Book Notice: Stephen Williams on The Election of Grace

Stephen N. Williams

The Election of Grace: A Riddle without a Resolution?
The Kanzer Lectures in Revealed Theology.
Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2015.
Available from Amazon.com.

Stephen Williams offers here a charming book on the knotty subject of election. Williams himself supports an Augustinian view of election, giving great discussions of texts like Acts 13:48 and John 10. And he is impressed by Revelation so that God’s predestination is a predestination to reign. However, Williams, following Anglican divine Charles Simeon, is very conscious that systematizing is often more of a problem than a help, and he wonders if Augustine got election right, but Wesley had a better understanding of God. Finally, the highlight of the book is Williams’ discussion of Barth on election, a discussion which is very appreciative of Barth, but also duly critical.