About

The purpose of this blog is to discuss the very important topic of soteriology (study of salvation) within the theological framework of Arminianism. This blog will serve as both an apologetic for Arminian doctrine and a polemic against the teachings of Calvinism. I hope that you will enjoy my posts and any interaction that they may generate. May God Bless you as you seek His truth (Jn. 17:17).

28 thoughts on “About”

  2. I write to draw your attention to my article,
    Charles M. Cameron, “Arminius-Hero or Heretic?” The Evangelical Quarterly 64.3 (1992): 213-27.

    The article concludes:

    In our theology of salvation, we must take care to preserve the dual emphasis of Scripture on both grace and faith: ‘By grace you have been saved through faith’ (Eph. 2:8). It is not ‘grace without faith’, and it is not ‘faith apart from grace’. Salvation is by not ‘grace without faith’, and it is not ‘faith apart from grace’. Salvation is ‘by grace through faith’. We are ‘kept by the power of God through faith’ (1 Pet. 1:5). It is not ‘the power of God apart from faith’, and it is not ‘faith independently of the power of God’. We are ‘kept by the power of God through faith’. In seeking to maintain the biblical balance between grace and faith, we may―perhaps surprisingly―find in Arminius, a theologian from whom we can learn much. He does not fit easily into the Calvinist Arminian patterns of theological pigeon­holing. He challenges us to think more deeply about the gospel, which is greater than all our systems. He invites us to have confidence in the gospel of Jesus Christ without becoming overconfi­dent in any particular interpretation, such as inflexible ‘Calvinism’ or superficial ‘Arminianism’.

    To find the full article, go to http://www.theologicalstudies.org.uk/pdf/eq/arminius_cameron.pdf
    Best wishes.
    Charlie

  3. I’ve just sent you a note of my article on Arminius and, after sending it, have noticed that you already have it listed on your list of websites, articles and resources. Thanks for listing it. Hope you and other readers will find it helpful.

  6. Hello I added your site to my blogroll. I appreciate your efforts on this subject. Oh by the way if you stop by don’t be alarmed at seeing Wayne Grudem’s picture on my latest post, and a reference to the site. Anyhow, you can read the short post and see what I am talking about.

    Anyhow, once again thanks!

  7. Robert,

    Thanks. I actually noticed that you linked to me a couple of days ago and added you to my blogroll yesterday. I look forward to checking out your blog.

    God Bless,
    Ben

  10. Hi,
    Appreciate the site. One problem I have is the lack of fellowship and networking. I am a missionary living in India and have been in missions for than 12 years. I have always been with an independant group and focused on evangelism and simple discipleship. As time has gone on my interest in and valuing of theological study has increased as well as my interest in church planting. I am looking for people to fellowship and network with who have similar interests, but it seems like all the Calvinists have the cool networks i.e., Resurgence, Acts 29, Gospel Coalition, etc. Can you do a post pointing us to where we can find some networking resources that are Arminian in theology but extend beyond the boundaries of a single denomination? Or could you email me any links you might have?

    Thanks,
    Rick

  11. I noticed that the name link given at my my earlier comment no longer works. This is because I closed my old blog. This comment should give a link to my new blog.
    Best wishes for 2012.

  12. Hello.
    May I know who is the author of this blog. What should I call you?
    I am a Chinese Christian against predestination and OSAS. Can you recommend the easiest to understand teaching against predestination . There are so many here. I don’t know where to start.

    If you could, please give me a few pointers.
    God bless you in the name of Jesus.
    Love in Christ,
    Mr. Johnson Ma
    Taiwan

  13. Mr. Johnson,

    I personally hold to the corporate election view. Here is a good link to a concise description of that view along with several articles which go into much greater detail. Some of the articles are rather scholarly, but do an excellent job describing and showing the Biblical foundation of the view as well as handle objections to the view: http://evangelicalarminians.org/A-Concise-Summary-of-the-Corporate-View-of-Election-and-Predestination

    If after reading them you have specific questions, feel free to ask. I have a page set up just for questions: https://arminianperspectives.wordpress.com/questions/

    God Bless,
    Ben

  15. OpenAirOutreach.com,

    Just for the record, while many Arminians have held to the governmental view of atonement, Arminius did not. Nor did John Wesley. They both held to penal-satisfaction, just as many Arminians do today. Even Richard Taylor, who once championed the governmental view, later adopted the penal-satisfaction view as more Scriptural in his book, “God’s Integrity and the Cross.”

    God Bless,
    Ben

  18. Dear blog administrators

    I come from a background that is Arminian in orientation although it has only been recently that it has come to my attention that this position is backed by much theological discussion. I am currently working my way through the issues at stake in order to come to my own conclusions. It seems to me that Calvinism does indeed have problems. Likewise, I have noted that Calvinism is frequently presented as the “intellectual” and “theologically sound” exegesis of the Gospel (and thus dismiss any other position or the valid objections to Calvinism). It has been hard to articulate my potential objections to Calvinism, or indeed even start to attempt to construct an argument against Calvinism, when many of the Arminian sites are profoundly unintellectual and simplistic. Your site indeed seems to be the most thorough in regards to presenting evidence for Arminianism. I note too that you have commented on how there is a tendency in Calvinism to explain away tensions that arise within the 5 tenets of this theology. Additionally, I have noted that Calvinists seem to often charge Arminians with heresy and of not being true Christians as it is alleged Arminians have believed another Gospel. This is interesting and also disturbing – especially for me, as the Arminian approach to theology underpinned the only version of the Gospel I have ever heard. I also note that Calvinism is presented as a gospel which glorifies God whereas Arminian apparently leads to a position in which man is glorified. I find this simplistic at best. Who are we, from our limited vantage point, to say what glorifies God best? If we come to a place in which free will etc is conceded, how can we be so sure that this does or does not glorify God best. But I digress… Could I please join your blog? You will have my email address from this post. Thank you for your help

    Sarah

  19. Sarah,

    Thanks for stopping by and sharing your thoughts. I am glad you have found this site helpful. You can certainly join/follow the blog. I am not sure how to help you with doing that. I think that when you leave a comment, there is also something you can click which will make you a follower and will then send new blog posts to your email. Unfortunately, I do not have the time to post very frequently anymore, so you may not get too many sent to you.

    In the meantime, I would encourage you to check out the many posts that are already here. The best way to do that is to click on the category headings on the left side bar. There are also posts and articles you can click on the right side bar, though many of those links might not work anymore (something I need to fix when I can find the time). I would also encourage you to check The Society of Evangelical Arminians, which has a wealth of good resources.

    http://evangelicalarminians.org/

    God Bless,
    Ben

  22. Kangaroodort ,
    I have heard that Christians need not pray for forgiveness because they WERE Forgiven past, present and future sins. I have also heard that the forgiveness we should seek is merely to restore our relationship with God and not to avoid damnation as our eternity is sealed.

    His sounds like Calvinism coming to terms with the reality of sin in a believer. They insist the worst that can happen is tempotal pain or loss and probably hurting others but nothing eternal.

    Please spend some time and debunk this Calvinism shade of licentiousness

  23. Hello:
    I’m not an apologist for either side; however, a couple of recent hermeneutic studies may shed some light on understanding these difficult biblical passages.

    The Bread of Life Chiasm in John 6:35-51 examines what the phrase “all that the Father gives Me” (John 6:37, 39; John 13:3; 17:2) or
    the similar phrase “all things have been handed over to me by My Father” (Matt 11:27; Luke 10:22; John 3:35).
    http:www.Helpmewithbiblestudy.org/9Salvation/CallingOTBreadOfLifeChiasm.aspx

    What does the phrase “lost sheep” mean?
    http://www.Helpmewithbiblestudy.org/9Salvation/CallingOTSheep.aspx

    I hope this contributes to the ongoing study towards the Truth.
    Doug

  24. Hey Brother – a friend from Soteriology101 asked me to request your email to send to him. His name is Duane and he is known as br.d on the site. Would you mind if I forward it to him? Thanks. I hope you things are well with you and those you love.

  26. Calvinists never seem to be able to read Ezekiel 33. The Watchman. Also, I do have a question that I would like to ask via E-mail. But I’ll post it here. The question has to do with the prodigal so. He had a relationship with his father, rejected it (presumably putting the father to open shame) and yet the father accepted him back. Would you address this in comparison to the Hebrews 6 and 10 passages?

  28. Thank you so much. I have been struggling with Calvinism for years. Can you recommend a resource to understand the passages that Calvinists use.

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