From Peter Lumpkin: “But to defend Dordt in the same breathe as Spurgeon and Fuller seems, at least to me, fantastic. Andrew Fuller clearly rejected Dortian Calvinism.” (Aug. 13, 2007) Such a statement could only be made by one who has not read Fuller, or who, having read him,…
Dr. Garrett helpfully distinguishes the internal, effectual call of God from the external, general call. Many less thoughtful critics of Calvinism fail to recognize this distinction and, consequently, often wind up dismissing a straw man in their critique of “irresistible grace.” Garrett writes, Dortian Calvinists normally differentiate the external,…
Thom Rainer, president and CEO of LifeWay, has issued a clear, humble plea for civility in the way we publicly address issues within the Christian family. He reveals his own heart and holds out a vision to which all who love Christ should aspire when he writes, My passionate…
Christianity Today refers to my failed resolution calling for integrity in church membership in its August issue. So does the Missouri Baptist Pathway in its current issue. The CT editorial is appropriately entitled, “Statistical Shell Game” and contains very insightful observations, including this one: The failed resolution’s statement on…
In his article, “Does Dortian Calvinism have weight of Scripture in its favor?, ” Dr. Garrett appropriately raises the issue of the biblical basis for the five points of Calvinism. He writes, One may be inclined to say, relative to the teachings of Dortian Calvinism, that such a system…
In his article entitled, “Calvinism: What does it mean?,” Dr. Garrett makes the following comment on hyper-Calvinism: A third meaning, no longer in common use, takes Calvinism to be the professed teaching of certain 18th-century English Congregationalists and Particular Baptists, a group believing that only the “elect” could be…
I have been swamped the last several days and have not had time to post my promised evaluations of Dr. Garrett’s articles before today. In the meantime, several commenters have expressed many of my own views about them. I will offer only some summary thoughts in a several-part response….
As I mentioned in my previous post, Bob Terry, editor of the Alabama Baptist, has published 6 articles by Dr. James Leo Garrett on Calvinim. The articles are now available online. I am linking to them so that they may be more widely accessible to those outside of Alabama….
Wyman Richardson and Timmy Brister have informed me that the August 2 issue of the Alabama Baptist contains 6 articles on Calvinism written by Dr. James Leo Garrett, Distinguished Professor of Theology Emeritus at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. I am trying to access the articles, but thus far, have…