Wes Widner on August 11th, 2010

A friend on Facebook posted the video above which gave rise to the following conversation: Me: I find such sermons where the underlying premise is “though you think you are saved, you MAY not be” to be absolutely deplorable and ultimately severely spiritually damaging. May God have mercy on all preachers who think they are [...]

  • Share/Bookmark

Continue reading about Subversive preaching: “Examine yourself”

Wes Widner on August 4th, 2010

Here’s a gem I ran across recently while reading the excellent book, Whosoever Will. And indeed our Lord Jesus was offered to the world. For it is not speaking of three or four when it says: “God so loved the world, that He spared not His only Son.” But yet we must notice what the [...]

  • Share/Bookmark

Continue reading about John Calvin on John 3:16

Wes Widner on July 14th, 2010

As I’ve been reading through the excellent rebuttal to 5 point Calvinism, Whosoever Will, I ran across a section that listed (with more explanation that I plan to give here, so buy the book if you want to learn more) a several key texts that provide evidence that God’s will is indeed resistible: Prov 1:22-26 Hos 11:1-9 [...]

  • Share/Bookmark

Continue reading about Key texts affirming resistible grace

Wes Widner on July 7th, 2010

What it means Greek πᾶς Transliteration/Pronunciation pas/pä’s Strong’s G3956 Definition The primary definition is: each, every, any, all, the whole, everyone, all things, everything The secondary definition is: some of all types This word is hotly debated by the Reformed crowd when it comes to doctrines such as particular election, limited atonement, and irresistible grace. The claim by most [...]

  • Share/Bookmark

Continue reading about Wordy Wednesday: pas

Wes Widner on June 21st, 2010

I recently received the following via a Facebook message (reposed with permission): Wes Pardon the unsolicited message–and I see that with your 3K+ friends, your ability to reply may be limited–but I’m a long-suffering “anti-Calvinist” who’s only now beginning to study Molinism. I noticed through Facebook’s VERY unprivate data search mechanisms that you are a [...]

  • Share/Bookmark

Continue reading about Another primer on Molinism/Middle Knowledge 1 of 2

Wes Widner on June 11th, 2010

A Calvinist friend of mine recently asked me the difference between “unwilling” and “unable” and why I consider the two to be mutually exclusive when talking about mankind’s ability to sin or not. Here’s my reply If I am unable I cannot be unwilling because my inability precludes my willingness either way. I know you tire of [...]

  • Share/Bookmark

Continue reading about Unable or unwilling?

Wes Widner on April 23rd, 2010

One of the most common proof-texts used to show that God arbitrarily elects some to salvation while damning others without merit or cause is Romans 9:13 As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated. Many people have a hard time with this passage as it is often posited as evidence of [...]

  • Share/Bookmark

Continue reading about For Esau I have hated.

Wes Widner on April 5th, 2010

In a previous post I laid out an ontological argument (following Descartes’ formula) for God’s loving the whole world (on contrast to the rather limited view of love posited by the reformed doctrine of Limited Atonement). Here I will attempt to provide a Biblical case from the standpoint of Christ’s words to “love thy enemies”. [...]

  • Share/Bookmark

Continue reading about Love thy enemies

Wes Widner on March 19th, 2010

I recently came across the draft of a paper written by Ken Keathley on Molinism titled “A Molinist View of Election Or How to Be a Consistent Infralapsarian”. The full PDF version is avaliable here. The final version is included in the book Calvinism: A Southern Baptist Dialogue. On supralapsarianism and historical Calvinism Keathly writes: [...]

  • Share/Bookmark

Continue reading about Ken Keathley on Molinism

I ran across a recent Tweet via Google Buzz that read: Would we be more pious than Jesus? – “I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given Me” – Jn 17:9 During the course of our conversation on the implications of the thought expressed above I come up with the [...]

  • Share/Bookmark

Continue reading about The ontological argument for God’s love for the whole world