin to Michael Moore calling Republicans Communist. Seriously.
Friday Files: S. M. BAUGH AND THE MEANING OF FOREKNOWLEDGE: ANOTHER LOOK
Tom McCall and Keith Stanglin’s article S. M. BAUGH AND THE MEANING OF FOREKNOWLEDGE: ANOTHER LOOK reviews Baugh’s arguments that the meaning of foreknowledge in the NT renders “impossible” the “Arminian notion of ‘foreseen faith’.…
Misrepresenting Arminian Theology: John MacArthur’s Straw Man
At the 2008 Together for the Gospel Conference, John MacArthur delivered a message entitled “The Sinner Neither Able Nor Willing: The Doctrine of Absolute Inability” in which he grossly misrepresented Arminian theology by saying: “So…
Which Comes First, Faith or Regeneration?
Although I argued that “what” regeneration is is more important than “when” regeneration happens, we do still need to touch on the question of the timing of regeneration. These passages show that regeneration comes after…
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Mark K. Olson: Famous Sermons of John Wesley 3: Free Grace
Roy Ingle, “Hermeneutical Factors Involving Theological Positions”
How Can It Be Said That God’s Desires Cannot Be Bought and That He Does Not Compel Us to Join Him When Scripture Says He Bought Us and Draws Us?
Richard Coords, “Prophecy”
