Roger E. Olson's Blog, page 153

Some Thoughts about the Current Accreditation Kerfuffle (and Academic Freedom)

Some Thoughts about the Current Accreditation Kerfuffle (and Academic Freedom) I love the word “kerfuffle” but don’t use it often enough. I happen to believe that, at least in America, we are reducing our vocabulary to too few words. I recently heard that one needs only 500 English words to engage in English conversation. But [Read More...]

There Are No Atheists in Foxholes…Or Anywhere?

There Are No Atheists in Foxholes…Or Anywhere? According to journalist Nury Vittachi, writing for the web site Science 2.0 (Google it), “Scientists discover that atheists might not exist, and that’s not a joke.” Of course, the “joke” is the old saying “There are no atheists in foxholes”—meaning under threat of death everyone prays to some [Read More...]

A Few Words about this Blog…

A Few Words about this Bog and My Policies and Practices Regarding Posting Comments and Responding to Them Every once in a while I interrupt the “flow” of posting my theological musings here to comment about discussions in this space. If you intend to contribute to the discussion with a comment or question, please observe [Read More...]

Arminianism FAQ 5 (Everything You Always Wanted to Know…)

Arminianism FAQ 5 (Everything You Always Wanted to Know…) This is the final installment of this series. I realize that I will not have answered every conceivable questions about Arminianism. “FAQ” means “frequently asked questions,” but not even every frequently asked question about Arminianism can be answered in one series such as this. Readers should [Read More...]

Arminianism FAQ 4 (Everything You Always Wanted to Know…)

FAQ: How does Arminianism explain Romans 9? A: This is without doubt one of the most asked questions by hard core Calvinists, but even many Arminians want to know as they have always only heard the Calvinist interpretation of Roman 9. First, it’s important to pay attention to the fact that Romans 9 was never interpreted as [Read More...]

Arminianism FAQ 3 (Everything You Always Wanted to Know…)

FAQ: Doesn’t Arminianism lead to open theism? A: Open theists and Calvinists both think so, but classical Arminianism don’t think so. According to classical Arminianism, God knows the future exhaustively–as already settled in his own mind although not already determined. How God can know future free decisions and actions (ones not already determined by anything) is [Read More...]

Arminianism FAQ 2 (Everything You Always Wanted to Know…)

FAQ: What’s the difference between Arminianism and Wesleyanism? A: Not all Arminians are Wesleyans. Certainly Arminius wasn’t! He lived a century before Wesley. Free Will Baptists, many Pentecostals (e.g., Assemblies of God), and Restorationists (e.g., Churches of Christ/Independent Christians) are Arminians without being Wesleyans. But all Wesleyans (that I know) are Arminians (although not all like that [Read More...]

My Baptism Article in Christianity Today (July/August Issue)

For those of you who have access to articles in Christianity Today (available on line by subscription and also, of course, in hard copy by subscription)… The current issue (July/August) contains my article “Water Works: Why Baptism Is Essential” (not my title). There I argue that water baptism is an essential part of Christian discipleship [Read More...]

Arminianism FAQ 1 (Everything You Always Wanted to Know…)

Arminianism FAQ 1 (Everything You Always Wanted to Know…) Today begins a summer series on Arminianism and Arminian theology. Over the past twenty plus years of promoting a correct understanding of classical Arminianism I have been asked numerous questions about the subject. There seems to be much misunderstanding about it. Here, in this series of [Read More...]

Deist John Toland Was Right! Even Religion Must Be Intelligible

Deist John Toland Was Right! Even Religion Must Be Intelligible. Some of my student balk when we are studying Deism/Natural Religion and I tell them I think John Toland, author of Christianity Not Mysterious was partly right. Some years ago Tony Campolo wrote a book with the intriguing title We Have Met the Enemy and [Read More...]