Q&A on Calvinism

Comments · 50

• LA

  @Laodage23 · 4 years ago (edited)

  I recommend reading "Against Calvinism: Rescuing God's Reputation from Radical Reformed Theology" by Roger Olson and its partner book "For Calvinism" by Michael Horton. Both very readable books that actually address the issues of tension. IMO Olson is far more convincing.

  11

• JE

  @jessfredericks524 · 1 year ago

  Love to hear your thoughts on Leighton Flowers' new 'Provisionist' definition.

  1

• SI

  @SibleySteve · 2 years ago

  Curtis Hudson’s tract made some great points

• BA

  @baobui3002 · 3 years ago

  Love your content Mike! Thoughtful and full of witty humor as always. I appreciate your embodiment of broadly-defined Reformed theology, while also wrestling with the Sacred Word and being open to corrections. Semper reformanda!!!

  1

• DU

  @duncanhollands5218 · 3 years ago

  Really great answers. Thank you for taking the time to lay out Calvinism this persuasively and compellingly :).

  1

• FL

  @flourishinglife · 3 years ago

  Great video. Thanks! I'm a Wesleyan-Arminian and I found this a helpful explanation of Calvinism.

  1

• JO

  @JoshWashington · 4 years ago (edited)

  <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wchvSYA-eWk&amp;t=180">3:00</a> A few questions about replacing Hard Determinism with saying God is Proactive, Interactive and Reactive. Does the guy you mention argue these happen simultaneously yet asymmetrically? (I kinda like this) Or perhaps at different times, not overlapping? Is the Calvinist idea of God&apos;s sovereignty predicated on God divinely ordering all events before they happen? Can God be said to be sovereign if he is reacting to the uncontrolled agency of someone else? If this is the case then how could he be Sovereign? <br><br>My chief beef with Calvinists on this front is that they are not logically consistent. They tend to follow a certain line of how Sovereignty is generally to be understood (either / or between two alternatives), but when challenged they will switch to a both / and. Consequently its hard to pin them down on a certain position. Saying God is Proactive, Interactive and Reactive is a classic example of not being able to pin them down to a certain position. Its a bit like saying sometimes God adopts a Calvinist position, sometimes he adopts an Arminian position, calling it &apos;Calvinism&apos; and pretending it is logically consistent.

  3

• PA

  @PattiTiltonTheFlowerFalls · 3 years ago

  Thank for the interesting video, Mike. &nbsp;<br>I’m reading The New Testament in Its World and hadn’t considered your stand on Calvinism until I saw your recent tweet and link to this video. &nbsp;<br>I appreciated hearing your story of going from smug to increasing in your love for God, others, and the church. I also appreciate your reconsideration of 1 John 2:2 . <br>I’m guessing that might mean you’re open to reconsidering other Calvinist teachings that conflict with the Scriptures. <br>In reading texts used to support Calvinism, I can’t help wondering why we Christians seem to arbitrarily apply passages to ourselves. Properly applying the pronouns of Scripture (and a proper consideration of context) changes the interpretation of major Calvinistic “proof texts”. &nbsp;<br>P.S. It might make PaulSueCollier happy to know I’m a woman 😊

• DF

  @dfwinspear · 3 years ago

  I was a student at TEDS when Robert Duncan Culver, J.O. Buswell, and Clark Pinnock were on the faculty. Throw in John Warwick Montgomery with his Lutheran (and very anti-Calvinist) perspective. Those were fun times.

  1

• PR

  @PreacherReads · 4 years ago

  The answers to the first question seems to necessitate a rejection of classical theism. <br><br>Per second question: if God loves everyone yet predestined before the foundation of the world that most of them would die in their sins (due to their sinful nature that God also predestined), then what exactly does that “general love” entail?

  5

• JM

  @jmocampo117311 · 3 years ago

  I’ve been looking for answers on the question at <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wchvSYA-eWk&amp;t=400">6:40</a> for quite a while now. Anyway, we’ve been using your ET, 2nd ed on my class, enjoyed everything in it—with some disagreement though.

• WS

  @Wstjopp46272 · 4 months ago

  I read Calvin&apos;s chapter on refutations of his detractors, and I could see why many fiery Calvinists are rude, sometimes even to unbelievers when calling them to Jesus. The company you keep shapes you.