A Revised Free Thinking Argument: Two Birds with One Stone
One thing that has always surprised me is how some Calvinists align themselves with atheists to argue against a common foe: Molinism! That is to say, many Calvinists affirm that God exhaustively causally determines all things. This is not some straw man I am inventing. In his recent essay, notable Calvinist, Matthew J. Hart affirms this … Continue reading A Revised Free Thinking Argument: Two Birds with One Stone
Book Review: Dictionary of Christianity and Science
Paul Copan, Tremper Longman III, Christopher L. Reese, and Michael G. Strauss have put together a monstrous dictionary that seeks to investigate the interaction between science and the Christian faith. Methodology The scope of the dictionary is very wide-ranging and accessible to interested laypeople and experts alike. Over 140 leading scholars have contributed essays. The dictionary has three types of … Continue reading Book Review: Dictionary of Christianity and Science
The Grounding Objection Against The Maximally Great God
Obviously, atheists object to God’s existence, but surprisingly, many Christians (at least inadvertently) reject the existence of a maximally great being as well! This objection is commonly advanced by specific Christians who are committed to deterministic assumptions and oppose what has been referred to as “the single most fruitful theological concept” ever conceived — Molinism! This … Continue reading The Grounding Objection Against The Maximally Great God
Objections to Objective Morality
I took a philosophy class while I was in college. The topic of this class was on contemporary moral issues, so you know we got into some heated topics. I heard every objection under the sun to objective morality. Everything from it was not very “tolerant,” to different cultures act differently so therefore there cannot be … Continue reading Objections to Objective Morality
Can We Sensibly Believe in Determinism and Deliberate?
As I reflect on the last twenty years of my life, I’m struck by how much my theological outlook has changed. This is especially the case regarding my view of Divine providence. For sixteen years, I was a theological determinist; that is to say, I believed that God causally determined everything that came to pass, … Continue reading Can We Sensibly Believe in Determinism and Deliberate?
Counterfactuals & the Big Three
When talking about Molinism and its relation to the other major views of God’s sovereignty, omniscience and human freedom it seems there is much confusion on the issue of true counterfactuals of creaturely freedom (CCF’s from here on). Namely, God’s knowledge of what would be the case if circumstances were different. One of the best, most … Continue reading Counterfactuals & the Big Three
Substance Dualism vs Socialism
I am amazed and frightened at the acceptance of, and even downright preference for Socialism among the young adults of today. Most young adults today possess little property due to the socialist bent of our current government and our administrative state, so it is not totally unexpected that they might embrace socialism as they have comparatively nothing to lose … Continue reading Substance Dualism vs Socialism
The Silence of God
I have been a Christian for many years—since I was a teenager—and I have been a pastor for about 42 years, but I have to admit that I know so little about God. I say that not with a fake humility, but because it is true. I want—like most of believers—to have a deep relationship … Continue reading The Silence of God
The Collapse of the Anti-Modal Collapse Objections
Abstract: The doctrine of divine simplicity (DDS) has come under fire in recent years and shows no sign of cooling. Currently, one of the most interesting arguments against this doctrine is what has been referred to as the “modal collapse.” In this paper, I demonstrate that many of the objections raised against the argument are … Continue reading The Collapse of the Anti-Modal Collapse Objections
Interview with Dr. Sean McDowell: Awana Youth Ministry Advocates Curriculum
Last year I had the privilege of working on the AWANA Youth Ministry Advocates curriculum. But to be honest, I had never even heard of AWANA until I was contacted by my former Biola professor, Dr. Sean McDowell, to help work on the project. (I attended a Royal Rangers/Girls Ministries church.) So I thought I would … Continue reading Interview with Dr. Sean McDowell: Awana Youth Ministry Advocates Curriculum
Wonder Woman & Theology
SPOILER ALERT!!! As most of our regular readers know, those of us at FreeThinking Ministries absolutely LOVE comic books and superhero movies! A couple of weeks ago I watched the new Wonder Woman movie. This fun fictional flick touches on some important points which illustrate the actual truth about God and His relationship to all men and women. Although … Continue reading Wonder Woman & Theology
Paul Helm Misses The Mark on Molinism: A Response to Ligonier.org’s “Molinism 101”
Summary: Paul Helm has contributed an article to Ligonier.org in which he presents two noteworthy objections to Molinism. First, Helm presents an internal critique of Molinism purporting to show that Libertarian Free Will (LFW) undermines God’s providential control over the world. Second, Helm argues that Molinism is incompatible with the doctrine of irresistible grace. I … Continue reading Paul Helm Misses The Mark on Molinism: A Response to Ligonier.org’s “Molinism 101”
#Molinists4JamesWhite
Recently, there has been a great disturbance within the “Christian community.” Dr. James R. White has recently been attacked by many “Christians.” I will try to present these attacks in an honest and courteous manner. In fact, although I disagree with White on several issues, I would like to set a tone of support for … Continue reading #Molinists4JamesWhite
So you say you want a Revolution, what about Romans 13?
Many Christians believe that the first section of Romans 13 – verses 1-7 — forbids any form of resistance to government… even when it clearly goes tyrannical. If one analyzes this passage of the Bible carefully, however, as The USA’s founding fathers did, we can see that Paul was speaking in generalities in this passage, and … Continue reading So you say you want a Revolution, what about Romans 13?
Questions for Calvinists
I used to be a 5-point Calvinist! Not only did I hold to each petal of the TULIP, I also rejected the idea that humanity possessed libertarian freedom in any form or fashion. I held to the position that not only did God causally determine salvation and damnation, but also that God causally determined everything. … Continue reading Questions for Calvinists
CARM is at it again!
It looks like CARM is discussing Molinism again. From the first sentence, we find ambiguities that may affect the ability of a person to dissect the claims. Nonetheless, I will stipulate what I reasonably believe CARM to mean so we can move on (from here on out, I will refer to Matt Slick, since he … Continue reading CARM is at it again!