Dallas Willard and open theism

Posted on May 15, 2013

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 fine scholar, a brilliant teacher, and a faithful and humble follower of Jesus. As I have read tributes to Willard … Continue reading →

Posted in Theology Proper | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

The exclusivity of Christ and a Christian theology of religions

Posted on May 7, 2013

            The western world is increasingly diverse religiously, and so it has become more urgent that we have a well formulated understanding of how we should view and relate to the religions of the world and their adherents. This fact has not escaped the attention of either theologians or missiologists, so books have addressed it from various Christian perspectives. Todd Miles has come at the subject as an evangelical with … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Soteriology, Theology of religions | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Was the fertilizer plant explosion in Texas a “good” event?

Posted on April 30, 2013

April 18 was a very sad day in West, Texas. A fire at the fertilizer plant resulted in an explosion that destroyed the plant, killed some 15 people, wounded over 100, destroyed some homes, damaged a church, and brought pain and trouble into the lives of many people. By anyone’s definition, it was a tragedy but, unlike the bombing at the Boston marathon, this tragedy came about through no malicious intent by any human being. … Continue reading →

Posted in Providence, Theology Proper | Tagged | 2 Comments

Romans 5 and original sin

Posted on April 23, 2013

Without doubt nothing is more shocking to our reason than to say that the sin of the first man has implicated in its guilt men so far from the original sin that they seem incapable of sharing it. This flow of guilt does not seem merely impossible to us, but indeed most unjust. . . . Certainly nothing jolts us more rudely than this doctrine, and yet, but for this mystery, the most incomprehensible of … Continue reading →

Posted in Hamartiology | Tagged , , , | 7 Comments

Is there an overarching model of the atonement?

Posted on April 16, 2013

Penal substitutionary atonement has come under significant attack within evangelical circles in recent decades. Defenders of its legitimacy have often argued that it is the dominant or overarching biblical concept of the saving work Jesus accomplished in his death, even when they grant that it is one of many biblical derived theories which complement one another. Many critics of penal substitution have been equally sweeping in their denunciation, not simply lowering its importance but denying … Continue reading →

Posted in Christology | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Is sanctification synergistic or monergistic?

Posted on April 9, 2013

Monergist and Synergist soteriologies Calvinism is monergistic in its soteriology, as evidenced particularly in two points in the well known acronym, TULIP – unconditional election and irresistible (or efficacious) grace. These points identify salvation as God’s sovereign work, in which God chose to glorify himself by saving particular people, in Christ, without any conditions on their part except those which God himself efficaciously enables them to fulfill, so that salvation is God’s work from beginning … Continue reading →

Posted in Soteriology | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

God’s great grace to the non-elect

Posted on April 2, 2013

Calvinists put a great deal of emphasis on the grace of God. What makes our theology problematic to many synergists is that we frequently preface God’s grace with the adjective “sovereign,” to indicate that God has the right to be gracious to whomever he wills and, since by definition no grace is “deserved,” no one has ground to complain about how God treats them. What is often not apparent to synergists, who are distressed by … Continue reading →

Posted in Providence, Soteriology | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Reflections on my cradle conversion

Posted on March 27, 2013

When I was born, my father was interim pastor of a church in Ontario. The congregation understood that my parents were headed for India as missionaries, but in 1944 it was not simple to travel, and they were still developing a support network. Both my mother and father had a passion for getting the good news of the gospel to people who did not know it, and the Lord had given them both a burden … Continue reading →

Posted in Evangelism, Soteriology | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Acts 2 and 10: gospel exclusivist or accessibilist?

Posted on March 26, 2013

Matthew Barrett examined an “inclusivist” reading of Acts 2 and 10 and found it wanting, in his 2011 ETS paper. He has done good work and his critique deserves consideration and response. Matthew Barrett’s critique of inclusivist readings Barrett studies Acts 2 because he has met inclusivist proposals that “the Spirit poured out on all flesh demonstrates that there is a saving, universal work of the Spirit even apart from the proclamation of the gospel … Continue reading →

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Better names for the two main alternatives regarding the nature of hell

Posted on March 20, 2013

While I blew the driveway clear after another blizzard, I thought about hell. There is no connection between those two activities, lest you think I am about to explain what it is, but I was listening to a fine podcast from Unbelievable, in which James White and Roger and Faith Forster discussed the nature of hell. (You can watch that discussion here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_bui8k-ZgiY) White represented the view he called “eternal conscious torment,” and the Forsters … Continue reading →

Posted in Theology - General | 2 Comments