One thing I’ve often noticed when speaking with Calvinists is that they seem to uphold an understanding of themselves as credible deliberators between Arminianism and Calvinism, especially when it comes to sharing their theology with…
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Born Again Calvinism
Free Will & God’s Sovereignty
My dormmate at college was reminded of a statement that one of his professors made in class. He stated the fact that, at times, we miss out on a lot in our experience with God…
God Is Still Sovereign
Thus far this week (see: http://classicalarminianism.blogspot.com/2008/06/turretinfan-on-gods-nature.html — Editor’s update note: broken link]) we have been dealing with the Calvinistic view of an absolutistic God, and contrasting that with an Arminian understanding of a God who…
Eric Landstrom, Semi-Pelagian or Semi-Augustinian?
The term “Semi-Pelagian” is often bandied about by laymen as a summary term that is descriptive of those persons who follow in the Arminian and Wesleyan theological traditions. AA. Hodge defined the term, stating: Semi-Pelagianism…
Answering Greg Elmquist’s “Four Unanswerable Questions”
The content of this post was authored by J.C. Thibodaux and is posted on his behalf. I came across a writing some time back by Pastor Greg Elmquist called, ‘Four Unanswerable Questions,’ which I’ve seen…
Eric Landstrom, Adam’s Fall from Grace in the Eastern-Wesleyan Tradition
It is not within our capacity to say anything about God beyond what he has revealed to us. Sometimes it is best to step away from our presuppositions that we proof-text with the Bible and…
Perseverance of the Saints Part 10: Examining Wilderness Typology in Hebrews
Some Calvinists have argued that the frequent references to the wandering Israelites in the desert suggest that the writer of Hebrews is not addressing apostasy from true faith. It is assumed that the wandering generation…
Charles Ryrie, “The Extent of the Atonement”
This is an excerpt from Basic Theology by Charles Ryrie, and has been taken from http://www.bible-reading.com/atone.html#extent Please note that Ryrie is not really an Arminian, but we make the article available because it argues for…
1 John 2:18-20; A Devotional
Little children, it is the last hour, and as you heard that an antichrist is coming, and even now many antichrists are here, because of this we know it is the last hour. 19 They…
The New Perspective and the Development of Reformed Doctrine
The New Perspective on Paul is a development that has taken place over the last few decades in biblical studies, regarding the background and context against which the New Testament, and the writings of the…
Synod of Dort (Part Three)
“Because the members of the regular provincial Synods could not be long absent from their respective congregations, such galloping commissions as these, endowed with ample powers, were appointed to traverse every province in which Arminianism…
J. Matthew Pinson, “Review of *Arminian Theology: Myths and Realities* by Roger E. Olson”
Arminianism; Book Reviews; General
Pinson, J. Matthew. “Review of *Arminian Theology: Myths and Realities* by Roger E. Olson” published in the Dec. 2006 issue of *JETS*.
Synod of Dort (Part Two)
It was the “ardent wish of the Calvinists only to have the company of those choice spirits of other countries that would readily coalesce with themselves in devising measures to crush Arminianism. To obtain the…
Synod of Dort (Part One)
Did God, in His sovereignty and providence, spare our beloved Arminius from the shenanigans of the Synod of Dort? I would like to think so. However, did God not also care for those who defended…
Divine Election in the Old Testament: Israel
If you had to describe the significance of the nation of Israel in the Old Testament, it would be hard to do it better than with the simple phrase, “chosen people.” Israel is not represented…
1 John 2:15-17; A Devotional
Do not love the world nor things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 Because all the things in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the pride of life, are not from the Father but are from the world. 17 And the world is passing away and its lusts, but the one who does the will of the Father remains forever.
This passage begins the recurring theme of love and its import to the Christian. This time, love is focused in a negative way, as in what not to love. The world here stands for those things not from God. This can be seen in the terse explanation that love of the world precludes love from God.
Note how that was worded: love of the world, in other words the love one has for the world, precludes love from God, that is the love instantiated in the person of Christ. One can either love the world or be saved. John does not allow room for gray, he sees this in simple black and white.
Divine Election in the Old Testament: Abraham
It is important to recognize, when dealing with the subject of divine election, that the concept does not originate in the New Testament. When the New Testament writers–primarily Paul–discuss our election in Christ, they are…
Essay on Ephesians 2.1-10
I. Grace Is Essential Because Sinners Are In A “Dead” State Of Mind. (2:1-3) The Greek text of Ephesians 2:1 begins with, Kai hymas ontas nekros, literally, “and you were dead.” The New King James…
Eric Landstrom, The False Antithesis Between Monergism and Synergism: A Lesson from Historical Theology
A false division exists within theological discussions that centers on monergism and synergism. Within Reformed circles, on a lay level, monergism is considered to be Reformed orthodoxy and synergism heterodox to Reformed theology. However, this…
A Very Brief Excursion on Election
Arminius, at times, equated election with predestination, as many Calvinists do as well. For these people, the matter of one’s eternal destination is wrapped up in the word, “predestination.” Today, however, theologians have properly distinguished…
Recent Posts
Roy Ingle, “Eternal Security: For Those Whom I Address”
Video: The Beginnings of English Arminianism & the Remonstrant Connections: “Who Are the Arminians?” Part 2
X-Calvinist Corner Files: Testimony # 42
Richard Coords, “Remote Tribes”
