I’m happy to announce that IVP will be publishing a new book by Ron Highfield in October, The Faithful Creator: Affirming Creation and Providence in an Age of Anxiety. The book is described by IVP as follows: As the apostle Paul writes in his letter to the Romans (8:22), creation groans for redemption […]
Tag: providence
Categories
Dallas Willard and open theism
I was saddened by the death of Dallas Willard at what looks like a relatively young age (77) from my present perspective. But he made a great contribution to the world during his life. I am one of the many who were informed, inspired, and challenged by his writings and by his godly example as a […]
Categories
The appeal of Calminianism
Every now and then, I hear some one say that they are Calminian. By this, they generally mean that they do not wish to affirm determinism (that God is meticulously in control in the world, so that even moral creatures always act according to God’s eternal will [Calvinism]), but they also do not want to […]
I was intrigued by an item in Christian Century news, entitled: Twisters not random, says Calvinist preacher Piper. Bob Allen wrote: An author and preacher popular in Calvinist circles says it is no accident that recent killer tornadoes followed paths that ravaged some communities while others were spared. “Why would God reach down his hand […]
Reflections on Roger’s model of providence In my last post I began to examine the way Roger Olson understands God’s foreknowledge to contribute to his providential activity in the world, in the fourth chapter of his book, Against Calvinism,. I will continue on that theme in this post and then make some final concluding assessments of […]
Categories
Olson’s “No” to divine determinism
The Calvinist doctrine of meticulous providence In the fourth chapter of Roger Olson’s book, Against Calvinism, he addresses the Calvinistic doctrine of divine providence, drawing upon the writings of Zwingli, Calvin, Edwards, R. C. Sproul, Boettner, Helm, and Piper. He finds a common overall model in their works: God is meticulously sovereign in that “everything […]
Categories
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 […]
Categories
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, […]
Categories
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 […]