I am currently on the road, and so my turnaround times are not what they ought to be. But I hope to have more on the whole RHE deal later today. I would tell what I am thinking now, but I don’t want to do that with my thumbs from the back seat of a …
Rachel Held Evans Denies the Cat
In the aftermath of the Oklahoma tragedy, Rachel Held Evans took John Piper to task for claiming, right in line with the Bible, that if disaster befalls a city, it is from the hand of God (Amos 3:6). Not only is it from the hand of God, but it is from the hand of a …
The Authenticity Jive
Carl Trueman recently had a podcast conversation with Todd Pruitt on “Coolvinism,” which you can listen to here. Thanks to those who helped me find it. I agreed with all the concerns they were discussing — about potential abuses and so on — and I am not writing here to take issue with anything they …
Some Robust Hotel Coffee
It is not often that I get to agree with a 4-point Calvinist about limited atonement, so when I do, I ought to seize the opportunity. Right? First, check out this statement here. I believe Alcorn is absolutely right that the plain teaching of Scripture trumps our logical mastications. I also believe he is right …
The Calvin 500
Today marks the 500th anniversary of the birth of John Calvin. In all seriousness, I thank God for the influence of this great and good man, an influence that has included blessing me and my household far beyond anything I can calculate. Calvin made sure that he was buried in an unmarked grave because he …
Denying the Cat
So let us talk about Mark Twain and the problem of evil. Twain was a fool on this subject, albeit a talented one. But even though his folly is evident on every page of his “Letters from Earth,” his ability to grasp and follow the argument exceeds the ability of most superficial Christians. In this …
Freedom? What Freedom?
Most Christians do not have a problem in acknowledging God’s sovereign control over every aspect of the physical creation. Not a sparrow falls to the ground apart from the Father, and He know the numbers of atoms that make up the planet Jupiter. We will consequently spend our time here considering the two areas that …
Unity and Doctrine
This is an important issue to settle. For it is obvious that the issues surrounding Calvinism are not a dispute about secondary matters like baptism or church government. For those who have followed closely, this whole debate actually centers on the full meaning of the gospel. How should we then approach brothers in the Lord …
Short History of Calvinism
The History of the Debate This installment will not be exegetical. The purpose is simply to provide a historical backdrop for understanding how the debate about the biblical exegesis has been conducted, and when. We will limit our discussion to the history of the Christian church, although it is important to recognize that this is …
Reprobation and Preterition
We must begin by understanding that there are two distinct aspects to reprobation. It is important to keep these distinctions in mind all the time. Preterition comes from the Latin, and means “to pass by.” It is flip side to election and has nothing whatever to do with the merits or demerits of the person …