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 […]
Calvinism
How to Respond to the Rachel Held Evans Haters
As many of you know, beloved progressive Christian Rachel Held Evans passed away this morning at the age of 37, leaving behind her husband Dan and two small children. It didn’t take long for the Calvinistic website Pulpit & Pen to publish a nauseating screed titled “How Do we Respond to the Death of an […]
Pelagian Calvinism
Today, Steve Hays posted a response at Triablogue to a comment I posted on my website in the discussion thread for the article “Does Calvinism entail that I might love my child more than God does?” Let’s begin with Hays’ quotation of me: “Imagine a doctor who has enough antidote for an entire population inflicted […]
Does Calvinism entail that I might love my child more than God does?
Last week, I presented a simple argument against God as defined in Calvinism and Islam. The core shared theological content of both Calvinism and Islam that was under consideration concerned perfection and the denial of omnibenevolence. Thus, the objection was not, in fact, an objection to Calvinism and Islam simpliciter but rather an argument against any […]
An Argument against Islam and Calvinism
I was recently asked by a friend to watch and respond to this short clip in which William Lane Craig offers an argument against God as defined in Islam: In that clip, Craig appears to present an argument like this: (1) If God exists, God is the greatest conceivable being. (2) For any being to […]
Is Preachability at the Gates of Auschwitz a Proper Measure for Good Theology?
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, […]
Can You Be a Calminian? Yes … and No
Do three-year-olds deserve to be tortured eternally in hell? Apparently Ligonier Ministries thinks so. And they’re alarmed at those who disagree
“What do Americans think about God, Jesus Christ, sin, and eternity? Ligonier Ministries’ State of Theology survey helps uncover the answers. Every two years, we take the theological temperature of the United States to help Christians better understand today’s culture and equip the church with better insights for discipleship. Read some of our key findings […]
Calvinism and God’s Love: A conversation with Guillaume Bignon
In this article I have a conversation with Guillaume Bignon about Calvinism and the concept of God’s love. Bignon is a French analytical philosopher (yes, there are such things!) and an executive committee member of Association Axiome, a society of French-speaking Christian scholars. He also works in New York in the financial industry. Perhaps most importantly for this […]
Does Calvinism offer a basis for the assurance of salvation?
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 […]
Calvinism and the Problem of Evil: A Review
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 […]
Do Calvinists and Arminians worship the same God?
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 […]
Why John Sanders won the Unbelievable Debate on Open Theism and Heresy
The most recent episode of “Unbelievable” featured a debate between open theist John Sanders and Calvinist James White. All in all it was a good exchange, although White tended to offer potted criticisms of open theism and I found Sanders had an effective reply to many of his points. All in all a very worthwhile primer […]
Why would an atheist respect the Calvinist God?
When I posted my review of Austin Fischer’s Young, Restless, No Longer Reformed a few days ago RonH posted a comment noting that Fischer had debated James White last year on “Unbelievable”. I’m not sure how I missed that one, but I just listened to it. Interestingly, near the end of the program, Justin Brierley observes […]
