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Randal Rauser

Home of progressively evangelical, generously orthodox, rigorously analytic, revolutionary Christian thinking (that's what I'm aiming for anyway)

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arminianism

Arminians, Calvinists, Orthodoxy, and Mere Christianity

May 17, 2020 by Randal

Arminians and Calvinists are often mistrustful of each other despite the fact that each tradition protects a shared deposit of mere Christianity. Or do they? Some folks in each theological camp appear to think that representatives from the other side have abdicated their core theological convictions. But one thing I’ve observed over time is that […]

Filed Under: The Tentative Apologist Tagged With: arminianism, Calvinism, dialogue, ecumenism, orthodoxy

Is Preachability at the Gates of Auschwitz a Proper Measure for Good Theology?

February 8, 2019 by Randal

On several occasions, I have seen Arminians make the following objection to Calvinism: if you can’t preach this to those who suffer, you shouldn’t believe it. Here’s an example from Roger Olson: “Someone has said that no theology is worth believing that cannot be preached standing in front of the gates of Auschwitz. I, for one, […]

Filed Under: The Tentative Apologist Tagged With: arminianism, Auschwitz, Calvinism, open theism, pastoral theology, providence

Can You Be a Calminian? Yes … and No

January 18, 2019 by Randal

Filed Under: The Tentative Apologist Tagged With: arminianism, Calminian, Calvinism, election, theology

Does Calvinism offer a basis for the assurance of salvation?

March 17, 2018 by Randal

Calvinism affirms a doctrine known as the perseverance of the saints according to which the truly regenerated disciple will persist in faith. In the words of the seventeenth-century Puritan William Secker, “Though Christians be not kept altogether from falling, yet they are kept from falling altogether.” Calvinists insist that perseverance of the saints is a […]

Filed Under: The Tentative Apologist Tagged With: arminianism, assurance, Calvinism, epistemology, perseverance, salvation

Calvinism and the Problem of Evil: A Review

October 12, 2016 by Randal

David E. Alexander and Daniel M. Johnson, eds. Calvinism and the Problem of Evil. (Eugene, OR: Pickwick, 2016). Calvinism represents one of the richest and most formidable intellectual traditions in Christianity, one that has enjoyed a popular renaissance in North America in the last several years. Given these facts, you might expect that Calvinism would attract significant […]

Filed Under: The Tentative Apologist Tagged With: arminianism, Calvinism, problem of evil, providence, review, theodicy

Do Calvinists and Arminians worship the same God?

September 7, 2016 by Randal

We’re going to address Calvinists and Arminians in a moment. But first let’s begin with the catalyst for the discussion which is a February 2016 episode of William Lane Craig’s venerable Reasonable Faith Podcast titled “Do Christians and Muslims worship the same God?” In this podcast Craig addresses the controversial question that was first raised as […]

Filed Under: The Tentative Apologist Tagged With: arminianism, Calvinism, Christianity, Islam, philosophy of language, pluralism, religious dialogue, William Lane Craig

4. The 59-Second Apologist: What are Calvinism and Arminianism?

July 29, 2014 by Randal

Have you seen the t-shirt that explains Calvinism and Arminianism? On the front it declares “Calvinism: This shirt chose me”. And on the back it says, “Arminianism: I chose this shirt.” In case you’re looking for a bit more, in this episode of The 59-Second Apologist, Randal explains the difference between Calvinism and Arminianism. https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/tentativeapologist/59+Second+Apologist-4+Calvinism+and+Arminianism.mp3Podcast: Play in new […]

Filed Under: Podcast, Podcast-59 Second Apologist, The Tentative Apologist Tagged With: arminianism, Calvinism, doctrine, podcast, providence, The 59-Second Apologist, theology

Can the saved lose their salvation?

February 28, 2014 by Randal

The other day one of my readers, John, asked me to share my views on “whether or not someone who has had a genuine salvific experience can subsequently lose their salvation.” As you might have guessed, much depends on what one means by “a genuine salvific experience”. One could define it in many ways. Let’s go with […]

Filed Under: The Tentative Apologist Tagged With: arminianism, Calvinism, election, knowledge, reprobation, salvation

30. Roger Olson on Calvinism and Arminianism

January 1, 2014 by Randal

Twenty years ago when I took a university course in contemporary theology, my main textbook was Stanley Grenz and Roger Olson’s modern classic 20th Century Theology. Since then I have profited from reading several of Professor Olson’s books. So it was a real thrill to have him on The Tentative Apologist Podcast. Professor Olson is the Foy Valentine […]

Filed Under: Podcast, Podcast-The Tentative Apologist, The Tentative Apologist Tagged With: arminianism, Calvinism, election, predestination, providence, Roger Olson, theology

What’s so Calvinistic about John Piper’s “The Calvinist”?

December 19, 2013 by Randal

Check out this newly released video which features a long poem courtesy of John Piper, and then let’s talk: The interesting thing is that while this video is titled “The Calvinist”, and thus presumably aims to offer a portrait of theology that is uniquely Calvinist which is then worked out in the life of the […]

Filed Under: The Tentative Apologist Tagged With: arminianism, Calvinism, election, John Piper, Reformed, theology

A quick look at God as a temporal being

January 8, 2013 by Randal

In “Love, omnibenevolence, and Francis Chan” I observed that many Calvinists reject the biblical presentation of God as sempiternal (that is, as backwardly and forwardly everlasting) in favor of an abstract and extra-biblical theory of divine atemporality. While I don’t have a problem with this per se, I do object when Calvinists then claim that Arminians […]

Filed Under: The Tentative Apologist Tagged With: arminianism, atemporality, Bible, Calvinism, eternity, God, hermeneutics, temporality

I’ll shine John Piper’s shoes under one condition

December 8, 2012 by Randal

Today Steve over at Triablogue wrote a couple blog posts responding to some articles I’d written a few weeks ago. Soon after, “Truth Unites … and Divides” commented: “I wonder if Rauser is a fanboy of Roger Olson. Didn’t Olson say something like if it turns out that Calvinism is a more accurate description of […]

Filed Under: The Tentative Apologist Tagged With: arminianism, Calvinism, epistemology, knowledge, truth

Calvinism, Arminianism and Omnibenevolence

November 28, 2012 by Randal

Arminians like to point out that according to Calvinism God elects some people to damnation. Of course some Calvinists try to soften this teaching by claiming that the election to damnation is a passive divine act according to which God simply “passes over” and thereby opts not to redeem these people. Unfortunately this shift in […]

Filed Under: The Tentative Apologist Tagged With: arminianism, Calvinism, election, providence

Does Calvinism oblige you to withhold hope in your child’s salvation?

November 14, 2012 by Randal

Some good news: the Milwaukee Hyatt Regency offers free wi-fi in the lobby. Consequently I have some time for blogging. But what shall I blog about? I just finished an interesting discussion with my friend Robin Parry (acquisitions editor at Wipf and Stock). During the conversation the topic of Calvinism came up and we discussed the problem […]

Filed Under: The Tentative Apologist Tagged With: arminianism, Calvinism, election, providence

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