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 […]
reprobation
If God wants to damn your children, should you agree?
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 […]
The chief end of Man in Reformed perspective
I’m currently reading through a new book called God and Evil (InterVarsity, 2013) for review in the blog. However, a comment by Paul Copan in his essay on the origin of evil caused me to pause. He writes of what he calls “strong Calvinists” that they find themselves in tension with “the Westminster Catechism’s own […]
When is chocolate not chocolate, and when is love not love?
Bridezilla was very clear. She asked for a wedding cake made with chocolate and strawberries. The strawberries she got. But the chocolate? Well it seems Bridezilla was not clear enough, for the chef made it with white chocolate. Not an ounce of cacao to be seen (let alone tasted). “That,” snarled Bridezilla, “is not chocolate. […]
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 […]
The great implausibility of Calvinistic damnation (Part 1)
Walter: “I don’t see how people being tormented for eternity with no chance of parole can ever be seen as a good thing. To claim that it is good if God chooses to do it simply reduces the word ‘good’ to meaningless gibberish.” Well, perhaps not quite gibberish. If you’re a good Calvinist* you recognize that […]
