Related Fallacies: Equivocation John Hendryx, who we've noted has employed numerous fallacies in defense of Calvinism and distortions against Arminianism, is at it yet again. This time he's trying to prove that it's conditional election, not unconditional election, that makes God into a "respecter of persons." Before I address his points, I believe that the … Continue reading The Fallacies of Calvinist Apologetics – Fallacies #14: Conditional Election Makes God a Respecter of Persons?
Fallacies of Calvinist Apologetics
The Fallacies of Calvinist Apologetics – Fallacies #12 & #13: The Arminian View of Divine Foreknowledge Attacks God’s Simplicity and Immutability
Related Fallacies: Conflation Hasty Generalization Oversimplification Tim Prussic attempts to salvage his hopeless case after I pointed out his fallacious reasoning concerning God's aseity. Tim makes a tenuous appeal to divine simplicity; in his words, Now, since, in God, the self-existent One, essence and attributes are identical, his knowledge is of necessity tied in with … Continue reading The Fallacies of Calvinist Apologetics – Fallacies #12 & #13: The Arminian View of Divine Foreknowledge Attacks God’s Simplicity and Immutability
The Fallacies of Calvinist Apologetics – Fallacy #11: The Arminian View of Divine Foreknowledge Attacks God’s Aseity
If God needs to have people to be faithful to His promises made to those He created, then why is it any difficulty for Him to need people to know the choices of those He has created?
The Fallacies of Calvinist Apologetics – Fallacy #10: Wait, Now Faith is a “Work?”
Related Fallacies: Equivocation Category Mistake "[Arminianism] denies sola fide (faith alone) by changing the character of faith so that it is basically a work." (Rev. Richard Phillips [Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals], Is Arminianism a Biblical View or Is it Heresy?) "Nay, the doctrine of justification itself, as preached by an Arminian, is nothing but the … Continue reading The Fallacies of Calvinist Apologetics – Fallacy #10: Wait, Now Faith is a “Work?”
The Fallacies of Calvinist Apologetics – Fallacy #9: Faith is Some Reason to Boast?
Whether you freely believe in Christ or not makes a difference only in what you obtain, not what you deserve. ...the arguments that Calvinists such as Hendryx present betray their fundamental misunderstanding of what faith is, as they attribute to it things it can’t possibly possess by pretending that believing could somehow merit God’s gift of eternal life or be some suitable cause to boast about ourselves because of our acknowledging our total dependence upon the merits of Christ!
Fallacy 6 Revisited (and Wrong as Ever)
Steve Hays attempts to respond to my pointing out a rather obvious fallacy in his reasoning; namely, he tries to make the case that God is being cruel if He lets a believer fall away. While his reply is little more than posturing, we'll clear up a few misconceptions he attempts to sow. JCT: If … Continue reading Fallacy 6 Revisited (and Wrong as Ever)
The Fallacies of Calvinist Apologetics – Fallacy #8: “Calvinism Doesn’t Charge God With the Authorship of Sin”
If a decree is made and its intentions carried out as a result, then the author of the decree is the author of the decree's fulfilled intentions.
The Fallacies of Calvinist Apologetics – Fallacy #7: Arminianism Leads to Universalism
Related Fallacies: Oversimplification Non-Sequitur Slippery Slope “The choices are not between Calvinism and Arminianism; it’s between Calvinism and universalism. Arminianism is a self-contradictory mess that can never defend itself.” - James White This is a favorite rhetorical jab of many Calvinists, but is in fact one of the more obvious fallacies they often employ. The … Continue reading The Fallacies of Calvinist Apologetics – Fallacy #7: Arminianism Leads to Universalism
The Fallacies of Calvinist Apologetics – Fallacy #6: Is God Cruel If He Lets a Believer Fall Away?
Related Fallacies: Special Pleading (Double Standard) Equivocation Straw man "Of course, this raises the question, why does their God save a person to damn him? Why not simply leave him in his unsaved state?" - Steve Hays, 'Tender Mercies' To get a better view of this fallacy, let's examine the author's argument more fully from … Continue reading The Fallacies of Calvinist Apologetics – Fallacy #6: Is God Cruel If He Lets a Believer Fall Away?
The Fallacies of Calvinist Apologetics – Fallacy #5: Choices Apart From Intent?
Related Fallacies: Strawman Begging the Question "While libertarians uphold the philosophy that “choice without sufficient cause” is what makes one responsible, the compatibilist, on the other hand, looks to Scripture which testifies that it is because our choices have motives and desires that moral responsibility is actually established. Responsibility requires that our acts, of necessity, … Continue reading The Fallacies of Calvinist Apologetics – Fallacy #5: Choices Apart From Intent?
The Fallacies of Calvinist Apologetics – Fallacy #4: “Free Will is the Power to Do Anything!!”
Related Fallacies: Oversimplification Strawman False Dilemma One of the most telling signs of the fallacious nature of Calvinist apologetics in general is its heavy reliance upon caricatures and misrepresentation of the beliefs of other Christians. There are few things more frustrating than trying to explain a concept to someone who simply takes one aspect of … Continue reading The Fallacies of Calvinist Apologetics – Fallacy #4: “Free Will is the Power to Do Anything!!”
The Fallacies of Calvinist Apologetics – Fallacy #3: We Choose by ‘Chance?’
Related Fallacies: Begging the Question Special Pleading [given that God has power of contrary choice] False Dichotomy If all men are neutral in prevenient grace was it by chance that one believed and not another? - [A Prayer That a Synergist Won't Pray (An Open Challenge to All Synergists) - yet another winner by John … Continue reading The Fallacies of Calvinist Apologetics – Fallacy #3: We Choose by ‘Chance?’
The Fallacies of Calvinist Apologetics – Fallacy #2: Arminianism entails salvation by “inherent ability”
Related Fallacies: Strawman "Bait and Switch" "Why are you a Christian and your friends aren’t? ... Is it because you are smarter than your friend?" (The Pelagian Captivity of the Church, R.C. Sproul) ...I believe it can be demonstrated with finality that prevenient grace merely begs the question and that under such influences the final … Continue reading The Fallacies of Calvinist Apologetics – Fallacy #2: Arminianism entails salvation by “inherent ability”
The Fallacies of Calvinist Apologetics – Fallacy #1: “If we have libertarian free will, what makes us choose one way or the other?”
Related Fallacies: Begging the question Calvinists often pose questions along the lines of, "If 2 people are given the same grace, why does one receives it and another reject it?" This question was popularized on the internet by John Hendryx at monergism.com, who in one rendition of this particular fallacy states: "If prevenient grace places … Continue reading The Fallacies of Calvinist Apologetics – Fallacy #1: “If we have libertarian free will, what makes us choose one way or the other?”
Arminian Perspectives 