Confessions of a Freed Will Baptist (No, that’s not a Misspelling)
In the Protestant tradition, a defense for the freedom of the will has historically fallen to the Arminians. As a matter of fact, Arminian Baptists in the United States were given the derogatory name free willers by their Calvinist brethren—the name stuck and became the official, and personally owned, name of the Free Will Baptists.[1] Let me be clear: I am proud of my Free Will Baptist heritage, and I proudly own the label today....
Review of God in Eternity and Time: A New Case for Human Freedom by Robert E. Picirilli
In this succinct yet erudite work, Robert E. Picirilli brings a fresh perspective to the age-old debate regarding divine sovereignty and human freedom. That debate, as Picirilli views it, is often predicated “on the concept of God as formulated in metaphysical philosophy rather than on God as he reveals himself in the biblical narrative, mutually influencing and being influenced by the race of human beings he made to bear, or be, his...
Augustine and the Problem of Evil
Through the centuries and millennia, many have discussed some version of the so-called problem of evil. Usually it goes something like this: “If God is all-good, all-knowing, and all-powerful, why does evil exist? Is He malevolent or just impotent?” This is the question of theodicy. Theologians, philosophers, and ethicists have offered all kinds of responses. Augustine stands as an important figure in this discussion. Living from 354...
The Meaning of Free Will
Few ideas are freighted with more baggage than free will. Though the debate between determinists and libertarians is often an intellectual struggle among philosophers, the question of whether human choices are free or determined influences countless everyday issues [1]. Robert Kane surmises this well as he names the following issues that hinge upon the “free will versus determinism” debate: (1) Moral agency and responsibility,...
Arminius on the Human Condition
Determining what’s wrong with people is arguably the most important job of physicians. But the task of diagnostics goes far beyond what shows up in lab results. It is a theological task as well. One of the most important areas of any theologian’s thought is their anthropology. In particular, what perspective they adopt concerning the fall, sin, and the human condition is paramount for knowing whether their theology is biblically...
Recent Comments