free will :: The Tentative Apologist

Post tagged with free will

A Reformed voice brings clarity to free will, providence and election

July 25th, 201102:37 PM ET

By Randal Rauser

There is no shortage of confusion among the recent wave of "new Calvinists" on the Reformed understanding of free will, providence and election. This became very clear to me a couple years ago when my book Finding God in the Shack was critiqued by popular Reformed blogger Tim Challies for providing a correct outline of the historic Reformed vi...
Does God ‘rape the will’ to save people from hell?

June 07th, 201111:27 AM ET

By Randal Rauser

"Irresistible force used by God on his free creatures would be a violation of both the charity of God and the dignity of humans. God is love. True love never forces itself on anyone. Forced love is rape, and God is not a divine rapist!" (Norman Geisler, "God knows all Things," Predestination and Free Will, (ed.) David Basinger and Randall Basinger ...
Free will, hell, and reasonable appeals to emotion

June 06th, 201109:57 AM ET

By Randal Rauser

Many good conversations were had over my four days at Notre Dame University. One of the more interesting conversations occurred with one particular philosopher and concerned the topic of hell. (The philosopher will remain nameless since it is awkward to begin contacting people and asking for their permission to use their name in a blog post based o...
Will there be free will in heaven?

February 06th, 201106:16 PM ET

By Randal Rauser

Last week a pastor emailed me and asked the question: how can we be free in heaven if we will not be able to do evil things? I have heard this question enough to know that has occurred to many reflective Christians. And even if it does not have the existential grip of some other big questions, it nonetheless is important and needs to be addressed.F...
Does God hate those he does not save?

January 13th, 201010:56 AM ET

By Randal Rauser

Many Christians assume that God loves all people. This is hardly surprising since scripture declares that God loves all creation (John 3:16-17) and desires to see all people saved (1 Tim.2:4; 2 Pe.3:9). Indeed, the notion that God is loving to all, a doctrine known among theologians by the fancy name "omnibenevolence", would qualify for many as a b...
Science, knowledge, and the Little Engine that Could

August 19th, 200912:51 AM ET

By Randal Rauser

The tale of The Little Engine that Could remains a perennial classic of early children's literature, and understandably so. The story (which we all know, so why am I bothering to repeat it?) involves a little blue engine commissioned with the task of pulling a large train over a very large hill. Initially success appears impossible as the little en...
Was Jesus Christ free to sin?

June 11th, 200909:07 AM ET

By Randal Rauser

In one of my recent posts I argued that Jesus could not have sinned. Moreover, I argued that he did not struggle psychologically with sin -- he did not find it enticing. And this, rather than the common view that he was attracted to sin but managed to refrain from it, provides us with a goal for our own sanctification. One of my readers, Bujo, dis...

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An exploration of faith, knowledge, reason and doubt (with the occasional trite pop culture reference thrown in for good measure).