Category Archives: Blogging Through a Book

Blogging through Grace for All: The God at the Center

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The first article in Grace For All is written by Roger Olson (blog), one of the most vocal theologians representing an Arminian view of God’s sovereignty and soteriology. Arminian Theology: Myths and Realities (amazon) and Against Calvinism (amazon) are two of the many books he has authored.

415xXkjORGLIn this essay, Roger Olson directly confronts the charge that Arminianism is a “man-centered” theology. He starts by quoting several Calvinist writers (including Michael Horton, James Boice, Al Mohler, and indirectly B.B. Warfield and Charles Spurgeon) that assert that Arminianism is focused on “human freedom” over “God’s absolute sovereignty”.

Then he asks the question:

What do these and other critics mean when they accuse Arminianism of being “man-centered”?

Olson presents three things that critics mean when they use the term “man-centered”:

  • Arminianism doesn’t take “human depravity” seriously
  • Arminianism doesn’t take God’s sovereignty seriously
  • Arminianism teaches that God’s “chief end is to make people happy”

Continue reading →

Blogging through Grace for All: Defining your Terms

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415xXkjORGLWe are reading and blogging through the book Grace for All: The Arminian Dynamics of Salvation (Amazon). Originally the plan was to start with chapter 1, but some SEA members suggested that we start with the Forward, so we will open up the discussion there.

John Wagner, the editor, opens the book describing one of the primary theological underpinnings that drives Arminian thought and thus the articles that are presented in the book. God wants everyone to repent and be saved. Several of the passages that describe this idea are presented throughout the forward (1 Tim 2:4; 2 Pet 3:9; Matt 11:28; John 3:17; 6:51; 2 Cor 5:14-15,18-19; 1 John 2:2). Continue reading →

Blogging through Grace for All

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The recent publication of Grace for All: The Arminian Dynamics of Salvation (Amazon) is an updated and revised version of Grace Unlimited. Grace Unlimited is a collection of scholarly articles edited by Clark Pinnock and published in 1975.

This ne415xXkjORGLw collection, edited by John Wagner includes some of the older articles along with several new ones. In the current collection there are 14 articles by several noted scholars including I. Howard Marshall, Roger Olson, Robert E. Picirilli, Jack Cottrell, and Grant R. Osborne.

The Forward to the book describes the premise for the book. Continue reading →