I haven’t read it yet, but I’m sure that it’s worth a careful look.
Paul Hartog is an associate professor at Faith Baptist Bible College and Theological Seminary (Ankeny, Iowa). He has earned MA and MDiv degrees in theological studies (Faith), an MA in history (Iowa State University), a ThM in Ethics (St. Andrew’s Theological College), and a PhD in New Testament and Early Christianity (Loyola University, Chicago). He has also ministered as an assistant pastor in Baptist churches in Slater, Iowa, Romeoville, Ill., and Grimes, Iowa.
This two-minute clip from The Princess Bride is my favorite light-hearted illustration of the Arminian view of human depravity (an issue integrally related to prevenient grace):
This is the notable part of the exchange:
“Well it just so happens that your friend here is only mostly dead. There’s a big difference between mostly dead and all dead. . . . Now mostly dead is slightly alive. All dead—well, with all dead, there’s only usually one thing that you can do.”
“What’s that?”
“Go through his clothes and look for loose change.”
Phil Johnson wrote a lucid article in 1998 that those using the term “hyper-Calvinism” would do well to read:
Hyper-Calvinism, simply stated, is a doctrine that emphasizes divine sovereignty to the exclusion of human responsibility. To call it “hyper-Calvinism” is something of a misnomer. It is actually a rejection of historic Calvinism. Hyper-Calvinism entails a denial of what is taught in both Scripture and the major Calvinistic creeds, substituting instead an imbalanced and unbiblical notion of divine sovereignty.
Hyper-Calvinism comes in several flavors, so it admits no simple, pithy definition. . . .
A fivefold definition: The definition I am proposing outlines five varieties of hyper-Calvinism, listed here in a declining order, from the worst kind to a less extreme variety (which some might prefer to class as “ultra-high Calvinism”):
A hyper-Calvinist is someone who either:
Denies that the gospel call applies to all who hear,
OR Denies that faith is the duty of every sinner,
OR Denies that the gospel makes any “offer” of Christ, salvation, or mercy to the non-elect (or denies that the offer of divine mercy is free and universal),
OR Denies that there is such a thing as “common grace,”
OR Denies that God has any sort of love for the non-elect.
All five varieties of hyper-Calvinism undermine evangelism or twist the gospel message
Justin Taylor in “Fundamentalism 101“: “Slandering fundamentalists is something of an acceptable pastime for evangelicals (not to mention the wider Christian commnunity and culture). But since slander is sin, we’re better off showing respect (even when we critique) and seeking to learn what we can.”
Excellent comments, Chris. I’m a missionary for several reasons.
Because I believe with all my heart that God has a chosen people in Latin America and that he’s given me the privilege to help call them out from the nations for his name.
Because my theology tells me that God’s glory is the chief end of all his eternal decrees and that the greatest thing I can do in this life is live to that end.
Because many years ago I tearfully and brokenly read Piper’s Let the Nations Be Glad and my man- (and self-) centered worldview was devastated by the beauty and greatness of the God I found there. Never in all my years growing up in fundamentalism had I heard or read such words. I decided that I had to tell others about Him.
Soli Deo Gloria
(BTW, in the interests of historical accuracy, those Latin words were the battle cry of a group of flamboyant Calvinist leaders whose ministries continue to bear fruit 500 years later.)
Here are the two most important things you need to know about the rise of the New Calvinism: it’s not new and it’s not about Calvin. . . . “Please God, don’t let the young, restless, and reformed movement be another historically ignorant, self-absorbed, cooler-than-thou fad.”
Increasing my coverage of Reformed blogging is not the only change I would make. Readers have emerged from the woodwork to tell me about growing pockets of Reformed interest in Great Britain and among African Americans and fundamentalists. . . . As for fundamentalists, I have heard testimonies of college and seminary students who tell me something big is stirring. Perhaps there is hope that these young Calvinists will rebuild the bridges burned generations ago between evangelicals and fundamentalists.
(1) The fact that God ordains all things (i.e., his secret will) has a limited effect on our decision making. It can’t prescribe how we act, but it can prevent us from having the wrong perspective (e.g., anxiety, fear, despair, misplaced trust, etc.). But in terms of interpreting events, the main way to read providence is backwards (as John Flavel wrote: “Some providences, like Hebrew letters, must be read backward”).
(2) The fact that God ordains means ensures that our actions have significance. The ordained outcome can never be seen as an excuse for complacency or fatalism.
The relation of divine sovereignty to human responsibility is one of the great mysteries of the Christian faith. It is plain from Scripture in any case that both are real and that both are important. Calvinistic theology is known for its emphasis on divine sovereignty—for its view that God “works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will” (Eph. 1:11). But in Calvinism there is at least an equal emphasis upon human responsibility.
An equal emphasis? Many would not be willing to say that about Calvinism. . . . God’s sovereignty does not exclude, but engages, human responsibility. Indeed, it is God’s sovereignty that grants human responsibility, that gives freedom and significance to human choices and actions, that ordains an important human role within God’s plan for history (pp. 14-15, emphasis added).
The Pulpit Magazine Blog has posted a very readable (i.e., non-technical) eight-part series by Phil Johnson entitled “Why I Am a Calvinist . . . and Why Every Christian Is a Calvinist of Sorts.” The series begins with this explanation: “This post is adapted from a transcript of a seminar from the 2007 Shepherds’ Conference, titled ‘Closet Calvinists.’” Check it out: parts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8.
On our honeymoon in July 2004, I brought along a small pile of books (which I didn’t finish until after we returned home!). I did, however, manage to work through a good chunk of this one:
This excellent work is bound like a typewritten dissertation and is a compilation of handouts that Daniel used to accompany a series of messages delivered from 1987-1989.
The 75 lectures are available for free downloading here. (My wife listened to all 75 of them on her MP3 player!)
Daniel is an expert in Calvinism as evidenced by his Ph.D. dissertation on John Gill, which is some 900 pages long (University of Edinburgh, 1983).
He divides his work on Calvinism into seventy-four chapters, which are handouts he used for lecturing on the topic.
My first impression of the book was poor: (1) the format is unpleasant to the eye with tight line-spacing and a font resembling an old typewriter, and (2) Daniel does not formally cite his sources in footnotes.
My impression changed, however, as I read the book from cover to cover. The first twenty-four chapters (pp. 1-172, 36% of the book) are the most enlightening. It covers the history of Calvinism in an irenic, informative way and includes chapters on Augustine; the Reformation; Calvin; Puritans; Westminster Assembly; Covenant Theology; High Calvinism; Amyraldism; Hyper-Calvinism; Jonathan Edwards’s Calvinism; Princeton Theology; Calvinistic Baptists; and Dutch Calvinism. Each chapter ends with a select bibliography.
I’ve enjoyed reading Schreiner’s works (e.g., commentary on Romans, Pauline theology), but this was my first time hearing him speak. These MP3s are well worth your time, especially if you disagree with his conclusions. He is a reliable representative for this aspect of Calvinism. (11 other MP3s by Schreiner available here.) John Piper’s most recent MP3 from his annual biographical messages: William Tyndale. Moving. Convicting. (as usual)
Here’s a new book as a PDF that is “available [to the whole world] for a limited time as a free download“:
