The Friday Files compiles links to posts from Arminian and other non-Calvinistic bloggers from around the globe. All links are offered because they are thought to be of potential interest to those who are interested in Arminian/Calvinist issues. Inclusion of links here does not necessarily mean the linked material is Arminian or carries SEA’s approval. Any commentary on highlighted material does not necessarily represent SEA’s viewpoint but belongs solely to the compiler.
- Dr. Leighton Flowers of the Soteriology 101 podcast presents a focus on Ephesians 1, asking, “He Chose Us To Be In Him” or “He Chose Us In Him“? The distinction here is paramount for a proper interpretation of Ephesians 1:4: the apostle in no sense suggests that God chose certain people unconditionally to be in Christ, but that God chose us (who are) in Christ to be holy and blameless in His sight. The interpretive error of the Calvinist is obvious.
- In the post, “Life is Like a …” Mike Barlotta of the website Dead Heroes Don’t Save explores the interactions between God and His creatures in relation to His sovereignty and our freedom.
- From the site, Bloggin’ the Word, Jeremy Ostrander brings us “Easy Believism vs. True Salvation,” in which our author clearly explains the difference between becoming a regenerate child of God and merely believing theological propositions.
- Dr. Craig Keener, of Bible Background, addresses an important subject in his post “Does Much Learning Make You Mad [or Crazy]? Or: Dangers of Academics?” Can too much theological education, too much philosophical introspection, lead one to overt atheism?
- The Remonstrance podcast is continuing its engagement of Arminius on Predestination.
- Dr. Dale Wayman of IRONSTRIKES releases a series on the effects of porn with the Gottman “Open Letter on Porn,” in which the doctors suggest that porn is a super-normal stimulus that can negatively effect the natural stimulus that should occur within a relationship; “Sexist Attitudes and Pornography,” which demonstrates how men can demean women in their daily lives by objectifying them through porn use; “The More Porn You Watch, the More Porn You Wanna Watch,” and “Porn Harms Intimacy.”
- Dr. Larry Hurtado answers the question: “Why and How Did Jesus-Devotion Erupt?” He states, in part, “And how did these convictions about what God has done and declared about Jesus emerge? Through religious experiences that recipients took to be revelations and actions of God, such as experiences of the risen and exalted Jesus.”
- The Society of Evangelical Arminians highlights Part Two of Ben Witherington’s review of Dr. Roger Olson’s book, Arminian Theology: Myths and Realities; Hank Hanegraaff’s answer to the question, “How Could Pharaoh Be Morally Responsible if God Hardened His Heart?“; Joseph Dongell and Jerry Walls’ dismantling of the Churchill analogy used by Calvinists; and “The Theology of John and Charles Wesley” by Randy L. Maddox.
