Against Calvinism by Roger Olson
After Walter Brueggemann and NT Wright, I enjoy reading Roger Olson. His Story of Christian Theology, Mosaic of Christian Belief, and How to be Evangelical without being Conservative I have read several times. (Interestingly, these books lie on my shelf at home instead of the office.)
As with the bible versions debate, which should not be a debate at all, the Calvinism vs. Arminianism discussion should be relegated to the museum. Why continually bring up old arguments that have not nor ever will be proved one way or the other. Of course for many these are salvation issues–you are not in if you do not follow Calvin. These and many theological arguments that by necessity extrapolate biblical information can never be proved, merely supported one way or the other. The only problem of course is that both sides use the same verses to “prove” their point.
Then there are those who chose to reduce Calvin’s prodigious work to a 5 letter acronym: tulip. How sad–I wonder what Calvin would have thought. Because theology attracts weird interpretations, some claim to be 4 point Calvinists–faded tulips, or 3 pointers–wilted tulips. Oh my. Would that we could spend more time reading and trying to understand the words of Jeremiah.
As for Olson, well it’s a good read. He has me convinced–I am now a “3 point” Arminian: Yes to God’s sovereignty, No to divine determinism; Yes to election, No to double predestination; Yes to atonement, No to limited atonement.
January 11, 2012 at 9:53 am
I also read the book and loved it. I loved his challenge of the idea that Reformed theology is the only rich and meaty theology.The resurgence of the “young, reformed and restless” are certainly in response to the self-help therapeutic God offered in so many churches but I’ve found that “narrative-historical theology” gives reformed theology a run for its money when it comes to engaging the mind, wrestling with the scriptures and demanding a way of life.
I also thought Olson’s indicting questions of divine determinism and irresistible grace where solid. He asked “if this is how God acts and does relationship with humanity is this a character trait we are are supposed to mimic as followers?”
January 11, 2012 at 9:59 am
I am a supporter of study historical theology in place of systematic theology. One tells God’s story, the other puts him in a box
January 20, 2012 at 10:20 pm
Now I better understand your perspective as we discussed in class today. TULIP is a way to understand the complexity of Calvinism and I agree that this is far too simplistic an interpretation considering the man wrote an extensive commentary on nearly the whole Bible, as well as several hundred books, and several thousand letters. I wish I could better understand the wholeness and genius of John Calvin, and putting his extensive teaching in a simple 5 phrase pneumonic thus arrogantly calling one a “Calvinist” brings to mind one of his quotes:
“Man with all his shrewdness is as stupid about understanding by himself the mysteries of God, as an ass is incapable of understanding musical harmony”