The love of God does not find, but creates, that which is pleasing to it. The love of man comes into being through that which is pleasing to it. So wrote Martin Luther, in the last one of the 28 theses that he composed for the disputation on April 26, 1518. Those theses and their […]
Tag: salvation
Reflecting on Dan’s question regarding my previous post (“Did Calvin affirm ‘limited atonement’?”) and my response to him, I have concluded that my glossary definitions of “four-” and “five-point Calvinism” need revision and a bit of expansion. I am posting those definitions here because I welcome comment on them. “Five-point Calvinism” “Five-point Calvinism” is the […]
After I posted my reflections on the conversation between Gavin D’Costa and Daniel Strange, Dan kindly sent me a draft of some material he had written by way of response, for inclusion in the manuscript for a book on which he is currently working. I was grateful for this opportunity for further conversation, and I […]
I am happy for a post Roger Olson wrote yesterday (http://www.patheos.com/blogs/rogereolson/2012/06/thoughts-about-%E2%80%9Ca-statement-of-the-traditional-southern-baptist-understanding-of-gods-plan-of-salvation-%E2%80%9D/), expressing his concern about semi-Pelagianism in a recent statement about salvation, formulated by non-Calvinist Southern Baptists. Article 2 of “A Statement of the Traditional Southern Baptist Understanding of God’s Plan of Salvation,” states: “Article Two: The Sinfulness of Man We affirm that, because of […]
Daniel Strange gives a third Christian perspective on other religions, in chapter 3 of Only One Way? Three Christian Responses to the Uniqueness of Christ in a Pluralistic World. Daniel Strange’s proposal Since Dan is the only one of the three authors whom I know personally, I am going to switch to referring to […]
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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 […]
Paul Knitter’s response to D’ Costa Knitter responds to Gavin D’ Costa as a fellow Catholic and a friend, but he asserts that D’ Costa is wrong on a number of critical points: D’ Costa thinks tradition to be “like a wise man living through the centuries, learning to adjust and speak different languages as […]
The proper Christian approach and attitude to other religions and their adherents is not a new issue for Christianity. The church of the second century faced it squarely. But the ease of world travel, and the increasing diversity of the population in western nations, have made this a pressing issue for us in our time. […]
Having spelled out his objections to Calvinism’s doctrine of double predestination (in chapter 5 of Against Calvinism), Roger Olson outlines the Arminian alternative that he deems superior. An Arminian doctrine of election As John Wesley stated the classic Arminian doctrine of election, it is God’s foreknowledge of who will freely receive the prevenient enabling grace […]
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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 […]