Dan Chapa

I appreciated this post by James White ( link ). God has given us humans the remarkable ability to be inconsistent and so just because someone believes something that contradicts or leads to contradicting the Gospel does not mean that they actually deny the Gospel.

In Charles Ryrie's article "The Extent of the Atonement" he first defines the key issue. Ryrie disagrees with Berkhof that the key issue is if Christ came into the world to save all men or only the elect. Instead Ryrie frames the issue in term of did Christ make provision for the salvation of all people or not? Next Ryrie deals with exegetical considerations. He digs into 2 Peter 2:1, 1 John 2:2, 1 Timothy 2:4-6, 4:10, Hebrews 2:9, John 3:16, and Acts 17:30. In each case Ryrie shows how the text teaches unlimited atonement and points out the problems with alternative explanations. Finally, Ryrie deals with theological considerations. He explains that unlimited atonement is more compatible with preaching the Gospel to all. Then he explains that the objection that the value of Christ's death is not wasted even if not all believe, since God planned for the whole world to be savable, which itself has value. Last, Ryrie deals with the 'double payment' argument....

I logged in to the SEA site recently and noted that today marks the two year anniversary of my membership with the Society of Evangelical Arminians. Much progress has been made in the past two years and I am happy to have been able to do my part. The key thing about SEA is the bringing together of Arminians from various geographic regions and walks of life. SEA’s membership has theology professors to new converts, liberals to conservatives, charismatics to cessationalists, Freewill Baptists, Southern Baptists, Methodists, AoG and a host of church groups. Yet we are all united in Christ and in Evangelical Arminian views. So we come together to learn from each other, share ideas, fellowship, support each other. I count it quite a privilege to be a part. The public website has quickly and quietly become the best resource for Arminian Theology (scriptures excepted) ever. There, readers may find substantially all the classical Arminian works and articles from modern scholarship as well. The...

James White and company have used 1 John 5:1 to argue that regeneration comes before faith. ( link ) I actually called in to the Dividing Line (James White's webcast) to explain to him my take on the passage and why I do not think it teaches faith precedes regeneration. It's at the end of the hour long program. ( link ) James White objected to my approach on the air and Turretinfan has objected to it on his blog as well ( link ). I would like to briefly summarize the issue, explain the text and then respond to Turretinfan. 1 John 5:1 states: Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him. James White posted a video in which John Piper quotes John Stot as saying: "The combination of present tense 'believes' and perfect tense 'has been born' is important. It shows clearly that believing is the consequence, not the cause of the new birth. Our present continuing act of be...

Marshall, I. Howard’s article "The Problem of Apostasy in New Testament Theology" was part of a symposium in honor of Dale Moody and serves as an epilogue to Marshall’s book Kept by the Power of God: A Study of Perseverance and falling Away. Marshall presents the three reasons Calvinists reject the idea the true believers fall away: 1) they regard the texts which appear to teach the final security of the believer as the clear and central teaching of Scripture, 2) unconditional election and definitive atonement logically lead to perseverance of the elect and 3) the sense of security provide by perseverance of the saints is important to the Christian life. Marshall associates perseverance of the saints with determinism: “on the Calvinist view, the possibility of a return means that the Lord himself must so work in my life that I am preserved from the possibility of falling away by his overruling of my sinful will. Thus we find that perseverance depends on a divine determinism...

On SEA’s links and books page, there is an interview with Drs. Matt Pinson and Mark Dever discussing Calvin and Calvinism (link). The moderator is a Calvinist and it shows at times, but overall he asks good questions and generates interesting discussion. Dr. Pinson does a nice job explaining the basics of Arminianism as well as explaining areas where Calvinists and Arminians can work together.