Following up on Roger Olson’s post about Jonathan Edwards, I would like to draw attention to some resources we have that refute Edwards’ influential Calvinistic views on free will.
First, we have a list of resources that can be accessed for free through our site, including books as well as articles: http://evangelicalarminians.org/Determinism-Refuting-Edwards-and-Calvinist-Compatibilism-and-Arguments-against-Genuine-Free-Will. Perhaps most notably, we have Arminian theologian Daniel Whedon’s comprehensive and definitive refutation of Edwards work on free will.
Now some of these resources are pretty hefty. So if you would like to get to the heart of the debate by reading something relatively brief that refutes the main thrust of Edwards’ view/compatibilism as it is frequently presented by Calvinists today, then take a look at
Thomas Ralston on Freedom of the Will Part 9: The Doctrine of Motives
(http://evangelicalarminians.org/node/328).
It provides a concise, manageable treatment of the heart of Edwards’ view/compatibilism as it is often presented today. Now certainly it would be good to read Ralston’s whole argument on the issue, which is relatively concise too for a treatment of the whole issue (basically about article length, though contained in 9 segments on our site). And it would obviously be ideal to read Whedon, who is much more thorough and detailed. But if you want to get at the heart of the issue quick, Ralston does a great job in his section on the doctrine of motives.
