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Jeremiah 18 and the Potter/Clay
Instead of appealing to the obvious biblical antecedent of the potter analogy in Romans 9 (namely Isaiah 29:16 and 45:9) or the most logical intertestamental literature (namely Wisdom 15:7), many non-Calvinists will turn to Jeremiah 18. Jeremiah 18:1-10 (1) The word which came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying, (2) Arise, and go down to…
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Dabney's useful Systematic Theology but with a few caveats
Robert Lewis Dabney wrote a book, Systematic Theology, which – while not my personal favorite – provides a great foundation in theology even to this day. The form of the book is helpful for self-study of the topic of Systematic Theology, as it is divided into easy-to-read lectures. There are, however, parts of the book…
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Frankfurt Examples and Christian Incompatibilism
I find the Frankfurt examples (and other examples in the same style) to be a useful way of illustrating that the Principle of Alternative Possibilities is false (see the first section of this video discussing the topic for an introduction and the remainder for a more detailed discussion). In the following I’ve tried to provide…
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Dust in the Eyes or a Central Issue?
In a recent video (link to video) Pastor Christian McShaffrey quoted Dean Burgon. McShaffrey suggested that the question “which Textus Receptus,” is a distraction from the real issue. Dean Burgon wrote (link to text of his book): Let no one at all events obscure the one question at issue, by asking,—Whether we consider the Textus…
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Doxology or Devil – The debate over the ending of the Lord's Prayer
In an article in the Puritan Reformed Journal (2021), “Doxology or Devil: A Case for the Longer Ending of the Lord’s Prayer,” OPC Pastors Brett Mahlen and Christian McShaffrey provided an attempt to defend the reading of Matthew 6:13 found in the King James Version, though not as the main text reading most recent major…
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Irenaeus and the Manichaeans?
Dr. Kenneth Wilson is a contributor to the critique of Calvinism that I’m currently reviewing. I’m not up to Wilson’s chapter yet in my review, but Thuyen Tran called my attention to a rather glaring error in his chapter/article of the book, and an indication that this was not the first time this error had…
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Part 2 of a Critique of "Calvinism: a Biblical and Theological Critique"
“Calvinism: a Biblical and Theological Critique” (CABTC) has an introduction by the editors, Drs. Allen and Lemke (A&L). The eleven page introduction is broken into the following sections: The Debate over Calvinism (pp. 1-3) Are all Non-Calvinists Accurately Described as Pelagians or Semi-Pelagians? (pp. 3-4) Which Calvinism? (pp. 4-7) Presuppositions and Presumptions (p. 7) Why…
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Part 1 of a Critique of "Calvinism: a Biblical and Theological Critique"
“Calvinism: a Biblical and Theological Critique” (CABTC) was published by B&H Academic. The book has a relatively low level of engagement with Calvinist scholars and other proponents of Calvinism. It’s not absolutely zero interaction. For example, they mention my friend, James White, twice: once in Kenneth Wilson’s section in a footnote, where an episode of…
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Bonus Response to C. Jaye Cox's Annihilationism Arguments
I posted a rebuttal of what I see as CJ’s top seven arguments for annihilationism (link). There’s another argument that didn’t make it to the top seven. The extra argument goes that if the punishment for sin is an eternity in hell, then Hitler is getting the same punishment as the kindest, most outwardly righteous…
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Rebuttals to C. Jay Cox's Seven Arguments for Annihilationism
C. Jay Cox has seven arguments for annihilationism. In the following discussion, I respond to and rebut each of them, in advance of a debate he and I have planned. His points are listed as “CJ” and mine as “TF.” This is not an attempt to replace the debate, but rather, hopefully, to improve the…