The Grace of God and the Will of Man

Rating:
Summary: Disappointing Use of Scripture
Review: I was a Calvinist, an extreme 7-point Calvinist. Yet, much in the way Pinnock describes his own theological pilgrimage I have slowly but surely wafted over to the Arminian camp. I do agree with (most of) the conclusions that are promoted in this work, yet I am thoroughly disappointed by the lack of exegetical, biblical reasoning. The Calvinistic response (titled "Still Sovereign") is not only more thorough in its treatment of the issues, but it single handedly refutes the shoddy argumentation proferred in this book.

I wish Arminians would stop being so emotional and philosophical and start engaging the texts. We are constantly told that Calvinism is fallacious because of the so-called philosophical implications. Indeed, I agree that the philosophical (and even practical) implications of Calvinism seem to be seriously in error. Nevertheless, if it is the system taught in scripture, it should be accepted anyway. That should be number one on the priority list of any and all Arminians who are trying to engage themselves in the debate. "What does the Bible say?" Instead, the writiers of this book just assume that Calvinism is unbiblical and simply go straight to the offensive, not even bothering to approach the texts that seem to be jarring to their case. In fact, in all of my reading I have not come a cross a single Arminan writer who has tackled Lamentations 3:37 or Psalm 33:14-15. The former seems to support the Calvinistic claim that NOTHING can happen unless God has decreed it, while the latter supports the Calvinistic presupposition that God indeed shapes our "hearts." There are oodles of other texts that are simply avoided by the writers and it makes me angry to see such lack of concern for the opposing side. The one thing you can never chide a Calvinist on (at least the more prominent Calvinistic authors) is a failure to interact with the opposing texts. Whether or not they distort the texts is another issue, but they always, at least, give it their best shot.

Unfortunately Greg Boyd has done the best job out of any of the free will theologians in exegeting against the deterministic hermeneutic which is dissapointing for two reasons; (1) He isn't included in this work, (2) I don't agree with his conclusion that God doesn't know the future. Needless to say, much work needs to be done on the Arminian side. While this work is certainly a step in the right direction, this will not suffice as a effective polemic. Other important Arminian books are "The Other Side of Calvinism" by Laurence Vance, "Grace, Faith and Free Will" by Robert E. Picirilli and "Beyond Calvinism and Arminianism" by C. Gordon Olsen. They each excell and flounder in their own distinct ways, but they are invaluable in constructing a modern systematic, BIBLICAL defense of Arminianism.

Rating:
Summary: A strong philosophy, but weak on Biblical substance
Review: Overall, I felt this book was philosophically challenging, but was deficient in its biblical case. On top of that, all of the biblical cases presented seemed to be confused and/or jumbled to the point of being a non-argument. I personally agree with the author's point of view, but I also think that Greg Boyd did a MUCH better job in "God of the Possible". Read this book for philosophy, and God of the possible for a more Biblical case.

Rating:
Summary: Doctrin without Life's Integrity is useless.
Review: Shamed on us if we think that we "know" God without live in His integrity. No matter is your stream, nevertheless, we will stand before Him on judgment for every thing what we had done and we had. So go back to your life and live as a christian with integrity (including your doctrines).

Rating:
Summary: Very good, scholarly collection of Arminian essays.
Review: This book is a scholarly collection of 15 articles (each written by a different theologian) addressing the fierce historic Calvinist-Arminian debate from the Arminian point of view. I recommend it highly. It gives sound analysis and refutations of Calvinist positions on election, the atonement, exhaustive sovereignty, and other issues. Most of the reasoning is top notch. However, I don't necessarily agree with all of the articles. Two stray into hyper-Arminianism and insist that God has limited his omniscience to give man freedom. But even those articles are well-reasoned and challenging. Clark Pinnock, the editor, is to be commended for this work and I hope it stays in print for a long time.

Rating:
Summary: An good Arminian offensive worth a serious look
Review: This is an extremely worthwhile collection of philosophical and Biblical arguments (there's more of the former) for Arminianism, and one of the first books which elaborate proposals for the 'openness of God' case. You'll find much here to provoke study and reflection upon certain 'major' Biblical themes (e.g. election, original sin, predestination, omniscience, omnipotence, etc.).

A passionate introduction by Clark Pinnock sets the tone for a multi-thronged offensive against Calvinist/Reformed theology. In his theological pilgrimage, he also mentions his conviction of non-exhaustive divine foreknowledge (also known as the Open View of God) but leaves the elaboration to Richard Rice later in the book.

To lead the Biblical charge, we have I. Howard Marshall and William MacDonald with excellent proposals for universal salvation and corporate election in Christ. These are also strong counter-paradigms to Calvinist interpretations within the Gospel of John (by Grant Osbourne) and to the Calvinist rendition of the Scriptural story as a whole (presented topically by Terry Miethe, whose essay should rank as one of the best introductions to the doctrine of unlimite atonement around).

The more philosophically-inclined reader will also get a treat with a number of high-quality works by Jack Cottrell (divine sovereignity), William L. Craig (on Molinism or middle knowledge), Richard Rice (on partial and exhaustive foreknowledge), Bruce Reichenbach (on original sin), C. Stephen Evans (on the personal acceptance of salvation), etc. Cottrell (in the opening portion of his piece) makes it very clear, through a systematic presentation of the consequences of total, unconditional and efficacious sovereignity, that consistent Calvinism logically and completely eliminates all elements of human (and angelic) moral responsibility for evil. John Sanders and Fritz Guy complement the attack on determinism (as do almost half the authors) in their essays, arguing for God as Personal and One for whom Love is primary (as opposed to an Absolutistic deity whose main concern is control). Sanders also highlights the effect of 'controlling beliefs' on the way we understand Biblical narratives, which I believe is a foundational methodological breakthrough for the Open God movement (or, put another way, is an Archille's heel in classical notions of divine foreknowledge).

(At this point I wish to point out to Mr.Ashton Wilkins that Calvinism is itself HEAVILY founded upon Greek philosophical structures and if anything it is the Reformed theologian who needs to examine why he thinks Man cannot perform other than that which God desires - why else postulate that totally unBiblical notion of 'hidden' and 'revealed' divine wills?)

Euthusiasts on issues pertaining to divine foreknowledge will not easily get another trinity of articles juxtaposed as appropriately as those of Cottrell, Rice and Craig.

Arguments focusing on the practical and experiential aspects of theology are then taken up by Randall Basinger (hidden vs. revealed will of God), William Abraham (predestination and assurance) and Jerry Walls (predestination and moral intuition).

It would be an understatement to say that this book is required reading for anyone interested in the Calvinist-Arminian debate. The articles constitute solid Scriptural and philosophical platforms for Arminian theology, and that which Calvinist theology must interact seriously with or risk losing credibility. With top-notch scholars and a diverse field of topics, I'd consider this an invaluable resource for searching the deep truths of God and a milestone release for Neo-Arminian theology.