Leaving Behind “Left Behind”   I haven’t seen the new movie starring Nicholas Cage and don’t intend to, so this is not a movie review. Instead, I intend to respond to the whole phenomenon of what I call “rapture fever” that has gripped segments of American society for the past fifty years. I grew up in a home and church that fervently believed in the “rapture”—the premillennial, pre-tribulational, departure of God’s true people from the earth by Christ to be... Read more

Is A “Carnal Christian” Saved? (Part Three)   Part Two of this three part series asked why this question is important and answered that. Now I would like to turn to attempting to answer the question. Any attempt to answer this is bound to annoy and even distress some people. There are no simple, straightforward answers in this much controverted subject. In order to help readers understand what I am talking about (and what I’m not talking about), I will... Read more

Is A “Carnal Christian” Saved? (Part Two)   I ended Part One of this series by asking why the question and finding an answer to it matters. Here I will attempt to answer that. It matters because Scripture speaks to it. The problem is that Scripture speaks to it ambiguously. Scripture is not always as clear as we would like it to be—even on very important matters. There can be no question that Scripture urges God’s people, those who profess... Read more

Is A “Carnal Christian” Saved? (Part One)   Answering this question requires a lot of meta-explanation—about the questions and its terms. Some who read this blog will not be interested in the question; it’s a question of interest almost exclusively to evangelical Christians who believe in regeneration—being “born again”—and sanctification—becoming a “holy person” (not necessarily perfect). (And here I am using “evangelical” in a very broad sense that is not limited to any one tradition or denomination.) Evangelical Christians believe... Read more

Something that grieves me very much is the gradual disintegration of the evangelical movement in America. And I know where I assign the blame–on what I call “small tent evangelicals” who practice tribalism and totalizing with regard to who is and who is not recognized as “authentically evangelical.” I don’t remember very many things from elementary/primary school which was a very long time ago. But one thing that stuck with me over the years is a little poem. I don’t... Read more

This November two events will honor the life and theology of Stanley J. Grenz who died unexpectedly at age 55 in 2005. Stan was like a brother to me and I still miss him. The two events will be symposia at the Evangelical Theological Society and at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Religion. I will be presenting a paper at the latter event which will be in San Diego. (Like all events at AAR annual meetings it... Read more

Several times here I have been criticized by Calvinists for talking about a “partial regeneration” brought about by the Holy Spirit in what Arminians call “prevenient grace.” They have demanded that I show them this “partial regeneration” in the Bible. My answer has always been that it is everywhere assumed and implied in the Bible. Recently I’ve been reading John Owen’s book The Holy Spirit. Owen was, of course, the leading Puritan theologian of the 17th century. Most of his... Read more

Follow Up to My Post about the False Gospel of “Christian” Moralism   My immediately preceding post about how the “gospel” of Christian moralism has largely replaced the true gospel and where Calvinism and Arminianism agree provoked some questions and disagreements. Let me reiterate here my firm belief that all truly good works, including changed attitudes and dispositions (from which good works arise), are fruits of the Spirit. No person can change himself or herself spiritually in a positive way... Read more

Where Calvinists and Arminians Agree: Everything Good Is Gift   I swear this is the truth: If it weren’t for an avalanche of unfair attacks on and misrepresentations of Arminian theology by Calvinists during the 1990s I would never have set out on my crusade to defend Arminianism and expose the problems of Calvinism. It all began the day a student came to my office and informed me that I’m not a Christian. When I asked him how he thought... Read more

What Did Charles Hodge Say about “The Decrees of God?” (Part 2)   In Part 1 of this series on the theology of Charles Hodge I claimed that Hodge remains the “gold standard” for Reformed theology for most American Calvinist evangelical theologians. Again, as I said there, that doesn’t mean they all agree with him about everything; it only means that if he said it, claimed it, argued for it, it can’t be considered alien or foreign to Reformed-Calvinist thought—especially... Read more