Why I Am a Calvinist (Part 3)
March 22nd, 2007
. . . and why every Christian is a Calvinist of sorts.
(By Phil Johnson)
Part III: Some book recommendations
Before we go further in this series, let me recommend a handful of books. The first book I want to recommend is a new book by Roger Olson, who is himself an Arminian, and he has written a defense of Arminianism titled Arminian Theology: Myths and Realities. You might be surprised to hear me recommend this book because I published a review of it on my weblog a few months ago, and the review wasn’t altogether positive. The review was written by my friend Gary Johnson, who is pastor of The Church Of The Redeemer in Mesa, Arizona. Gary’s mentor, by the way, was S. Lewis Johnson. And even though we are all three named Johnson, none of us are related. (Though I would be very happy to be related to either S. Lewis Johnson or Gary Johnson.) Anyway, Gary’s review was in several parts, and he titled it “Calvinists in the Hands of an Angry Arminian.” So it wasn’t a completely positive review, and I agree with practically all of Gary’s complaints about the book.
But I have to say that Olson’s book is the best book in defense of Arminianism I’ve ever read. Some readers might be aware that I didn’t have a very high opinion of Dave Hunt’s anti-Calvinistic screed. When I reviewed Hunt’s book in a Shepherds’ Conference seminar a few years ago, someone told me the only reason I hated the book was because I’m a Calvinist and Hunt stepped on my toes.
And I said, “No, it’s just a really bad book, written by a guy who has no clue what he is talking about.”
My friend challenged that: “Name one well-written book, written after 1950, either defending Arminianism or attacking Calvinism, written by someone who does know what he is talking about.”
I admit it; I was stumped. But now Roger Olson has bailed me out. If anyone ever asks me that question again, I can point to Olson’s book. It’s a good defense of Arminianism, and although I disagree with virtually all his conclusions, he pretty much knows what he is talking about, and he explains the differences between Arminianism, Pelagianism, and semi-pelagianism pretty well.
If you read that book, you’ll need to read at least three or four good Calvinist books to get the taste out of your mouth. So I’ll recommend three. Two are standard works that I routinely recommend every year. The first is a massive syllabus, written by Curt Daniel, called The History and Theology of Calvinism. These are notes Dr. Daniel wrote when he taught this material, and the tapes of his teaching are downloadable for free from the internet. Dr. Daniel is currently working on developing that material in book form, to be published by P&R. My guess is you’ll have to wait 2-3 years for that, so buy the syllabus; download the sound files; and if you are too cheap to buy a bound copy of the syllabus, my friend Bob Hill at Moody Press recently put the entire work online (in Microsoft Word format) for free download.
The other standard work you must have is the book by David Steele, Curtis Thomas, Lance Quinn, titled The Five Points of Calvinism (also by P&R). It is an encyclopedic collection of key Scripture references and some wonderful essays explaining and defending Calvinism from the Bible.
And then one of my favorite books — hard to find for a long time but recently published in a quality edition by Audobon Press, The Great Invitation, by Erroll Hulse, subtitled “Examining the use of the altar call in evangelism.” The book deals with the question of altar calls, as the subtitle suggests, but it’s greatest value, I think, is that this is a classic example of the kind of warm-hearted, evangelistic, classic Calvinism that I appreciate, and it’s a great antidote to the ugly Calvinism I spoke about that you find in Internet forums. Erroll Hulse is a greatly respected British Reformed Baptist leader, and this is one of my all-time favorite books.
Note: Part 4 will be posted this afternoon (by 3PM PST).
[...] Phil Johnson (http://www.sfpulpit.com) continues his series on why he is a Calvinist, and why every Christian is a Calvinist of sort with part three. [...]
Phil:
I’m enjoying these posts a great deal. I had recently considered writing something (again) on this, but now I don’t have to.
Looking forward to part 4.
Mr. Johnson,
A couple of well written books from an Arminian persuasion, post-1950, were written by a Baptist named Robert Shank. One is called “Life in the Son”, which is a study of perseverance of the saints. The other is “Elect in the Son”, a study of election. I found them both to be written in an irenic and scholarly fashion. I wonder if you have ever heard of these books. They were originally published by Westcott publishers, but they were reprinted in the 1990s by Bethany Pub. In my opinion they were 2 of the strongest writings on the subject, at least in the late 20th century. Thanks for your insight.
you mentioned the syllabus was available to buy: where?
also, available to download as well (yes, I will purchase): where?
Thanks for all you do!
In Christ
chris
chris@evfree.net
Chris,
See this link for information on purchasing a bound copy of the syllabus.
Hi Nate
Thanks for the link… here’s more info
Good Books [Conservative Relg.]
Curt Daniel, Ph.D.
2456 E. Devonshire Rd.
Springfield, IL 62703
(217) 585-8770
members.aol.com/goodbooks7/
Thanks again - to all of you at Grace/Masters Sem!
in Christ
chris
G’day Phil,
I have resumed my polemic against hypercalvinism of the Gillite to PRC varieties. I have been posting primary source quotations on general love, and common grace. As well I have been comparing and contrasting Gill and the PRC with folk like Calvin, Turretin, and Owen, et al, on the Free Offer. A secondary goal in doing that is to rebut the idea that “offer” was used by the Reformed to denote some sort of mere presentation or setting forth; which is clearly untrue.
It’s been good. I’ve been digging up all my old photocopies and research data which has been buried for almost a decade now. The final ‘knowledge based’ on general love, common grace and the free offer should be quite substantial when I am done. The key subject headers at the blog are General Love, Common Grace and John Calvin.
Remember when I first posted on Stamper’s old list, the three things I am interested in. That still basically holds good, only now my interests have become more focused. Those were the good old days. Send me an email or give me a call sometime.
Take care
David
I noted some time ago that Olson’s book was on Phil’s reading list, and that added to my already abundant respect for Mr. Johnson. Clearly he’s as interested in being fair about Arminianism as he is in defending his own views. A good lesson for all.
Olson’s book, IMO, is not so much a defense of Arminianism as it is a corrective for some baseless charges often flung at it. For that reason, it is the first book I would recommend to Calvinists who truly want to understand Arminianism.
And for those who want to dig even deeper, here are a few other recommendations:
- The Works of John Fletcher, especially his answers to Toplady.
- Grace, Faith, Free Will by Robert E. Picirilli, a strong and clear presentation of Reformation Arminianism.
- The best Arminian theologian today, IMO, is Jack Cottrell. He has a systematic theology that is sort of the anti-Grudem on this topic, The Faith Once for All.
- And if you really want to be challenged, and are prepared to have the top of your head blown off (which you will be able to recover, if it be God’s will) you may study Cottrell’s two-volume commentary on the Book of Romans, from College Press.
Click here to download the entire syllabus by Curt Daniel (in Microsoft Word format). This is a monster document, jammed with useful information.
jsb - quick question: What does Grudem have to do with Calvinism or election to the extent that you would label the best Arminian argument “anti-Grudem”? Grudem is Third Wave Charismatic. While he might espouse the doctrine of election in his systematic theology, I sincerely doubt he has written the best defense of it available…? Though that could just be my prejudice against his charismatic error.
[...] Why I am a Calvinist, Part 3 Published March 23rd, 2007 Calvinism Here is part 3 of this absolutely wonderful series by Phil Johnson, from Pulpit Magazine. These are truly tremendous! [...]
Jay, despite the Charismatic spots, isn’t Grudem usually held up as an able defender of election (as defined by Calvinism)? Cottrell’s book covers much of the same territory as Grudem’s, from the other perspective, which is why I said “anti-Grudem.” In the relevant sections, Grudem cites Cottrell most. In any event, whatever one thinks of Grudem, I was mainly extolling the virtues of Cottrell for those who want to look at a good Arminian systematic theology.
When reading in “Calvinism #2″ that Arminians believe that they can lose their salvation, I wondered what classification those of us who are not “Calvinists”, but believe that once adopted into the family of God we cannot be “unadopted”, would fall into.
Also, these articles seem to be much more for those who are already well-educated in Calvinist theology, precepts, authors, and more. They seem to require viewers to study many other sources, in order to grasp what the author is writing about.
[...] Phil Johnson is now on part 5 of his series about why he’s a Calvinist. Part 3 had some very good book recommendations, as well. [...]
I am trying to obtain the word doc you mentioned both in your post above and at the SC last year on “The History and Theology of Calvinism.” I apologize, but it appears that the link does not work. Can I obtain a copy of the word doc?