Born Again, Again
In a small metropolitan church, a soft-spoken young woman sits before a group of six boys. It’s Sunday morning in this Sunday school class of 2nd grade boys. At the head of one of those industrial foldout tables, she asks, “If you were to die on your way home today with unconfessed sin in your heart would you go to heaven?” One of the boys quickly replies with a hearty “No!” “Well,” says the young teacher, “we must immediately confess...
Arminius and the Doctrine of Prevenient Grace
In his recent essay, Jackson Watts reminds us that Arminius wholly affirmed the human will’s complete depravity and perversity after the Fall. The Magisterial Reformers were not alone in affirming this. Arminius too held to the human will’s bondage after the Fall: Therefore, if ‘where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty’ (2 Cor. 3:17); and if ‘the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed’ (John 8:36) it...
Arminius and Calvin: Partners in Reform
It does not take long to sense the palpable tension between Calvinism and Arminianism. A brief overview of seminaries, blogs, and ministerial organizations shows that countless people divide along the lines drawn by these two theologies. Followers of both Calvin and Arminius have applauded them as heroes of biblical orthodoxy—and rightfully so. Unfortunately, adherents of each school constantly construct straw-men of the other. Among...
Recent Comments