Roger E. Olson's Blog, page 167

Another Round in the Old “Evolution vs. Creation” Debate

Another Round in the Old “Evolution vs. Creation” Debate I live in the great state of Texas. Every year, and sometimes throughout a year, controversy erupts over public school textbooks. Here’s the back story. Texas is so large and its public schools are so populated that textbook publishers do not want to alienate the Texas [Read More...]

(Fireworks Alert!) My Response to “The Emerging Divide in Evangelical Theology” by Gerald McDermott (JETS 56:2 [June, 2013])

My Response to “The Emerging Divide in Evangelical Theology” by Gerald McDermott (Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 56:2 [June, 2013]) This is the second time Professor McDermott has criticized me and other (what I call) postconservative evangelical theologians in print (that I know of). The first time was about a year ago in (I [Read More...]

Calvinism Appearing in Unexpected (and Innapropriate) Places

Due to the rise of what my friend Scot McKnight calls “neo-Puritanism” (what others have labeled “the new Calvinism” or just “resurgent Calvinism”) TULIP Calvinism is popping up in places it does not belong. Especially young men are reading John Piper, Mark Driscoll, Matt Chandler, even Michael Horton, and taking this new found theology “home” [Read More...]

Must a Christian Believe in God? (“Godless Christianity?”)

Must a Christian Believe in God? Is there a “Godless Christianity?” Over the years I’ve had many encounters with people claiming to be Christians who also say they either do not believe in God or are not sure whether they believe in God. And I’ve read several theologians who claim to be Christian who deny [Read More...]

Excellent New Book about Calvin and Wesley

A few months ago Abingdon Press (the United Methodist publisher) sent me the manuscript of a forthcoming (now published) book by my friend Don Thorsen who teaches theology at Azusa Pacific University. (Actually, he’s also the Chair of the Department of Theology and Ethics at APU’s Haggard Graduate School of Theology.) Don and I have [Read More...]

Is Doubt a Sign of Spiritual Weakness or What? (Two New Books about the Role of Doubt in Christian Living)

Is Doubt a Sign of Spiritual Weakness or What? (Two New Books about the Role of Doubt in Christian Living) When I was a kid growing up in church (how’s that for a stereotypical opening of a paragraph?) a favorite saying of pastors and evangelists was “Doubt your doubts and believe your beliefs!” As if [Read More...]

Conservative Supreme Court Justice Says Capitalism Needs Christianity

Conservative Supreme Court Justice Says Capitalism Needs Christianity According to an Associated Press report (published in a local newspaper Sept. 8), conservative United States Supreme Court justice Antonin Scalia said in Houston, Texas (“at a religious library”) that “he thinks Christian values are necessary for capitalism to succeed.” One might be forgiven for thinking that’s [Read More...]

Changed Hymn Lyrics: Pet Peeve or Serious Concern? (And An Invitation to Nominate Worst Examples)

Changed Hymn Lyrics: Pet Peeve or Serious Concern? (And an Invitation to Nominate Worst Examples) There seems to be a trend toward changing hymn lyrics—especially when the lyrics contain words perceived as associated with war, violence, blood, conflict or gender inequality. Hymnal editors, worship leaders, performers all engage in this sometimes seeming freewheeling and cavalier [Read More...]

He Said It Better Than I Did: A Guest’s Comment about Molinism

  Are Arminian Theology and Middle Knowledge Compatible? Very nice essay, Roger. You’ve put your finger on a key internal tension within Molinism. While Molinism is *officially* committed to a libertarian view of creaturely freedom (and thus soft determinists like Ware are *not* Molinists, even if they co-opt the label), such a view of freedom [Read More...]

Are Arminian Theology and Middle Knowledge Compatible?

Are Arminian Theology and Middle Knowledge Compatible? One of the most basic impulses of Arminianism is that God is not the author of sin and evil—even indirectly. On this virtually everyone knowledgeable about Arminian theology agrees. Divine determinism, the belief that God directly or indirectly determines all that happens according to a predetermined plan, was [Read More...]