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Summary

Recommended

Book Description:
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The aspect of this book that haunts me the most is that it reminded me of so much of what I've already written in my series on TULIP (and as well in my essay on Sola Scriptura. Written in an easy conversational style (the authors call themselves Jerry and Joe in the text!), Why I Am Not a Calvinist gently and with great panache explores the weaknesses of Calvinism and its proponents. Their points are familiar -- Calvinists who resort to "you're defaming God's glory" as a bludgeon; those that appeal to "antinomy" when they are really preaching contradictions; an asusmption that sovereignty means microbial control -- it's all here in chest-thumping glory. The expositions given of various positions (including Molinism) will be very helpful to the reader looking into this issue for the first time.

What is lacking is some of the social-science study that would have made Dongell and Walls' case even more solid. Their case on grace for example would have been helped by knowing just how grace "worked" in the Biblical era, and the meaning of faith only confirms their point of view.

The authors suppose that the resurgence of Calvinism is a reaction to the move today that sees God as a "cosmic bellhop" -- in this I agree; it is proper to squash such sentiments, but in the drive to re-assert God's holiness, some proponents go too far in the opposite direction. One strange omission is that there is no mention of one of today's most popular proponents of Calvinism, James White; but that is the only major name left out from the popular circuit that I can discern.

As a whole, an excellent introduction to the debate and the best foot forward for an more Arminian stance.

Note: We looking at a companion volume titled "Why I Am Not an Arminian" here.