Tag Archives: Calvinism

Was Noah Unconditionally Predestined to Salvation?

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Was Noah Unconditionally Predestined to Salvation? by Jack Cottrell (Notes) on Wednesday, October 14, 2009 at 2:56pm QUESTION: What is your perspective on the “election” of Noah as it relates to the Calvinism vs. Arminianism debate? According to the Arminian view it would seem that there was only one man (Noah) on the face of the earth with the faith for God to foreknow and choose for salvation. I suppose the Calvinist would say that God unconditionally chose one person from the mass of all people who were totally unable to come to faith. Both views seem to have serious … Continue reading →

Was Noah unconditionally predestined to salvation?

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Was Noah unconditionally predestined to salvation? by Jack Cottrell (Notes) on Wednesday, October 14, 2009 at 2:54pm QUESTION: What is your perspective on the “election” of Noah as it relates to the Calvinism vs. Arminianism debate? According to the Arminian view it would seem that there was only one man (Noah) on the face of the earth with the faith for God to foreknow and choose for salvation. I suppose the Calvinist would say that God unconditionally chose one person from the mass of all people who were totally unable to come to faith. Both views seem to have serious … Continue reading →

Is Biblical Inspiration a Proof of Calvinism?

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Is Biblical Inspiration a Proof of Calvinism? by Jack Cottrell (Notes) on Wednesday, September 30, 2009 at 2:26pm SOMEONE HAS WRITTEN about a “Calvinist challenge,” thus: “I wanted to pass along a challenge a Calvinist has thrown down. My answer, thus far, has been that Scripture is silent on the ‘mode’ of inspiration, leaving the Calvinist with the same conundrum. I wondered if you might have a further thought on the following challenge:” “How is it that God inspired the Scriptures in such a way that every word—indeed, every jot and tittle—was what He determined? Every standard evangelical definition of … Continue reading →

Are We Arminian , Pelagian, or Whatever?

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Are We Arminian , Pelagian, or Whatever? by Jack Cottrell (Notes) on Wednesday, September 30, 2009 at 12:45pm HERE IS ANOTHER QUESTION: How does the Restoration Movement compare with Calvinism and Augustinianism? I am assuming that we are of an Arminian persuasion, but I would flatly deny the doctrine of total depravity and original sin, which many Arminians claim to believe. So, does that make me a Pelagian or semi-pelagian? HERE IS MY ANSWER: Not all Arminians affirm total depravity and original sin. Even those who say they do (mostly Wesleyan Arminians) have a device called “prevenient grace” that nullifies … Continue reading →

“Common Grace” in Calvinism

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“Common Grace” in Calvinism by Jack Cottrell (Notes) on Friday, September 25, 2009 at 9:17am A STUDENT WRITES, “Calvinists talk about ‘common grace.’ The idea seems to be that whatever joy we experience in this life is attributed to God’s grace. I don’t remember you mentioning this in Doctrine of Grace. Do you agree with this notion?” MY REPLY: Not all Calvinists see eye-to-eye on the “common grace” concept. One of my Westminster Seminary professors, Cornelius Van Til, was its main defender. I do mention this concept in my grace course but do not dwell on it. See the section … Continue reading →

What about Norman Geisler’s Systematic Theology?

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What about Norman Geisler’s Systematic Theology? by Jack Cottrell (Notes) on Wednesday, September 16, 2009 at 1:47pm Someone asked me for my opinion of Norman Geisler’s four-volume systematic theology. My opinion of Geisler in general is that he is a much better apologist than theologian. I like his works in the area of apologetics quite a bit and have made use of them often. I don’t agree with him on some things, e.g., his attempt to explain the presence of evil in the world (without evil we could not appreciate the good). Still, I don’t use any of his apologetics … Continue reading →

Calvinism summarized

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Calvinism summarized by Jack Cottrell (Notes) on Wednesday, September 9, 2009 at 1:15pm Someone writes, “I have been following the modern reformed church for some time now as a means for modeling a church plant. I see great success in converts and in the growth and life of the church through modern reformed preaching and practices (not to be confused with emergent church). The one thing I am struggling with is [how to] pick between the theological schools of thought called Calvinism and Arminianism. Can you clarify the key differences, or point me to a book that would be helpful … Continue reading →

Books that Have Influenced Me

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Books that Have Influenced Me by Jack Cottrell (Notes) on Saturday, August 22, 2009 at 9:39am Some recently asked me this question: Would you mind sharing some of the books, besides the Bible, that helped to shape your views and understanding of the Bible? Also, who are the contemporary authors which continue to influence you? I thought I would share my (amplified) answer with everyone: “This is always a hard question for me to answer since the list is shorter than it seems it should be: Martin Luther (on grace and salvation issues); B. B. Warfield (for his meticulousness in … Continue reading →

“The Shack” critique available

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“The Shack” critique available by Jack Cottrell (Notes) on Tuesday, March 24, 2009 at 7:08pm Hey everybody — if you are interested, my critique of “The Shack” is now available online by going here: http://www.ccuniversity.edu/seminary/academics/faculty I have several items posted there, including this one: “The Shack: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.” Some other items include: 1. “God and Time” — a rather philosophical study of how God is related to time, in such a way that he exists along a time-line but still has foreknowledge of the entire future of this universe. 2. “Pharaoh as a Paradigm for … Continue reading →