Today I received an e-mail from a reader who asked why I didn’t mention J. I. Packer in either Arminian Theology: Myths and Realities or Against Calvinism.  That’s a good question. I didn’t, so now I will. To the best of my knowledge, the only lengthy, detailed treatment of Arminianism in print by Packer was his Introduction to John Owen’s The Death of Death in the Death of Christ in A Quest for Godliness.  It may be found at this... Read more

A while ago I posted here about “Did I kill Jesus?” based on a T-shirt I saw at the mall.  That led to some reflections about the atonement–a growing battleground among evangelicals.  Recently a leading evangelical pastor and author has declared publicly that “God killed Jesus”–meaning, I suppose, the Father killed Jesus.  That’s his way (I assume) of emphasizing the penal substitution theory of the atonement. Personally, I think some “friends of penal substitution” are its worst enemies.  In the... Read more

This is a guest post written by one of my students–Austin Fischer.  As you can see, he’s particularly bright (and not just because he agrees with me about most things!) and articulate.  I think he makes some very good points about the controversy surrounding Love Wins here.  However, just because I post a guest essay here does not mean I agree with everything in it (the standard disclaimer!) Love Wins? God Wins?  #LoveWins             As has been duly noted at... Read more

This has been one of my pet peeves for a very long time.  I’ve worked in or with many Christian organizations over the past thirty to forty years.  One thing I’ve noticed is a largely unnoticed tendency for Christian organizations such as churches, denominations, colleges and universities, etc., to adopt their organizational structures and behaviors from the business world. Let me offer a few examples.  The provost of a Christian college where I once taught insisted on referring to our... Read more

Another one of my evangelical Christian intellectual heroes passed away recently.  Arthur Holmes, long time professor of philosophy at Wheaton College and author of numerous books of Christian philosophy and apologetics, died on October 8 at age 87.  I only met him once (that I can recall) which was when I was editor of Christian Scholar’s Review.  He was, in many ways, the “guru” behind CSR.  Our approach to integrating faith and learning came largely from him.  One year he... Read more

I did not expect that post to stir up so much interest!  Apparently I hit a nerve with many people.  Hopefully enough people will become outraged over false advertising that they will complain (e-mail is great for that!) and business and advertising professionals will become more honest in promoting their products. I have a colleague (who I also count as a friend) who teaches marketing/advertising (both, I think).  I know him to be a man of integrity who teaches his... Read more

Recently I’ve been wrestling with an issue brought up by Anabaptists (with whom I havetheological  sympathies).  Historically, Anabaptists discourage their own (and by extension all Christians they can influence) from working in certain vocations.  The military is, of course, the most obvious one.  But, mostly, Anabaptists do not work for governments at all.  Some exceptions are made for social work and teaching.  But any job that involves coercion is traditionally off limits for Anabaptists. Lately I’ve been wondering if a... Read more

Over the years I’ve heard many people who love novels decry the lack of good, popular fiction written from an evangelical Christian perspective.  There have been some (in the last few years) written from a generic Christian perspective: Gilead and Peace Like a River come to mind as excellent examples. But what popular novels have been written by evangelical Christians that reflect an evangelical worldview AND are well-written? Well, of course, The Shack comes to mind.  What else? I’m a... Read more

Below is the link to my interview with George P. Wood, Director of Ministerial Resourcing of the Assemblies of God. http://agtv.ag.org/meet-roger-olson Read more

Over the past year, some of my Calvinist interlocutors here have challenged my claim that a god who unconditionally elects only some to save and saves them irresistibly, thus condemning others to eternal damnation (double predestination), is not worthy of worship because he cannot be good in any meaning of “good.”  They have often offered illustrations and analogies.  The most recent one was of a man who unconditionally pays the fines of some inmates, setting them free, but does not... Read more