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Andy Naselli

Thoughts on Theology

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Calvinism

Do Calvinists really believe in human responsibility?

November 3, 2008 by Andy Naselli

Justin Taylor’s gentle, respectful response to John Piper notes this:

(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.

Calvinists believe in God-ordained means. This is not merely a platitude. John M. Frame says it well in Apologetics to the Glory of God: An Introduction (Phillipsburg: P&R Publishing, 1994):

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).

Filed Under: Systematic Theology Tagged With: Calvinism, John Frame, John Piper, Justin Taylor, sovereignty of God

Collin Hansen Discusses “Young, Restless, Reformed”

May 9, 2008 by Andy Naselli

On April 24, 2008, Dr. Doug Sweeney and Collin Hansen discussed Hansen’s Young, Restless, Reformed: A Journalist’s Journey with the New Calvinists (Wheaton: Crossway, 2008). An MP3 of this discussion, sponsored by the Henry Center, is now available from the Henry Center’s media archive (MP3 | video).

I reviewed Hansen’s book in March for the forthcoming issue of Themelios (more on that later). Highly recommended!

Filed Under: Historical Theology Tagged With: Calvinism, Collin Hansen, MP3

Mark Dever: “Where’d All These Calvinists Come From?”

August 9, 2007 by Andy Naselli

Mark Dever just finished an insightful ten-part series of blog posts entitled “Where’d All These Calvinists Come From?” He gives ten major reasons for the recent resurgence of Calvinism.

  1. C. H. Spurgeon
  2. D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones
  3. The Banner of Truth Trust
  4. D. James Kennedy’s Evangelism Explosion
  5. Inerrancy controversy
  6. Presbyterian Church in America
  7. J. I. Packer’s Knowing God
  8. R. C. Sproul and John MacArthur
  9. John Piper
  10. “the rise of secularism and decline of Christian nominalism“

Before Dever posted reason #10, Justin Taylor suggested that it would be “the role of the internet.”

Cf. Phil Gons‘s summary post, “The Resurgence of Calvinism.”

Filed Under: Historical Theology Tagged With: Calvinism, Mark Dever

Phil Johnson on “Why I Am a Calvinist”

March 29, 2007 by Andy Naselli

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.

Filed Under: Systematic Theology Tagged With: Calvinism, Phil Johnson

Curt Daniel on Calvinism

March 23, 2007 by Andy Naselli

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:

  • Curt D. Daniel. The History and Theology of Calvinism. Springfield, IL: Reformed Bible Church, 2003. 476 pages plus nine appendices.
  1. 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.
  2. The 75 lectures are available for free downloading here. (My wife listened to all 75 of them on her MP3 player!)
  3. 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).
  4. He divides his work on Calvinism into seventy-four chapters, which are handouts he used for lecturing on the topic.
  5. 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.
  6. 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.
  7. I recently learned from Phil Johnson that this is available for free as a Word doc! (I bought my hard copy for $30.) [Update: It is also available for free as a 574-page PDF!]

Filed Under: Systematic Theology Tagged With: Calvinism

MP3s by Lawson, Schreiner, and Piper

October 26, 2006 by Andy Naselli

This week I’ve had the opportunity to listen to the following MP3s while grading some tests and quizzes:

Steve Lawson on Romans 11:36:
Parts 1 and 2 available here.
Riveting. Refreshing.

Thomas Schreiner on TULIP from a conference in March 2006:

  1. Radical depravity
  2. Sovereign election
  3. Particular/single/definite redemption
  4. Overcoming grace
  5. Perseverance of the saints

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)

Filed Under: Historical Theology Tagged With: Calvinism, John Piper, MP3, Tom Schreiner

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