Fear and Trembling

"I once heard the president of a Presbyterian seminary declare, 'I am not a Calvinist because I do not believe that God brings some people, kicking and screaming against their wills, into the kingdom, while he excludes others from his kingdom who desperately want to be there.' I was astonished when I heard these words. I did not think it possible that the president of a Presbyterian seminary could have such a gross misconception of his own church's theology. He was reciting a caricature which was as far away from Calvinism as one could get. Calvinism does not teach and never has taught that God bring people kicking and screaming into the kingdom or has ever excluded anyone who wanted to be there. Remember that the cardinal point of the Reformed doctrine of predestination rests on the biblical teaching of man's spiritual death. Natural man does not want Christ. He will only want Christ if God plants a desire for Christ in his heart. Once that desire is plante...

Great book and article here . The Second Law of Thermodynamics ,that entropy is increasing, points to increases in disorganization and decreases in usable energy in the universe. How does evolution explain that organized entities arise from disorganized matter? The arguments at the link are detailed and show that evolutionary explanations are inadequate.

See the video here .

See the chart here .

How does a Calvinist know he is on the way to heaven? This post is about how one Calvinist sees things. We can know that we are on the way to heaven if we have faith in Christ ( John 6:47 ). This faith has two parts. The first part of this faith is a confident assurance that what Jesus says about how to live life is true ( John 3:12 ). This assurance brings us knowledge that we have not, even for one moment, lived free from sin. We have done things that Christ tells us not to do or failed to do things that Christ tells us to do. This knowledge of the right path leads to repentance, turning from our sins to God and His way of living. This faith is also an assurance that Christ paid the penalty for our sins. Not just for sins in general, but for our sins in particular. Christ is God who became a man. He laid aside His rights and abilities and came to earth. He lived a perfect life. This life is an example to us, but it also gives Him credit for a life lived in perfect obedience ...

See the interesting discussion here .

See the video here.

Al Mohler writes on Flew’s life.   He points out that Flew never professed Christianity. Apologetics 3:15 posts video interviews.

Trevin Wax has a helpful review on the book I’m blogging through posted here . He is more balanced than me. [5/8/10: Here's a book review from someone who is much more sympathetic.]

Continuing a Presbyterian layman’s critique of Whosoever Will: A Biblical-Theological Critique of Five-Point Calvinism by David L. Allen and Steve Lemke , I want to look into the verse most often quoted against Calvinism in Baptist circles. That verse is John 3:16, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him shall not perish, but have everlasting life” (KJV). Jerry Vines uses this verse in a crass way against Calvinism on page 14: “The phrase ‘that whosoever believes” responds to five-point Calvinism, which says Christ died only for the elect.” Once again, a Baptist sets up a straw man of Calvinism to be knocked down by his relentless logic. Calvinists believe that God loves the whole world (everyone) in some sense. We believe that the love God has for the world is the reason that God sent His only Son to die. We believe that Christ’s death was enough to pay the penalty for everyone’s sins such that anyone who does believe on ...