Against Calvinism: Rescuing God's Reputation from Radical Reformed Theology

by Roger E. Olson

This scholastic theology, he rightly argues, makes God and God’s relationship to the world ahistorical, whereas the Bible portrays God as entering into history freely. “The possibility of taking history seriously, as real and not merely apparent, is foreclosed by the scholastic definition of the single decree.”87 For scholastic decretal theology, he says, nothing in the world can really affect God; everything including sin and evil and damnation are determined by God. The result, he says, is that “decretal theology is a profound rationalization of whatever is.”88 Also, in this theology, God’s love is really his love for himself and Christ died for God rather than for the world.89 Worst of all, according to Daane, this theology ends up depriving God of his freedom; whatever is, is what must be—Even for God.