-
Sincere Offer, Election, and Limited Atonement
My friend Paul has posted a response to David Ponter’s response to James Anderson’s comments on Limited Atonement and the Free Offer. It’s a very detailed and worth reading. Allow me to post some shorter thoughts on the topic, namely the objection: Is the “free offer” of the gospel really “sincere” if Jesus only died…
-
Compare and Contrast
Jesse Morrell: “If it were up to God, everybody would repent and be saved.” (Facebook status on 11 January 2011) Jesus: “All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.” (Matthew 28:18) Nebuchadnezzar: “all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and he doeth according to his will in the army…
-
The Wrath of Man Shall Praise God
Psalm 76:10 Surely the wrath of man shall praise thee: the remainder of wrath shalt thou restrain. This verse fits marvelously well with the Calvinistic teaching that everything that man does, even the wrath of men, glorifies God. My question is, how could an Arminian agree with this verse? How does man’s wrath praise God…
-
Arminianism, Semi-Pelagianism, Wes White, and the real Francis Turretin
Pastor Wes White has an interesting post entitled, “Calvinism and Arminianism: A Middle Way?” He points out that one supposed “middle way” between Calvinism and Arminianism is just a restatement of Arminianism (and he provides a quotation from the real Francis Turretin to make his point). Although (like Pastor White) I’m a fan of Turretin…
-
Lutheran Response to Arminianism
Steve Hays recently pointed me to a Lutheran response to Arminianism (link to response). While I am not Lutheran (I am Calvinist, which is virtually anathema to certain Lutherans), I pass this on as being “of interest” to my Arminian readers (as well as my Lutheran readers, few though they may be). -TurretinFan To God…
-
Arminius’ Impact on Calvinism
Dan (“GodIsMyJudge”) has an interesting post in honor of the 400th anniversary of Arminius’ death (link). One criticism I have, is that I think he overstates the significance of the infralapsarian wording of Dordt’s discussion of election. In fact, one could walk away from GodIsMyJudge’s post thinking that Arminius was an infralapsarian Calvinist who prevailed…
-
John Knox on Free Will (Old Spellings)
Before I answer to the absurdities which of our doctrine ye collect, I must, in few wordes, put you in minde, that very foolishely ye joyn the free will of Adame with the free will of Christe Jesus, and with the libertie of God. For Adam’s will was never so free but that it might…
-
Does God Blind the Blind?
The title of this post is the title of a post by William Watson (“Billy”) Birch who thinks that he has found a weakness in Calvinism (though, as he admits, he’s not actually responding to a Calvinist)(link to his post). His essential argument is this (I am paraphrasing): “Reformed theology says God blinds the reprobate.…
-
So Good Men Differ … so what?
One of the perennial comments one hears is that if either A or B were correct “it is doubtful that so many Bible-believing, godly evangelical Christians would have wound up on each side.” This flawed position assumes that “godly evangelical Christians” always tend to end up agreeing with correct positions. That’s a flawed assumption. In…
-
Choice and the Common Man
When I talk to people (average, ordinary people) they mean by choice just what Calvinism teaches about what choice is: people picking from among various options. They normally don’t impose much of a philosophical framework on it. If I ask them, “What if someone forces you to pick A?” They would reply that this isn’t…