Calvinism/Extensivism

Millard Erickson holds to a compatibilist view of moral freedom, as do virtually all Calvinists. Compatibilism is the perspective that determinism and moral freedom are compatible; hence, the name. To wit, man makes a free choice when he chooses according to his greatest desire; however, what is often overlooked is that the desire from which…

To be a consistent Calvinist, a person must believe that the Bible teaches God limits His redemptive love toward His creation and that limited love is more reflective of God being the sum of perfect love than God extending His salvational love to all of His creation. Of course, the perennial problem with the Calvinist’s…

“Even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction” (Romans 3:22). Romans chapter three is crystal clear in declaring the universal sinfulness of man. Although the Jews have advantages compared to the Greeks, such as having the oracles of God (vs. 1-2), they do…

Calvinism teaches a compatible freedom. This means that a person is free to follow a predetermined choosing without making a choice between two accessible options. That is to say, no real choice exists in compatibilism because man can only choose an act or belief that is the result of predetermined antecedents. This means that Adam…

“For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God” (Ephesians 2:8). Because of man’s sin, man is separated from God and destined to eternal hell. Because God is love and loving (John 3:16; 1 John 4:8), He provides man with the real opportunity to…

Since writing Reflections of a Disenchanted Calvinist: The Disquieting Realities of Calvinism, I have been unexpectedly involved in engaging Calvinists through writing and speaking. I must admit that, at times, I have found my interactions with some Calvinists quite frustrating because of the great difficulty that I have often experienced when trying to discuss a…

Following are responses to comments posted by a blogger on the SBCToday blog in response to my comments about his first responses regarding an article entitled A Better Gospel. The two previous articles include my original article, A Better Gospel and the first response to that article. The words “You said” refer to the comments…

Following are responses to comments posted by a blogger on the SBCToday blog December 11, 2013, http://sbctoday.com/2013/12/page/2/ in response to the article entitled “A Better Gospel”, which I posted here last week. I introduce his statements which I am responding to by “you said, then follows my response Blogger, Thanks for your response. Here are…

The good news according to Calvinism is to be proclaimed to everyone everywhere, but it is not good news for everyone who hears. I believe the gospel according to Jesus presents a better gospel. To many it appears that Calvinists, Arminians, Molinists, Traditionalists, etc., all believe the same thing about the gospel while merely differing…

The following are responses to comments posted by a blogger on 9/19/2013 on the SBCToday blog, http://sbctoday.com/2013/09/17/rev-ronnie-rogers-responds/ in response to an article entitled “Is Libertarian Free Will Eternal?” This one gets a little deep. The blogger is a knowledgeable Calvinist, and very forthright about Calvinism’s determinism. His comments about my post are emboldened. You said,…