Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
Evangelical

2014-12-07T15:50:23-05:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Can a Single Act Be Both Determined and Free?

Last updated on: December 7, 2014 at 3:50 pm By Roger E. Olson

Some Calvinists (and perhaps others) argue that, in a world ruled by God, the God of the Bible, a single creaturely act can be both determined (pre-programmed by God) and free. And they claim that there are examples of this in Scripture (e.g., Joseph’s brothers selling him into slavery). Here I will point out several problems with this claim. First, no where does Scripture explicitly say that a single creaturely act was both “pre-programmed” or “determined” and “free.” Admittedly, there... Read more

Uncategorized

2014-12-05T07:52:01-05:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Memories of Stanley J. Grenz with Special Attention to Criticisms of His Theology (and Some Hitherto Unrevealed Facts)

Last updated on: December 5, 2014 at 7:52 am By Roger E. Olson

Some Memories of Stanley J. Grenz and His Theological Journey My friend and co-author Stan Grenz died almost ten years ago. He was only fifty-five years old and in the prime of his career as a teacher and profession as a Christian theologian. He had published over twenty-five books and scores of articles. He was working on a multi-volume theology with the overarching title of The Matrix of Christian Theology. During the last decade of his life Stan had... Read more

Uncategorized

2014-12-03T08:30:15-05:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Two Forthcoming Books about Pietism

Last updated on: December 3, 2014 at 8:30 am By Roger E. Olson

Two Forthcoming Books about Pietism Reclaiming Pietism: Retrieving an Evangelical Tradition by Roger E. Olson and Christian T. Collins Winn will be published in January by Eerdmans. The Pietist Vision of Christian Higher Education: Forming Whole and Holy Persons edited by Christopher Gehrz will be published in January by InterVarsity Press. See Amazon.com for details. These two books emerge out of a decades-long project at Bethel University in Minnesota where I taught (1984-1999) and where Christian and... Read more

Uncategorized

2014-12-02T08:34:12-05:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Two Books: A Recommendation and an Invitation to Read and Dialogue

Last updated on: December 2, 2014 at 8:34 am By Roger E. Olson

Some time ago here I mentioned my favorite Christian philosopher: Keith Ward. It isn’t that I agree with everything he says. He’s my favorite because he is basically orthodox and writes so clearly–for those of us not trained in (for example) modal logic. (I’m not suggesting he doesn’t know or use modal logic; I only mean many of his books are free of technical apparatus and yet profoundly insightful and challenging.) Lately I’ve been reading his book God: A Guide... Read more

Uncategorized

2014-11-30T09:48:16-05:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Thoughts about the Role of Experience in Theology: Part Two (With Special Reference to Friedrich Schleiermacher and Stanley J. Grenz)

Last updated on: November 30, 2014 at 9:48 am By Roger E. Olson

Thoughts about the Role of Experience in Theology: Part Two (With Special Reference to Friedrich Schleiermacher and Stanley J. Grenz) Paraphrasing Kant, theology without experience is empty; experience without theology is blind. Empty of what? What would theology without experience (if that were even possible) be empty of? Transforming power and relevance. That spiritual experience without theology is blind is less controversial—especially among conservative theologians. I have defended that thesis here before. The background to this two-part series is... Read more

Uncategorized

2014-11-28T09:18:22-05:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Thoughts about the Role of Experience in Theology: Part One

Last updated on: November 28, 2014 at 9:18 am By Roger E. Olson

Thoughts about the Role of Experience in Theology: Part One I have long thought that experience does and should play a role in Christian theology, but I have also long known that’s controversial, especially among conservative Christian theologians, and that it’s difficult to define. That is, it’s difficult to pin down exactly what role experience plays and how much of a role it should play in theological reflection and especially doctrinal formulation. I think pure objectivity is a myth;... Read more

Uncategorized

2014-11-26T08:42:02-05:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Remembering and Honoring Evangelical Theologian Stanley J. Grenz (and Responding to Conservative Evangelical Criticisms of His Theology)

Last updated on: November 26, 2014 at 8:42 am By Roger E. Olson

Remembering and Honoring Evangelical Theologian Stanley J. Grenz (and Responding to Conservative Evangelical Criticisms of His Theology) I have returned from the annual meeting of the American Academy of Religion/Society of Biblical Literature where about ten thousand religion scholars convened in sunny San Diego, California. I was invited to read a paper in one session of the Evangelical Theology Group, a program unit of the AAR, about the theology of Stanley Grenz. Stan was my close friend and co-author.... Read more

Uncategorized

2014-11-24T09:25:23-05:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

When I Say “Calvinism”…

Last updated on: November 24, 2014 at 9:25 am By Roger E. Olson

Whenever I write about Calvinism, someone who considers himself a Calvinist accuses me of setting up and striking down a “strawman.” And others claim what I say about Calvinism does not apply to them. What to do? When I write about Calvinism, unless I say otherwise, I mean consistent, historical, classical Calvinism AS SET FORTH BY Calvin, Owen, Edwards, Hodge, Boettner, Sproul and Piper and AS EXPRESSED in the Canons of Dort and the Westminster Confession of Faith. What I... Read more

Uncategorized

2014-11-22T08:45:18-05:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

The Ultimate Horror Story: Reflections on Stephen King’s New Novel Revival (Spoiler Alert)

Last updated on: November 22, 2014 at 8:45 am By Roger E. Olson

The Ultimate Horror Story: Reflections on Stephen King’s New Novel Revival (Spoiler Alert) I rarely read a Stephen King novel or any similar novel of the “horror” genre. They’re just not my “thing.” I’ve read a few of that genre that I thought were good, such as Ray Bradbury’s classic Something Wicked This Way Comes, but, for the most part, I don’t enjoy them. (The Bradbury novel, by the way, like many of his other books, contains deep philosophical... Read more

Uncategorized

2014-11-20T11:05:58-05:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Juergen Moltmann on Christian Discipleship in Everything One Does

Last updated on: November 20, 2014 at 11:05 am By Roger E. Olson

This is a follow-up to my immediately preceding post which contained my response to Peter Berger’s argument that Christians (and others) ought to internalize pluralism including secularity–alongside their Christian faith. In other words, Berger argues, Christians (and others) ought to act “as if God does not exist” in certain spheres of life because of modern pluralism. Both in the book (The Many Altars of Modernity) and in his talk Berger illustrated this claim by saying that an airline pilot flies... Read more

Uncategorized

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Which Christian group follows the teachings of John Calvin?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Presbyterian Orthodox Quaker Catholic

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Against Liberal Theology Uncategorized

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 September 2025 August 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010

TRENDING AT PATHEOS Evangelical