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A divine self-limitation model of providence – 1

Roger’s model of divine self-limitation In my last post in this series, I described Roger Olson’s objections to Calvinism’s model of meticulous divine providence. I am pleased that in that fourth chapter of Roger’s book, Against Calvinism, he briefly outlines his own understanding: divine self-limitation. God gave moral creatures libertarian freedom even though this would […]

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Against Calvinism 4 – the TULIP system

Mere Calvinism  TULIP In the third chapter of Roger Olson’s book, Against Calvinism, he describes what he dubs “mere” or “garden variety Calvinism” (38). His guides are primarily Loraine Boettner,  R. C. Sproul, John Piper and Paul Helm, whom he finds consistent with the teaching of Calvin himself in regard to the meticulous sovereignty of […]

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Against Calvinism 3 – Reformed Diversity

Reformed Revisionists In the second chapter of Roger Olson’s book, Against Calvinism, he asks: “Whose Calvinism? Which Reformed Theology?” This continues his clarification of what Calvinism he is criticizing and what particular Reformed theology he is against. His major emphasis here is on the diversity within Reformed theology: “When people say to me that someone […]

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Roger Olson – Against Calvinism 2

Responding to the “flaws” of the new Calvinism In the first chapter of Roger Olson’s book, Against Calvinism, he explains why he wrote the book now. After many years of struggling with enthusiasts of Calvinism, the rise of the “young, restless, reformed phenomenon,” described by Colin Hansen in 2006 in an article in Christianity Today, […]

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Roger Olson – Against Calvinism

Roger Olson kindly sent me a copy of his book, Against Calvinism, and that seems a good place for me to start my reflections on this blog. Today, I’ll simply look at the “Foreword” and the “Preface.” This may seem  a rather slow start to our encounter with Roger’s book, but it is enough for […]