Providence
Would I Worship A Calvinist God?
Submitted by Martin Glynn on Thu, 04/19/2012 - 8:00amThis question was once posed to Dr. Roger Olson, and I've been thinking it over: if I became convinced beyond a shadow of a doubt that God really did govern the way that Calvinists claim He governs, would I still worship Him? It is an interesting question.
First of all, I want to state that I agree with Olson that if God governs the way in which Calvinists claim He does, then He would be immoral by His own standards. I recognize that Calvinists don't believe that God is immoral, but they are simply being inconsistent on this point IMO. So my understanding of the question is this: could I worship an immoral God?
The answer is yes and no. It is important to note that worship is not simply giving thanks and showing affection. It is also veneration to a recognized authority. Because God is God, and God is king, He deserves that veneration; that worship.
Calvinist Prayer (and many other things) Explained
Submitted by Ben Henshaw on Tue, 03/27/2012 - 7:39amApplication 2: God ordains means as well as ends. God is the Author. This is his story. We are his characters. Therefore, Be a faithful character in God’s story.*
Taken from a sermon by Joe Rigney defending the purpose of prayer in a world exhaustively pre-determined by eternal divine decree [you can find a link to it here].
John Piper on God Ordaining All Sin and Evil Part 1: An Arminian Response to Piper's First "Question"
Submitted by Ben Henshaw on Thu, 03/22/2012 - 1:45pmJohn Piper preached a sermon on God’s sovereign control over all things. In this sermon, Piper highly praises the works of Jonathan Edwards and relies heavily on his accounting of sovereignty to explain how God can decree and ordain all evil in this world, and yet not be rightly called the author of all sin and evil. Thankfully, Piper is uncomfortable with calling God the author of sin, while still maintaining that God ordained and decreed all sin for His glory. How does Piper do this? The answer will likely surprise you.
David Pawson, "Why Does God Allow Natural Disasters?"
A description of this 3 part series from Pawson's website followed by a link to each part:
Dr. Olson's Further Thoughts about Catastrophes and God’s Judgment
Submitted by SEA on Thu, 03/15/2012 - 8:27amby Roger Olson
This is a response to comments made in response to my previous post about John Piper’s blog entry about the recent tornado outbreak in the eastern U.S.
True, in this particular blog entry Piper does not explicitly say the tornadoes were God’s judgment on those towns. He does say, however, that the tornadoes were “God’s fingers.” In light of everything else he has written and said about calamaties and catastrophes, it is clear to me that he believes not only this tornado outbreak but every natural and man-made disaster (including the 9/11 terrorist attacks on New York and Washington, D.C.) are from God and not only in some attenuated sense in which most Christians would say they are from God by concurrence. (That is, by God’s permission and granted ability as the creator and governor of nature.)
Dr. Greg Boyd's Response to John Piper's Statements about God and Tornadoes
Submitted by SEA on Wed, 03/14/2012 - 8:00amWe here at SEA disagree with Dr. Boyd about certain aspects of his theology. Still, we felt that his statements on this topic were worth hearing: http://www.gregboyd.org/blog/did-god-send-a-tornado-to-warn-the-elca/
Are Natural Disasters The Will of God?
Submitted by SEA on Tue, 03/13/2012 - 6:50amAnswers from some of the faculty at Asbury Seminary to the question, "Are natural disasters the will of God?": http://seedbed.com/feed/are-natural-disasters-the-will-of-god-
Xenos Christian Fellowship - Soteriology: Calvinism & Arminianism; God's Providence
Submitted by drwayman on Tue, 03/06/2012 - 8:30amIt's refreshing to see an accurate portrayal of the positions of both Calvinism written so fairly and simply. Obviously, Xenos tends toward Arminianism which is another refreshing aspect of this lesson on Soteriology.
The lesson starts thusly: "The central issue we want to study tonight is the interplay between God's sovereignty and human choice with regard to salvation. Do humans have free will to believe or reject the gospel? How should we understand the New Testament's statements about election and predestination?"
For the complete lesson, go to:
Do Arminians Believe in the Sovereignty of God?
Submitted by Matthew Murphy on Thu, 03/01/2012 - 9:43amDo Arminians believe in the sovereignty of God? If one has only ever read Calvinistic books, the answer would seem to be a no-brainer, for according to most Calvinists, an Arminian is by definition someone who denies God's sovereignty. For example, notable Calvinist exponent Edwin H. Palmer (1922 - 1980) explicitly declared that "the Arminian denies the sovereignty of God".1
Funny though it may seem, there are even those who reject the tenets of Calvinism, yet try and take a middle road between Calvinism and Arminianism. These so-called 'non-Calvinists' are usually known by the maxim, "I am neither a Calvinist nor an Arminian, but simply a Bible-believer." I should know; I used to be one.
Response to Piper's "What Made It OK for God to Kill Women, Children in Old Testament?"
Submitted by SEA on Tue, 02/14/2012 - 8:38amThis was written by SEA member Bob Anderson in response to John Piper's recent post "What Made It OK for God to Kill Women, Children in Old Testament?" He gave us permission to post it here:
http://www.christianpost.com/news/what-made-it-ok-for-god-to-kill-wom...
I read Piper’s post and want to comment. I will begin by saying that I consider John Piper a brother in Christ, one who follows a different tradition than I do, but a brother none the less. He confesses the same God and same King as I. We differ in an internal understanding of how God works, but this difference does not exclude us from fellowship with each others as members of God’s family.
The above link is to a post that seeks to answer a difficult question, one which has been wrestled with for centuries – how are we to understand the goodness and righteousness of God in the light of human sinfulness.
So let’s examine the argument presented in the post.
