An Arminian Response to C. Michael Patton’s “The Ultimate Balanced Guide to Arminianism (From a Calvinist)”:The Good, The Bad, And The [Very] Ugly

You can find Patton's original post here I was referred to this recent post by C. Michel Patton and thought I would respond to it.  My comments can be found in-between sections of his post below: Definition of Arminianism Arminianism is a theological system developed by the Dutch theologian Jacobus Arminius (1560-1609). It is a …

Does Arminian Theology Suggest That We Depend on Ourselves Instead of Christ for Salvation?

From the late R.C. Sproul's Ligonier Ministries we find a short article "praising" limited atonement by Richard Phillips.  For the purpose of this post we will be focusing in on a section that promotes a critique of Arminianism that has been common among Calvinists for a long time and has been expressed in many different …

An Insightful Review of Austin Fischer’s New Book on Leaving Calvinism

Check out this reflective and insightful review of Austin Fischer's book, Young, Restless And No Longer Reformed.  John Frye (also a former Calvinist) presents a short and thought provoking summary of the problems inherent in Calvinism that Austin highlights in his book. John Frye, Review of *Young Restless and No Longer Reformed* Related Posts: Glen Shellrude, …

A Telling and Ironic Tweet by John Piper on “Waking up in the Morning” as a Believer

Calvinist John Piper recently gave the following Tweet:  I fall asleep quietly confident that I will be a believer in the morning not because of my free will but God's free grace.  This is an obvious attack on Arminianism and those that reject Piper's Calvinistic presuppositions, though it is misplaced.  While Arminians do believe that our …

An Important Admission on Salvation Assurance from Prominent Calvinist C. Michael Patton

Excerpt: It may surprise you to know that just about every contact I have had with people who are doubting their salvation are Calvinistic in their theology. In other words, they believe in unconditional election. These are the ones who believe in perseverance of the saints. These are the ones that believe that we cannot …

Does Believing Apostasy is Possible Lead to Insecurity, Lack of Assurance, and Anxiety?

Not if it is understood properly (Biblically).  Here are some short comments from a discussion on the topic: Visitor's Question: Why should someone who has no more condemnation fear [falling away] on a regular basis? It makes no sense to me… Answer: Such a fear is a healthy concern so that such a person will …

1 Corinthians 15 and the Claims of Calvinism

Calvinism as a system claims that God reprobated a large segment of mankind so that they can never be saved. [1] It further claims that the atonement is for this reason limited only to the elect who alone will benefit from the atonement and be saved (with no possibility of falling away).  In such a …

Does Erwin Lutzer Offer False Hope to Calvinist Parents?

I hope to do a few posts on Erwin Lutzer’s[1] book, The Doctrines That Divide: A Fresh Look at the Historic Doctrines That Separate Christians.  One might expect that such a book would look to lessen division and ease tension between Christians, but it seems that Lutzer’s purpose is more to present certain divisive doctrines …

The Five Dilemmas of Calvinism Part 3: Who’s Really Holding the Daisy?

We will now begin to explore chapter 2 in Craig Brown's book which he titles The Tulip and the Daisy.  In this chapter we will be treated to many mischaracterizations of Arminian theology in order to paint it as unbiblical heresy while holding up Calvinism as pure gospel truth.  Mr. Brown states his goals for the …

Perseverance of the Saints Part 13: Salvation Assurance

[Go to Part One here] We now come to the important topic of salvation assurance.  Calvinists have often claimed that Arminians do not have solid ground for assurance because Arminians do not hold to inevitable perseverance.  The Calvinist assumes that if one cannot be sure that they will indeed persevere in the faith, then that …