I ended off my last article on John Piper’s new video with the following quote where Piper embraces the possibility that God has willed Piper’s own children be reprobate for God’s greater glory: “I am not ignorant that God may not have chosen my sons for his sons. And, though I think I would give […]
Reformed
What’s so Calvinistic about John Piper’s “The Calvinist”?
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 […]
Jerry Shepherd on the Main stage
Today Jerry Shepherd offered a comprehensive reply to a number of his interlocutors (moi included). It is of sufficient conceptual weight and length to warrant being in a blog post. I am grateful to Jerry for the time he invests in the blog, and given the amount of material here I thought I would take […]
Imprecations for Arminians
I have been arguing that there is something morally problematic about the imprecation which expresses hatred of one’s enemy and relishes the coming destruction of one’s enemy. But this doesn’t mean I don’t want God’s kingdom to come in its fullness. And yet, Jerry inexplicably seems to have thought that in some sense this was the […]
Compassion Reformed? Exploring the pastoral implications of Calvinism
A disclaimer: This article actually explores the implications of David Houston’s Calvinism. However, David’s Calvinism is, so far as I can see, a consistent and historically mainstream articulation of the tradition. David Houston: “I believe in the doctrine of original sin so I believe that all children are born with a depraved nature and are […]
Does God need evil? Jerry Shepherd and Jonathan Edwards
A couple weeks ago my colleague and office neighbor at Taylor Seminary, Jerry Shepherd, asked me whether he should comment in the blog or simply share his views directly. I opted for the blog exchange. You might think it is a bit strange for two colleagues to be blogging back and forth when their desks […]
Fee-fi-foe-fum, I smell the blood of an Arminian!
My article “Calvinism and the Contrast Effect” ( https://randalrauser.com/2011/11/calvinism-and-the-contrast-effect/ ) elicited some interesting comments. Among the most interesting was from my colleague at Taylor Seminary, Jerry Shepherd. Things started out well: “Hello Randal, my good friend and colleague…” But alas, things quickly took a turn for the worse: “Let me point out here some real problems with […]
Steve Hays redefines colorblindness
As you may know, I am currently co-writing a book with atheist John Loftus, a series of short debates on a range of issues that divide us. Loftus blogged about the book this weekend which prompted Steve Hays, a paleo-Calvinist from the seventeenth century who, while pining to be my nemesis, merely serves as comic relief, to post […]
A Reformed voice brings clarity to free will, providence and election
There is no shortage of confusion among the recent wave of “new Calvinists” on the Reformed understanding of free will, providence and election. This became very clear to me a couple years ago when my book Finding God in the Shack was critiqued by popular Reformed blogger Tim Challies for providing a correct outline of the […]
Good Lovin’ Revisited: A Footnote to Calvin and the Rascals
As I was sitting here having just completed my last blog post I detected a critical hole in the argument. I don’t think the governor loved his son in my example. That’s not the problem. The core problem lies in my criterion for what it is to love someone: to love a person means that, if […]
