You would post this terrible article. Well, I'll go ahead and post my critique I wrote on CARM.
Here is the first response.
There are several problems with Roger Olson's post.
First of all, the fact that he is accusing Calvin of murdering Servetus is astounding. I guess folks will simply choose to ignore historical facts in order to attack someone they disagree with. This is sad and on the same level as those like Dan Barker and Dave Hunt.
Secondly, Roger, like the
vast majority of Arminians, place God's love above all other attributes of God as if His love is the most important of all.
Furthermore, I find Calvin's doctrine of God repulsive. It elevates God's sovereignty over his love, leaving God's reputation in question. What I mean is that Calvin's all-determining, predestining deity is at best morally ambiguous and at worst morally repugnant.
Of course, nowhere does Scripture put God's love above His other attributes. Yes, "God is love," but God is also timeless, just, jealous, righteous, holy, etc. We should view Him as a balance of all these.
Plus, the fact that the Bible says that God does indeed hate (c.f. Ps. 5:5; 11:5; Lev. 20:23; Prov. 6:16-19; Hosea 9:15; Rom. 9:11-13) certain people is a big indicator that His love isn't equal or extended to every individual.
Thirdly, the following paragraph is troubling.
Calvin's successor in Geneva, Theodore Beza, commented that those who find themselves suffering in the flames of hell for eternity can at least take comfort in the fact that they are there for the greater glory of God. To paraphrase Wesley, that is a glory such as sends chills down the spine. God foreordains some of his own creatures, created in his own image, to eternal hell for his own glory? Calvin may not have put it quite that bluntly, but many Calvinists have and it is a necessary extrapolation of the inner logic of consistent Calvinism.
I guess Roger denies what many passages say. The fact that God raised up Pharaoh for the purpose of showing His power through him (Rom. 9:17) escapes him. The fact that God created everything according to its own purpose, even the wicked for the day of evil (Prov. 16:4) also seems to escape Roger's notice.
The fact that God has the right to form, from the same lump, one vessel for honorable use and one for dishonorable use, the fact that God did this and endured with much patience vessels of wrath
prepared for destruction in order to show the riches of His glory upon vessels of mercy which He
prepared for glory (Rom. 9:21-23) also seems to escape Roger's notice.
God hardened the hearts of the kings Joshua fought against in order to deliver them into the hands of Israel to receive no mercy and be utterly destroyed (Joshua 11:20). The king of Hesbon, Sihon, was not willing to pass through the land because God hardened his spirit in order to the hands of Joshua (Deut. 2:30). I'm sure we can say that these people were not saved.
Jesus Himself spoke about God's sovereignty in salvation.
John 12:37-40
37But though He had performed so many signs before them, yet they were not believing in Him.
38This was to fulfill the word of Isaiah the prophet which he spoke: "LORD, WHO HAS BELIEVED OUR REPORT? AND TO WHOM HAS THE ARM OF THE LORD BEEN REVEALED?"
39For this reason they could not believe, for Isaiah said again,
40"HE HAS BLINDED THEIR EYES AND HE HARDENED THEIR HEART, SO THAT THEY WOULD NOT SEE WITH THEIR EYES AND PERCEIVE WITH THEIR HEART, AND BE CONVERTED AND I HEAL THEM."
Matthew 13:10-15
10And the disciples came and said to Him, "Why do You speak to them in parables?"
11Jesus answered them, "To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been granted.
12"For whoever has, to him more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has shall be taken away from him.
13"Therefore I speak to them in parables; because while seeing they do not see, and while hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.
14"In their case the prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled, which says,
'YOU WILL KEEP ON HEARING, BUT WILL NOT UNDERSTAND;
YOU WILL KEEP ON SEEING, BUT WILL NOT PERCEIVE;
15FOR THE HEART OF THIS PEOPLE HAS BECOME DULL,
WITH THEIR EARS THEY SCARCELY HEAR,
AND THEY HAVE CLOSED THEIR EYES,
OTHERWISE THEY WOULD SEE WITH THEIR EYES,
HEAR WITH THEIR EARS,
AND UNDERSTAND WITH THEIR HEART AND RETURN,
AND I WOULD HEAL THEM.'
16"But blessed are your eyes, because they see; and your ears, because they hear.
17"For truly I say to you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.
I guess all these passages escape Roger's notice. They certainly didn't escape Calvin's or Beza's notice.
Fourthly, Roger seems to believe that God and Satan are "absolute competitors in this universe."
For me nothing about the Christian worldview is more important than regarding God and the devil as absolute competitors in this universe and its tragic history. God is good and desires the good of every creature. As church father Irenaeus said "The glory of God is man fully alive." The devil is bad and desires harm for every creature. To view the devil as God's instrument makes a mockery of the entire biblical narrative.
It is amazing that he can think that the creation can actually compete with the
Creator in any meaningful fashion. The Devil's existence is contingent upon God and if God so desires, He could literally cause the Devil (and everything/everyone else He created) to cease existence.
Of course, the only way to be consistent in holding this view is to be an Open Theist, which I doubt Roger adheres to.
Now, if God does desire the good for every creature then it will happen. He is totally sovereign and
nothing gets in the way of what He wants to do. To say otherwise is to deny God His right as the Creator and ruler of the Universe.
He works out everything according to the counsel of His will (Eph. 1:11) and does according to His will and no one can answer back to Him (Dan. 4:35). There is nothing too hard for God (Jer. 32:17; Gen. 18:14). As surely as He has thought, it shall come to pass and no one can frustrate His plan or turn back His hand (Isa. 14:24-27). He declares the end from the beginning and He will accomplish all His good pleasure; as surely as He has planned, it shall come to pass (Isa. 46:9-11). He can do all things and no purpose of His can be thwarted (Job 42:2). He does whatever He pleases (Ps. 115:3; Ps. 135:6). When God sends His word forth, it shall accomplish all that He pleases (Isa. 55:11). God is the potter, and we are the clay (Isa. 64:8). He forms us into what He wishes and no one can turn to Him and say "
He did not make me" or "
He has no understanding" (Isa. 29:16). Woe to the clay that answers back to the potter by saying "What are you doing" or "He has no hands" (Isa. 45:9).
All in all, Roger's post was unconvincing and filled with emotional arguments rather then Biblical arguments.
Here is the second response, particularly on the last paragraph.
I doubt Roger merely meant competitors in the sense you wrote.
Just look at what he said!
"
For me nothing about the Christian worldview is more important than regarding God and the devil as absolute competitors in this universe and its tragic history."
This is scary on many levels.
First of all, He said that God and Satan are "absolute competitors in the Universe" and this results in a "tragic history." He obviously meant that God and Satan are opposite (good vs evil) but equal (in power) forces in the Universe that are battling it out for victory. This is further evidenced in rest of his quote, but I'll get to that in a bit.
Secondly, Roger actually says that "nothing about the Christian worldview is more important" then that! Are you serious? Are you sure this man is a "professional theologian," SW? Since when is this the most important thing in the Christian worldview? Is the Gospel, the Trinity, the Crucifixion, the deity of Christ, the Resurrection
all not more important then the assumption that God and Satan are absolute competitors?
Now, the rest of that one paragraph is also scary.
"
God is good and desires the good of every creature. As church father Irenaeus said "The glory of God is man fully alive." The devil is bad and desires harm for every creature. To view the devil as God's instrument makes a mockery of the entire biblical narrative."
This further proves that Roger means absolute competitors in the sense of equal forces battling it out.
First of all, what guarantee do we have that God will end up victorious in the end if this is the case? What is our guarantee of salvation and peace with God if Satan is just an opposite force trying to damn us?
Secondly, he says that God desires the good for every creature while Satan desires harm for every creature. Is Roger trying to postulate, despite the Bible's clear teaching that God does what He wishes and accomplishes what He desires and plans, that Satan can actually do something to impede on God's desire for good? Is the God of the Bible
really to be represented as struggling against a force as powerful as He, despite Satan's existence being contingent upon God? I submit that it is not the Biblical description of God. A prime example of Roger's error is the fact that Satan can do
nothing without the permission of God. Just see Job's narrative for that piece of fact.
Thirdly, he said "
To view the devil as God's instrument makes a mockery of the entire biblical narrative." OK... how and why? How does it make a mockery of the Biblical narrative and
why does it do so. All he did was make claims and arguments from emotion, and this is a clear example.