Here’s the video of my interview with Roger Olson, professor of theology at Truett Theological Seminary and author of “Against Calvinism” (Zondervan).
Vodpod videos no longer available.
Here are the questions I asked as well as the minute marks at which Olson answered them.
- 1:05 Are you against everything Calvinism stands for, or only particular things?
- 2:40 What is the historical background to TULIP, “the five points of Calvinism,” or what Calvinists refer to as “the doctrines of grace”?
- 5:02 What is the unified testimony of the ante-Nicene church regarding these issues? Why don’t Calvinists take this testimony into account?
- 8:32 Can you demonstrate that Jesus, Paul, or other New Testament writers were not theological determinists? What about Romans 9-11?
- 15:50 Why do the “good and necessary consequences” of Calvinist doctrines make God a “moral monster,” despite Calvinists’ best intentions?
- 24:00 How does an Arminian deal with the many verses in the Bible that speak about election and predestination?
- 28:00 Examples of cooperation and competition between Arminians and Calvinists in evangelical history.
- 30:00 How can Arminians and Calvinists disagree without being disagreeable? (I interrupted Olson in the middle of his answer with a question about which Arminian books and theologians he would recommend.)
- 36:00 Given its biblical deficiencies, why does Calvinism have a dominant presence in the American church?
- 39:33 What do you appreciate most about the “New Calvinist” movement? (I interrupted Olson with a further question about Calvinism and evangelism/missions.)
- 42:03 What is “middle knowledge”? I asked how, on an Arminian basis, God can predestine based on foreknowledge if, as Olson argues, middle knowledge is impossible.
- 48:05 What are Pelagianism and semi-Pelagianism, and how is Arminianism distinct from them? Is “Arminianism of the head” susceptible to Pelagianism or semi-Pelagianism?
- 53:32 Are universalists Arminians?
- 56:38 How to disprove limited atonement.
- 59:18 The Assemblies of God’s fourth reason for being is compassion. Does Arminianism or Calvinism sit better with an emphasis on compassion ministries?
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