Rating: 
Summary: Dr. Vance Preaches a Convincing Sermon to the Choir
Review: If you're already convinced that Calvinism is heresy then this is the book for you. It will reinforce that conviction. However if you have serious questions about Christian Theology as it is believed and taught today in most churches then I would skip this book. Dr. Vance begins his Preface with this sentence, "The philosophical speculations of Calvinism have masqueraded as sound Bible doctrine for hundreds of years too long." That strikes me as a "There's a fox in the chicken house, get the shotgun" approach rather than a scholarly Christian approach. You know where the book is going before you read any more of Dr. Vance's socalled "balanced treatment". If you're looking for sound scholarship look elsewhere.
Rating: 
Summary: Excellenct and definative work on Calvinism
Review: This is the most thorough and exacting work on Calvinism I have ever read. It is complete with the Historical origin of Calvinism, modern views and teachings of Calvinism, and examines the scriptures used to prove and disprove this belief. It is a must for any Library.
Rating:
Summary: Watch out Calvinists, here comes Vance!
Review: Vance has written the best book on Calvinism to date by a Baptist author. He explores every argument of the Calvinist and leaves no stone unturned. Vance shows clearly from the Bible that Jesus died for every single person in the world, and each person has the free will to accept or reject God's offer of salvation. Vance defends eternal security and yet shows how the Calvinists misapply the doctrine to fit into their TULIP system. With the onslaught of Calvinism into Southern Baptist ranks, every SBC member should get this book!
Rating:
Summary: masterful polemic against what is commonly called Calvinism
Review: Laurence Vance has produced a masterful polemic against what is commonly called Calvinism. Vance goes into the history of Calvinism and the 5 points of TULIP and expertly and scripturally refutes these points. Most of the reviewers who gave the book low marks are, no doubt, Calvinists themselves (or have Calvinistic leanings) so it is no wonder that they rated it as such. But any theological system must be consistent and when Calvinism is taking to its "logical" ends, it ends up contradicting itself and Scripture at the same time. Vance demonstrates this masterfully. In fairness however, Vance has his share of problems when explaining some of the topics in the book. And sometimes his arguments shed more heat than light. Overall, it is a good read and goes into the Calvinistic system, showing it for what it is: a man-made philosophical and logical system. A system that attempts to view the "mountain" of theology from its base at only one "Calvinistic" angle, while authoritatively decreeing what the summit looks like based upon this limited view. It may not convince an ardent Calvinist to change their mind (only the Holy Spirit can do that) but it does contribute to the debate in a scholarly way.
Rating:
Summary: Every Southern Baptist should read this one!
Review: Coming from a reformed background, and now as a Southern Baptist, I'm pleased to say that Vance's arguments are very convincing. My pastor is active in "The Founders," a Southern Baptist organization formed to promote Calvinism in the Southern Baptist Convention. Since I gave him this book he has been engrossed in it. Vance has caused him to reevaluate his position. I also loaned my copy to a professor at the reformed college I attend. After looking at the table of contents, he refused to read it! This kind of willful blindness from Calvinists is one reason I changed my own views. Calvinists who think Vance is unkind had better read some of their own writings. Vance is much kinder than most, especially Calvin himself. The comment from another reviewer that Vance takes things out of context is simply untrue. This is exactly how I used to respond when confronted with an argument that I couldn't answer. Any Baptist deceived by John MacArthur, R.C. Sproul or any of the avant garde Calvinists that I was weaned on should get this book and read it carefully. Vance also discusses John Gill's theories on limited atonement and shows that they are unbiblical. Free will is also covered with Vance showing as illogical and unbiblical the arguments of Sproul, Jonathan Edwards, and the rest. With the glut of Internet sites promoting Calvinism, this is one of the most valuable books any Baptist could have in his library. I've read the other reviews and would warn anyone wanting a fair evaluation to consider the source. One negative reviewer actually has "tulip" in his e-mail address! Another is a big supporter of "The Founders." Calvinists are obviously mad at Vance. If read by a few, this book will set back "The Founders" radical agenda by years. If read by many, it will stop them cold. Anyone who reads Vance with an open mind will see that Bible doctrine and Calvinism are polar opposites.
Rating:
Summary: Informative
Review: This is easily the most comprehensive book on the subject of Calvinism I have ever read. Very informative book. I highly recomend The Other Side of Calvinism to all interested in this topic!
Rating:
Summary: Crooked!
Review: Someone once said, "you cannot con a man unless he's crooked!". All the substantive reviews for or against Vance's book are of great use to this reader. It is apparent to the point of frightening that truth-denying men (at his best state vanity - saved or lost) will strain at a gnat and quite literally swallow a camel. What an honest man will see from these reviews after reading Vance's book is the polar opposite from that seen by a crooked man - save or lost. For Rom 3:4, God Almighty says (through Paul of course, and who says you're not crooked?!) "God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar;
as it is written, That thou mightest be justified in thy
sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art
judged." To be as honest as I am able to be, I would have to give Vance's book on Calvanism 5 stars, since 7 is not an option in this world...
Rating: 
Summary: Great Work.
Review: I was a student under Dr. Vance for 3 years, and I must say that the personal attacks on his doctrinal beliefs and scholarship are unfounded, and more importantly, unnecessary to a book review.
I personally went over this book page by page, and actually line by line, examining the texts and the references, and I am yet to read more than a handful of works that are as thorough and well researched as this one.
Please, if you are a Calvinist, I ask you to be a little more honest with your reviews. Just because you don't agree with the author's point of view, doen't mean you should give his work "one star". If you really read it, you would at least respect the time and research put into, even if you don't agree.
I gave it four stars, simply because I would reserve 5 stars for major, classic, historical works of literature, and I think that's an honest assessment.
I mean, if you were an atheist, would you give the King James Bible one star? Of course not... even though you don't agree with it, you have to respect the quality of the literature.
This review section is not a place to debate Calvinism, it is a place to review a book. Now, the book is clearly titled "The Other Side of Calvinism", and a short scan of it clearly shows that its purpose is to refute the doctrine.
For the purpose stated, I really don't know how he could have done any better of a job... very good work... for a theologian such as himself, I wouldn't much hesitate to call this a masterpiece.
Rating: 
Summary: Vance is a calvinist himself
Review: As a matter of fact I have read only the chapter on the "Perseverance of the Saints" because I am doing a work about this theme, and one thing is quiet clear: Vance ignored completly when he wrote this book that the doctrine "genuine believers can't lose salvation" is a doctrine that Calvin created and you can confirm this by reading Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society Volume 34, Perseverance of the Saints throughout Church History, 1991;2002. Page 217. by John Jefferson Davis who is a calvinist historian.
Vance gives some insightful lights on details about coincidences between calvinist and arminian theology, but VANCE MISSES THAT HE IS HIMSELF A CALVINIST BECAUSE HE SAYS THAT A GENUINE BELIEVER CAN'T LOSE SALVATION, AND THATS THE REAL DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A CALVINIST AND AN ARMINIAN, OR TO PUT IT CORRECTLY, AND A CATHOLIC, BECAUSE ARMINIUS DID NOT TEACH THAT A REAL CRHISTIAN COULD LOSE SALVATION.
Vance is not a biblical schollar and sometimes his teaching is flawed by his wrong exegesis, by way of example, he quotes Matthew 7:21 Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven" and then, Vance, quoting John tells us that the will of the Father is that we believe in His Son, but Vance doesn't read Mt 7:21 in the context of the very Gospel of Matthew, which tells us that we must do the Superior Justice in order to enter the Kingdom of Heaven and this Justice includes not only believe in Jesus, but also do good works (Mt 5:20; 6:1s; Mt 25:31-46 etc.). Not, Matthew doesn't teach salvation sola fide, Vance don't want the reader to see this.
Rating:
Summary: A book with no credibility, an author with an axe to grind
Review: Vance has an axe to grind with Calvinism, and therefore this book has all the objectivity and credibility of an Osama Bin Laden book entitled "The Other Side of Americanism".
The book isnt even factual, making erroneous claims about Calvinism that are categorically rejected by Calvinists. For example: that Calvinism teaches "fatalism" (p.278), and that God randomly chooses people to be saved by "arbitrary" methods (p.258). We read that Calvinists "deny free will altogether" (p.274) in spite of numerous Calvinistic creeds that make statements like: "God has endowed the will of man with that natural liberty and power of acting upon choice, that is neither forced, nor by any necessity of nature determined to do good or evil" (LBCF~Westminster).
The book tries to say that if you believe in Calvinism then you also have to believe in "infant baptism" (p.26-28). Try telling that to Calvinist reformed baptists like Charles Spurgeon, John Bunyan, and John MacArthur. The book says Calvinism kills evangelism (p.239,273,369), and yet some of the greatest evangelists and missionaries have been Calvinists - like: George Whitefield, Jonathan Edwards, William Carey, and David Brainerd.
One of the MANY examples of sloppy exegisis in this book is 1 Cor 1:22-24 where Vance says "The 'them which are called' are so designated because they answered the call" (p.496). Now I ask you, if I call someone on the phone, could the reason for my calling be that they answered their phone??? Amazingly, this is the kind of backwards thinking that you'll find throughout this book, rather than letting scripture speak for itself. The author also tries to redefine words like "chosen" to mean something more like "prized". No way to get around it, the bible flat-out says God chooses us.
The author strays from his promise to stick to a "biblical defense" (p.xi) by going off on a "supermarket tabloid" obsession with Calvin's person, personality traits, and personal sins. In fact, the reader must endure nearly 200 pages of one-sided history and emotional propaganda before any substantive discussion of scripture begins.
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