This Week in Calvinism - February 8, 2008

Coming March 1, 2008: a Calvinism Forum at Liberty University.

Bob Hayton presents the best of his blog from 2007.

Does Calvinism lead to radical skepticism? Kyle thinks so. He believes Calvinists want everyone to "accept their system no matter how immoral or illogical it makes God look because Scripture teaches it." He concludes that "Calvinism is self-defeating, unlivable, and most of all unbiblical." One reason he gives is that "even our rational faculties, according to Reformed theologians, have been ruined by the noetic effects of sin. Therefore, we must simply believe Scripture even though it both seems immoral, and irrational." First of all, the straw man argument that Calvinism makes God out to be immoral or illogical is absurd. I could just as easily say that a theological system based on the premise that God created certain people with the full foreknowledge that those people will exercise their "free will," never accept Christ, and end up in hell, is immoral and illogical. Secondly, Calvinism is intrinsically God-centered. God receives all the glory because he is the one in control of his own creation. That's the God we read about in scripture.

I have heard a lot of criticism about Calvinism, but blaming it for the war in Iraq? That's a new one. (By the way, the illegal, unconstitutional, immoral invasion of Iraq has more to do with dispensational premillennialism than it does with Calvinism. Just ask John Hagee.)

With Part III, Sam Nunnally wraps up his series entitled "Come on, Just How Bad Is Calvinism?" (Part I, Part II) Nunnally thinks Calvinism is really bad and that it gives Christianity a bad name. "Christians loose (sic) the respect of others when we say things like the accidental death of a two year old can do more for Jesus than that child's life could have. We see more popularized versions of this idea in congregational prayers that end all requests with 'if it be thy will ...'" No Calvinist I know will claim to be able to say exactly why God would take a two-year-old. Like anyone else, we cry over the loss of a loved one and grieve along with those who suffer. All we can say with certainty is that the Creator knows more than the creature. After all, God's will is infinitely superior to our own. When it comes to the bad things that happen in this world, we must realize that they are the result of sin. But even the entrance of sin into the world was ordained, as it's ultimate and inevitable destruction brings glory to a just and holy God. The only alternative is to believe that God was powerless to stop sin from entering into the world and that he remains powerless to keep bad things from happening. So, is that the kind of God we want to trust with the salvation and security of our eternal souls? The very hope we have as Christians depends on God's sovereignty over everything.

A little background on John Davenant, an influential figure in church history.

N. T. Wright fans will appreciate this new perspective on Moses.

J. Brian McKillop discusses the logic of both Calvinism and Arminianism. (Yes, believe it or not, even Arminians can be consistent in their theology.)