Roger E. Olson's Blog, page 178

Godless Capitalism?

Godless Capitalism? When I was a kid growing up in the 1950s and 1960s American heartland and in an ultra-conservative church “godlesscommunism” was one word, not two. One of the worst things people in my religious context could say about someone was “communist” and that label covered a lot of territory. I remember when Lyndon [...]

Why I Am Not a Fundamentalist (or Conservative Evangelical)

Why I Am Not a Fundamentalist (or Conservative Evangelical) I gladly identify  myself as an “evangelical Christian,” but I prefer not to call myself or be considered a fundamentalist or conservative even though there were times and contexts in which I might have fit those categories (however uncomfortably). Recently I posted here about how I [...]

What Is “Fundamentalism” and Who Is a “Fundamentalist?”

What Is “Fundamentalism” and Who Is a “Fundamentalist?” Recently I posted here “Why I Am  Not a ‘Liberal’ Christian.” Someone asked me to write a similar post about fundamentalism—specifically how to identify a fundamentalist. I’ll begin with what most readers, probably, want to see and what the requester asked for—a series of criteria for identifying [...]

Problems with Calvinist Polemics against Arminianism

Problems with Calvinist Polemics against Arminianism Of all the “five points of Calvinism” the one that bothers me most is Limited Atonement (or what many Calvinists prefer to call “Particular Atonement”). While I find unconditional election and irresistible grace troublesome and problematic, they rise nowhere near limited atonement in terms of departing from Scripture, tradition, [...]

Why I Am Not a “Liberal Christian”

Why I Am Not a “Liberal Christian” Anyone who comes here regularly or has read any of my books knows I’m no fundamentalist. In fact, I struggle to get along with fundamentalists and pray for God’s grace to do it. I’m not proud of that fact, but I admit it. I’ve been burned by fundamentalism [...]

Discrimination against Boys in Education (and Elsewhere)

Discrimination against Boys in Education (and Elsewhere) Occasionally I take a break from “theological musings” to muse about one of my pet interests: the increasing social bias against young males especially (but not solely) in education. I argue that this is not just a pet peeve of mine; it has ethical and social implications. First, [...]

Why I Love and Worship God

Why I Love and Worship God Often I’m tempted to think one of the most basic differences between me and some fellow Christians is why we love and worship God. I love and worship God because of Jesus. Pietist leader Nicholas Ludwig Count von Zinzendorf once said that if it weren’t for Jesus he wouldn’t [...]

Review of “An Evangelical Manifesto” Part 3 (Final)

Review of “An Evangelical Manifesto” Part 3 (Final) Once again I want to emphasize my general sympathy and agreement with this statement of evangelical identity and call for correction of confusion about the meaning of evangelicalism. One purpose of the Manifesto is express the need for evangelicals and others to learn to live in a [...]

Could Anything Imaginable Cause a Calvinist to Cease in Love and Worship of God?

Yesterday (January 30) one of my favorite Calvinist interlocutors posted this comment here: “The real difficulty that I have with the Arminian doctrinal position on the question of the origin of evil, as expressed here by Dr. Olson and in his book “Against Calvinism”, is best illustrated by the story Dr. Olson relates in the [...]

Review of “An Evangelical Manifesto” Part 2

Review of “An Evangelical Manifesto” Part 2 Although I find myself generally favorable to the Manifesto, I have qualms about the way in which it identifies “evangelical.” According to its authors and signers “We Evangelicals are defined theologically, and not politically, socially, or culturally.” I agree that we are not defined “politically, socially, or culturally.” [...]