The Early Church Affirmed Free Will (in the Libertarian Sense) Against the Determinism of the Gnostics

Augustinian sympathizer Alister E. McGrath admits: ‘The pre-Augustinian theological tradition is practically of one voice in asserting the freedom of the human will.’ This is actually true for all the divergent branches of early church theology, in all areas into which the church was carried…Not a single church figure in the first 300 years rejected it and most of them …

Much of Church History at Odds with Calvinism (Part 2)

Be sure to check out this article at SEA on the comparative lack of historical precedent in Calvinism as well as some insightful discussion on the origins of Calvinistic determinism: Church History and Calvinism

The Five Dilemmas of Calvinism Part 4: A Litany of Inaccuracies and Misrepresentations

As stated before, Mr. Brown says that his primary objective in writing his short book was for the purpose of clearing up misunderstandings concerning what Calvinists believe.  In the process of doing this he has also engaged in trying to demonize the opposing system of belief: Arminianism.  I say demonize because Brown, like so many …

The Five Dilemmas of Calvinism Part 2

Augustine: The Greatest Theologian? I have decided to take my time with this book as there is so much that Mr. Brown gets wrong in my opinion.  Much of this series will interact only briefly with the content of the book and use certain comments as springboards for interaction and reflection.  One thing I just …

Augustine the Libertarian

Some refer to Calvinism as Augustinianism.  John Calvin took the teachings of the later Augustine and systematized them.  The only major difference between the later Augustine and Calvin's theology is the doctrine of perseverance.  Augustine believed that one could be truly regenerated and yet not be granted the gift of perseverance.  Calvin denied that one …