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Trouble with the Tulip
To say that the body of Christ is divided on many issues is perhaps the greatest understatement of the age. In fact, to use language that we all understand these days, the family of faith is separated because of seemingly irreconcilable differences. Some would say that a divorce has already occurred due to multiple issues. While the issues involved are too many to mention, they revolve not only around worship styles, practices and choices, but around more weighty areas of theology and belief...
76 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2000
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
August 4, 2025
This book is a reminder that if you’re going to critique a belief you should actually know what it is you’re critiquing.
January 6, 2021
this book took me a while to get through, but it is a good read to aid in defining the terms related to the doctrine of salvation!
April 25, 2022
I did not like this book. I’m a Calvinist but I wouldn’t even recommend it to an Arminian. The main reasons are that the exegesis was not great, and it contained factually incorrect statements, such that I was surprised the author has a Ph.D from Southwestern Seminary. An example of each: in addressing Romans 9, there’s a paragraph which basically says “Romans 9 can’t possibly mean that God elects some but not others, because that would imply Calvinism is true, and Calvinism is satanic.” His high-level, glossed-over take on Romans 9 is that it means that God chooses the lesser over the greater. That’s a weird interpretation cobbled together from various other verses, and not the natural reading of the text. No Arminian should find it to be a good interpretation of Romans 9 just because it’s so incomplete. As for factually incorrect statements, on one occasion, the author said that the Old Testament doesn’t contain any prophecy regarding Gentiles and Jews as part of the church, which is quite an amazing statement in light of the later parts of Isaiah and passages like Jeremiah 33. I expected that the book would be mostly the self-congratulatory incineration of straw men, and I was unfortunately right, as many examples of Calvinism refuted here are views that nobody I know holds, like that the gospel shouldn’t be presented to potentially non-elect people. My expectations were low going in, but I was still disappointed. 2 stars rather than 1 because I don’t think the author is a heretic or unsaved or anything, I’m just disappointed in the argumentation.
July 23, 2024
It is not saying much that “Only someone with a preconceived bias toward reformed theology would appreciate this book”, as one reviewer said. Reading teachers and professors understand that readers generally prefer to read books that are supportive of their own views. We might read about other views when wishing to understand a position opposing our own or when writing a paper covering views on a certain subject.
In my experience, adherents to Calvinism can be especially sensitive to efforts to ridicule or discredit their beliefs in this area, much like enthusiasts of the doctrines of eternal security or tongue speaking. They may interpret it as personal, rather than doctrinal, attacks. I’m fairly certain that a well-known (Calvinistic) author was notified of my review of his book and had it removed from an online site. My main objection was that a long chapter on what he called “God’s sovereignty” was inserted into the middle of a book purporting to be about a completely unrelated topic. I felt that he saw it as his only opportunity to promote his doctrinal beliefs.
The concept of God’s knowing what decisions we will make and what actions we will take is a difficult one. We have all asked ourselves if it was immaterial what decision we make or course of action we take in light of God’s already knowing what we would do. The Bible is clear that we are to pray continually, asking God for things that we want to see changed, both in our own lives and in the lives or other people or nations. God answers prayers, regardless. He wouldn’t tell us to pray if it had no value. I sometimes wonder if Calvinists’ endearment to the idea of God’s omniscience has helped to create and perpetuate their interpretation of the ideas of predestination and election.
With just 76 pages of text, this book, “Trouble With the TULIP’, was not intended to be a thorough exploration of the subject. But I am one who does think it is helpful in giving what I consider common sense objections to the doctrine of five-point Calvinism. I like Page’s definitions, including those of ‘predestination’ and ‘election’. A huge Biblical concept, God’s love for all of us, including 1 John 4:16 (God is love.), seems to not be especially important to the strict Calvinists. Could it be they don’t know what to make of it? Can God love people whom He has predetermined a place in hell?
In my experience, adherents to Calvinism can be especially sensitive to efforts to ridicule or discredit their beliefs in this area, much like enthusiasts of the doctrines of eternal security or tongue speaking. They may interpret it as personal, rather than doctrinal, attacks. I’m fairly certain that a well-known (Calvinistic) author was notified of my review of his book and had it removed from an online site. My main objection was that a long chapter on what he called “God’s sovereignty” was inserted into the middle of a book purporting to be about a completely unrelated topic. I felt that he saw it as his only opportunity to promote his doctrinal beliefs.
The concept of God’s knowing what decisions we will make and what actions we will take is a difficult one. We have all asked ourselves if it was immaterial what decision we make or course of action we take in light of God’s already knowing what we would do. The Bible is clear that we are to pray continually, asking God for things that we want to see changed, both in our own lives and in the lives or other people or nations. God answers prayers, regardless. He wouldn’t tell us to pray if it had no value. I sometimes wonder if Calvinists’ endearment to the idea of God’s omniscience has helped to create and perpetuate their interpretation of the ideas of predestination and election.
With just 76 pages of text, this book, “Trouble With the TULIP’, was not intended to be a thorough exploration of the subject. But I am one who does think it is helpful in giving what I consider common sense objections to the doctrine of five-point Calvinism. I like Page’s definitions, including those of ‘predestination’ and ‘election’. A huge Biblical concept, God’s love for all of us, including 1 John 4:16 (God is love.), seems to not be especially important to the strict Calvinists. Could it be they don’t know what to make of it? Can God love people whom He has predetermined a place in hell?
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews