By Mark W. Christy, PhD When Calvinists and Traditionalists debate the merits of their theological commitments, it is not infrequent for Calvinists to charge Traditionalists with believing that some among the human race must be in some way better (more smart, humble, righteous, etc.) to the extent that they are able to make a libertarianly free choice for Christ while others neglect to do so. In response to this charge, Leighton Flowers in The Potter’s Promise offers several defenses which w...

By Mark W. Christy, PhD Among Traditionalists, the supposed human possession of a libertarianly free will takes precedence of any and all other theological matters to such an extent that all relevant biblical passages are read in light of this affirmation. One such text is Romans 8:28-30 where Paul writes, “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined t...

By Mark W. Christy, PhD In Ephesians 1:4, Paul states that God “chose us in [Christ] before the foundation of the world.”[i] Among the Calvinists and Arminians, debate exists over whether or not Paul is declaring a doctrine of election where Christians are chosen by God even before creation itself existed. To determine Paul’s intent, this article will offer evidence to support a correct interpretation of Paul’s meaning. Basically, one can either understand Paul to be saying that all Chris...

By Mark W. Christy, PhD In Romans 5:12, Paul utters a theologically rich statement that has been the subject of much conjecture throughout history: “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned.”[i] Within this verse, the majority of the debate surrounds Paul’s intent behind the last phrase, “because all have sinned.” While various interpretations exist, one of the more popular among them holds that h...

By Mark W. Christy, PhD Among Christians, most would agree that Christ exhibited a love that was self-sacrificial. That being said, it is important to understand the biblical contours of His self-sacrificial love and the necessary divine constraints placed on such love by His other divine attributes. This article will discuss the relationship of Christ’s self-sacrificial love to the world and believers, and its connection with the fullness of God’s divine being. Christ’s self-sacrifice on...

By Mark W. Christy, PhD Claiming to be a former Calvinist, Leighton Flowers argues that Calvinists posit a God who “mak[es] vessels undeserving from birth so as to condemn them to display His glory.”[i] Calvinists, he continues, perceive God as being in “meticulous control over everything vessels do” to the extent that the vessels themselves no longer possess any personal responsibility as freewill is nonexistent.[ii] This view, he argues, arises from the according of primacy to God’s sovere...

By Mark W. Christy, PhD According to Scripture, all people since the fall of Adam and Eve are conceived in sin (Ps 51:5), born into a state of spiritual deadness (Eph 2:1), utterly hopeless in and of themselves as they are born into a state without God (Eph 2:12), “alienated and hostile in mind” (Col. 1:21), lovers of inequity (Jer 14:10; cf. Col 1:21), enemies of God (Rom. 5:10), hostile to God (Rom 8:7), completely incapable of pleasing God (Rom 8:8), “darkened in their understanding, excl...

By mark W. Christy, PhD In the Bible, God is clearly revealed as being sovereign over all creation. In this role of King, He can and does enforce His will upon all that is, including the actions of people, in such a way that His divine decisions always become manifest (Gen 45:8; 50:20; Prov 16:9;21:1; Matt 10:29; Acts 4:27f; Rom 8:20f; Eph 1:11). While He reigns as King, He also serves as Judge, and this is where the theological conundrum between the Arminians and Calvinists begins. As Judge...

By Mark W. Christy, PhD Calvinists uphold a compatibility understanding of the doctrine of election whereby God chose those whom He would save before the beginning of creation in such a way that their free will response becomes a foregone conclusion. Given the imposition of God’s selective to the choice of those who would be saved, the atoning sacrifice of Christ necessarily becomes limited to these Elect of God. In this system of thought, the Non-Elect are those who make a free will rejecti...