What is the difference between “libertarian” and “compatibilistic” freedom?
Question: I often hear philosophers and theologians talk about "libertarian" and "compatibilistic" freedom. What do these terms mean? Answer: A person ...
What is the biblical basis for “free will”?
Question: Much of your theology depends on a supposed ability humans have to thwart God’s will by our free choices. ...
How can you put your trust in a God who’s not in control of everything?
Question: I read your book Is God to Blame? and found it to be very compelling. It's rocking ...
What does the Bible mean when it says God “sent an evil spirit” on certain people?
Question: In Judges 9:23, I Samuel 16:15ff and 18:10 it is said that God sends evil spirits on people. Doesn't ...
How do you respond to Genesis 45:5; 50:20?
Joseph said to his brothers, “...now do not be distressed, or angry with yourselves, because you sold me here; for ...
How do you respond to Exodus 4:11?
"The Lord says to Moses, “Who gives speech to mortals? Who makes them mute or deaf, seeing or blind? Is ...
How do you respond to Exodus 21:12–13?
"Whoever strikes a person mortally shall be put to death. If it was not premeditated, but came about by an ...
How do you respond to Joshua 11:19–20?
“There was not a town that made peace with the Israelites, except the Hivites...all were taken to battle. For it ...
How do you respond to Judges 9:23?
“...God sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the lords of Schechem; and the lords of Shechem dealt treacherously with ...
How do you respond to Ruth 1:13?
Because her husband and two sons had died, Naomi says to her two daughter-in-laws (Ruth and Orpah), “[I]t has been ...
How do you respond to 1 Samuel 2:25?
Eli’s sons “would not listen to the voice of their father, for it was the will of the Lord to ...
How do you respond to 2 Samuel 16:10?
David says of Shimei’s cursing him, “If he is cursing because the Lord said to him, ‘Curse David,’ who then ...
How do you respond to 2 Samuel 17:14–15?
“Absalom and all the men of Israel said, ‘The counsel of Hushai the Archite is better than the counsel of ...
How do you respond to 2 Samuel 24:1 and 1 Chronicles 21:1?
One text says the Lord incited David to count the warriors of Israel and Judah. The other text says that ...
How do you respond to 1 Kings 8:58?
Solomon prays as he dedicates the temple, “The Lord our God be with us...[and] incline our hearts to him, to ...
How do you respond to Job 1:21?
“...the Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.” This passage is often quoted ...
How do you respond to Psalm 105:25?
Speaking of the Egyptians, the Psalmist says,“...whose hearts he [God] then turned to hate his people, to deal craftily with ...
How do you respond to Psalm 135:6?
“Whatever the Lord pleases he does, In heaven and on earth...” (cf. Job 23:13–14; Ps. 115:3; Dan. 4:35) Some conclude from passages ...
Doesn’t Psalms 139:16 refute the Open View of the future?
One of the passages most frequently cited in attempts to refute the open view of the future is Psalm ...
How do you respond to Proverbs 16:4?
“The Lord has made everything for its purpose, even the wicked for the day of trouble.” Calvinists often cite this verse to ...
How do you respond to Proverbs 16:9?
“The human mind plans the way, but the Lord directs the steps.” (cf. Prov. 19:21; 20:24; Jere. 10:23) Far from teaching that God ...
How do you respond to Proverbs 21:1?
“The king’s heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord; he turns it wherever he wills.” Calvinists sometimes argue ...
How do you respond to Isaiah 6:10?
The Lord tells Isaiah, “Make the mind of this people dull, and stop their ears, and shut their eyes, so that they may not ...
How do you respond to Isaiah 14:24, 27?
The Lord of hosts has sworn: As I have designed, so shall it be; and as I have planned, so shall it come to ...
How do you respond to Isaiah 45:7/Lamentations 3:37–38?
The Lord says,“I form light and create darkness, I make weal and create woe; I the Lord do all these things” (Isaiah ...
What about the Gospel of John and Calvinism?
Question: The Gospel of John seems to teach that people believe because God draws them, rather than that God draws ...
How do you respond to John 6:44?
"No one can come to me unless drawn by the Father who sent me...” Calvinists sometimes argue that this passage teaches ...
How do you respond to Acts 2:23 and 4:28?
Question: Acts 2:23 and 4:28 tell us that wicked people crucified Jesus just as God predestined them to do. If ...
How do you respond to Acts 4:27–28?
The Christians in Jerusalem proclaim to the Lord, “...both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the peoples of ...
How do you respond to Acts 13:48?
“When the Gentiles heard this [preaching], they were glad and praised the word of the Lord, and as many as ...
How do you respond to Acts 17:26?
“From one ancestor he made all nations to inhabit the whole earth, and he allotted the times of their existence ...
How do you respond to Romans 8:29-30?
Question: Romans 8:29–30 says that everyone God foreknew he predestined. You deny both that God foreknows and predestines individual believers. ...
How do you respond to Romans 9?
The Deterministic Interpretation of Romans 9 Many people believe that Romans 9 demonstrates that God has the right and power to ...
How do you respond to Romans 9:18?
“[God] has mercy on whomsoever he chooses, and he hardens the heart of whomsoever he chooses.” This is one of the ...
How do you respond to Romans 11:36?
“For from him [God] and through him and to him are all things.” Calvinists sometimes cite this doxology as evidence ...
How do you respond to Ephesians 1:4-5?
Question: Ephesians 1 refers to believers as predestined before the foundation of the world. How do you reconcile this with ...
How do you respond to Ephesians 1:4-5?
Question: Ephesians 1 refers to believers as predestined before the foundation of the world. How do you reconcile this with ...
How do you respond to Ephesians 1:11?
“In Christ we have obtained an inheritance, having...been destined according to the purpose of him who accomplishes all things according ...
How do you respond to 2 Thessalonians 2:11–12?
Of those who disobey the truth Paul says, “...God sends them powerful delusions, leading them to believe what is false ...
How do you respond to 1 Timothy 1:9?
“[God] saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works but according to his own ...
If salvation depends on our free choice, how are we saved totally by grace?
Question: I'm an Arminian-turned-Calvinist, and the thing that turned me was the realization that if salvation hinges on whether individuals ...
If every effect has a cause, how can there be free choice?
The most common argument given in defense of determinism is that it’s implied in the nature of causation. Every event ...
Revelation 13:8 refers to “everyone whose names have not been written before the foundation of the world in the book of life.” How does that square with open theism?
Three possibilities exist in terms of reconciling Revelation 13:8 with open theism. 1) First, the “from the foundation of the world” ...
Revelation 17:8 refers to people whose names haven’t been written in “the book of life from the creation of the world.” Doesn’t this conflict with open theism?
As in Revelation 13:8, the clause “from the foundation” (apo kataboleis) need not mean “from before the foundation” but ...
What is omni-resourcefulness?
Question: What do you mean when you refer to God’s omni-resourcefulness? Can you support this with Scripture? Answer: I and others ...
Is Free Will compatible with Predestination?
Question: Isn’t “freedom” simply our ability to do what we want? And if this is so there seems to be no ...