Tried With Fire

My daughter and I had an interesting discussion on unconditional election after church.  She has been hearing arguments against this doctrine from other sources, namely the Arminian view of conditional election that although people are sinful, they are able to believe on Jesus Christ by exercising their free wills. My daughter is a firm 5-pointer, but she's probably not going to start any theological fights in the near future.  However, we looked at some responses to conditional election.   Here is good one from Joel Beeke: [C]onditional election really saves no one.  In the end, it destroys men, because it bases salvation, at least in part, upon depraved human beings.  Unconditional election, on the other hand, does not destroy men but saves them; it is our friend, not our enemy. It does not keep out of heaven people who otherwise would be there, but it brings to heaven people who otherwise never would be welcome there.  The wonder is not that God justly ...

These are two quotes that grabbed my attention. What we need is not “free will” but wills made free. From this post by John Samson at reformationtheology.com "You can listen to Greg Boyd and the open theists and frankly, I think you'll want to jump off a bridge to be worshipping a god who didn't know that was going to happen." Quote from Todd Friel of Way of the Master Radio on this program featuring Shai Linne's song Triune Praise

I received a call today from a dear, older sister in Christ. I hadn't seen her since September 2008, and she wanted to know how I was doing with the divorce. I was able to testify of God's goodness and faithfulness to her. However, it was very interesting when I mentioned that the knowledge of God's absolute sovereignty was the anchor that kept both my daughter and I. She immediately mentioned how God gives us free will and that my husband made the choice to leave, and he is choosing to reject God. She mentioned that God's hand is always out but he is choosing to not turn back to God. One specific thing she said was "God did not want this to happen." Probably out of respect for her age (she's the same age as my mother) and she needed to go run errands, I did not embark on a heated debate that our free will is a slave to sin, only being able to choose what is wrong. However, her immediate response was very interesting and a little bit sad because it reminde...

I love Jane Austen. I find her writing style and dry sense of humor so refreshing. At one time, I was reading her six novels every year. After reading less than stellar contemporary fiction, a little Austen is the perfect thing to cleanse the literary palate. Pride and Prejudice is one of the greatest novels of the English language. There are fan fiction sites where devoted JA fans can continue that timeless story line or adapt it to suit themselves. In my case, I am writing a parody of Pride and Prejudice, adding a little Calvinism versus Arminianism theological zest to the story. I am hoping to write a bit every day, so come by Parsley in Hyperspace for your dose of Calvinistic Jane Austen. (I hope she's not rolling in her grave 'cause I think she was C of E.)