This post is part of a series. In Part 1, I introduced the idea that both Catholicism and hyper-Arminianism (hyper-Calvinism’s brother) make the deadly mistake of including works in the salvation formula, and hurt many people. Let’s dig in some more. The Descent into Scrupulosity In...
This post is part of a series. I have previously catalogued my exodus from the bondage of Arminian Holiness to the peace of Reformed Theology, and was reminded of its horrors today when listening to a recent episode of This American Life (Show 507), in...
This article is part of a series on Molinism. Calvinism has been summarized in the acronym TULIP, while Arminianism has been summarized in The Five Articles of Remonstrance (one guess on which camp is more oriented to accessible, memorable teaching :). However, many people are not completely satisfied...
Ever since the Protestant reformation began, Christian theologians have been arguing about one of what I call The Two Great Mysteries of the Bible – the problem of evil, and predestination. This issue has polarized into two, largely opposite camps within Christendom – Calvinism, and...
The Christian faith claims to answer a lot of tough questions about life, the universe, and everything. For most of life’s dilemmas, the bible seems to present what it considers to be definitive, complete, and clear answers. Such world view questions, often unanswerable by science...
I am currently reading Dr. Jerry Walls’ book on purgatory (for Protestants!) entitled Purgatory: The Logic of Total Transformation, and one important question he addresses is, “Is purgatory for the purpose of satisfaction or sanctification?” Satisfaction, meaning paying for one’s sins, is rejected by Protestants since...
I have had a few major doctrinal and ideological shifts since becoming a Christian at the age of 21 in 1986, which in itself was a huge shift from my family’s agnostic, scientific, anti-faith perspective. 1. From Arminian Holiness to Calvinism In 1990, I abandoned the burden...
I have a whole list of pet peeves, but one of my top annoyances to date is a list of Christian doctrines that are not only erroneous (IMO), but have driven people away from faith unnecessarily. I want to call these out and toast them....
