Category Archives: Calvinism

restraint of free will

Posted on January 12, 2014 by christopher fisher

From the Contemporary Calvinist: I find it strange that Arminians [substitute Open Theists] always focus on whether or not God actively causes men to sin. Why don’t they ever seem to be just as concerned about whether or not God … Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, Calvinism, God, Jewish History, Open Theism, Theology | 16 Comments

misquoted verses – all days were written before there were any

Posted on January 4, 2014 by christopher fisher

Psalms 139 is held by Calvinists to be their strong proof text for various doctrines. In verse 16, depending on the translation, states that “the days were fashioned for me, when as yet there were none” (NKJV): Psa 139:16 Your … Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, Calvinism, God, Misquoted Verses, Omniscience, Open Theism, Theology | 2 Comments

God kills king ahab

Posted on December 28, 2013 by christopher fisher

In 1 Kings 22 (mirrored in 2 Chronicles 18), the text starts off with the Israelite King Ahab preparing to go to war. Ahab calls all his prophets together to prophesy about the outcome. They all prophesy success. Wanting more … Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, Calvinism, God, Jewish History, Omnipotence, Omniscience, Open Theism, Theology | 13 Comments

walter brueggemann on a literal reading of the Bible

Posted on December 3, 2013 by christopher fisher

From Walter Brueggemann’s Theology of the Old Testament: Israel’s testimony, however, is not to be understood as a claim subject to historical explication or to philosophical understanding. It is rather an utterance that proposes that this particular past be construed … Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, Calvinism, God, Open Theism, Textual Criticism, Theology | Leave a comment

the natural man

Posted on December 1, 2013 by christopher fisher

A Facebook post from Michael Faber (reprinted with his permission): The biggest problem I have with Calvinism is that it does not rest on a solid exegetical foundation of Scripture. Too many of the texts that Calvinists use just don’t … Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, Calvinism, Human Nature, Theology | 1 Comment

calvinist underpants gnomes

Posted on November 28, 2013 by christopher fisher

There is a particular episode of South Park which mocks the leftist understanding of how profits work. The entire episode revolves around two stories. One story is of Starbucks moving into town to compete against the local coffee shop. The … Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, Calvinism, God, Humor, Omnipresence, Open Theism, Theology | Leave a comment

beware calvinism

Posted on November 24, 2013 by christopher fisher

Calvinism is simply defined as a theology that borrows divine attributes from Platonism. Platonism originated the idea of the Summum Bonum, the perfect good. To Plotinus, the “perfect good” was a timeless, unchanging, omnipresent, and omniscient being (all the negative … Continue reading →

Posted in Augustine, Bible, Calvinism, God, Open Theism, Textual Criticism, Theology | 5 Comments

God does not condescend to man

Posted on November 24, 2013 by christopher fisher

As a last resort, when Calvinists have exhausted all other ways to misinterpret and ignore various verses of the Bible, they fall back to the claim “God was condescending to human understanding when He wrote the Bible.” The problem with … Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, Calvinism, Open Theism, Theology | Leave a comment

understanding genesis 18

Posted on November 23, 2013 by christopher fisher

Genesis 18 depicts a very interesting narrative. In the first part of the chapter, the Lord (“Yahweh”) appears to Abraham. God appears with two angels (the term “men” is used interchangeably with “angels” throughout the text). Abraham recognizes God (God … Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, Calvinism, God, Omnipresence, Omniscience, Open Theism, Theology | 5 Comments

God offers a plan b

Posted on November 12, 2013 by christopher fisher

In Exodus 32 the Bible records an instance of God conversing with Moses and offering Moses an alternative route to fulfill a particular prophesy/promise. The original promise was made to Abraham that Abraham’s descendants would become a great nation: Gen … Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, Calvinism, God, History, Jewish History, Open Theism, Prophecy, Theology | 2 Comments