A Book Review of:
Grace of God, Will of Man
(ed. Clark Pinnock)


This is an extremely worthwhile collection of philosophical and Biblical arguments (there's more of the former) for Arminianism, and one of the first books which elaborate proposals for the 'openness of God' case. You'll find much here to provoke study and reflection upon certain 'major' Biblical themes (e.g. election, original sin, predestination, omniscience, omnipotence, etc.).

A passionate introduction by Clark Pinnock sets the tone for a multi-thronged offensive against Calvinist/Reformed theology.  In his theological pilgrimage, he also mentions his conviction of non-exhaustive divine foreknowledge (also known as the Open View of God) but leaves the elaboration to Richard Rice later in the book.

To lead the Biblical charge, we have I. Howard Marshall and William MacDonald with excellent proposals for universal salvation and corporate election in Christ.  These are also strong counter-paradigms to Calvinist interpretations within the Gospel of John (by Grant Osbourne) and to the Calvinist rendition of the Scriptural story as a whole (presented topically by Terry Miethe, whose essay should rank as one of the best introductions to the doctrine of unlimite atonement around).

The more philosophically-inclined reader will also get a treat with a number of high-quality works by Jack Cottrell (divine sovereignity), William L. Craig (on Molinism or middle knowledge), Richard Rice (on partial and exhaustive foreknowledge), Bruce Reichenbach (on original sin), C. Stephen Evans (on the personal acceptance of salvation), etc.

Cottrell (in the opening portion of his piece) makes it very clear, through a systematic presentation of the consequences of total, unconditional and efficacious sovereignity, that consistent Calvinism logically and completely eliminates all elements of human (and angelic) moral responsibility for evil.  John Sanders and Fritz Guy complement  the attack on determinism (as do almost half the authors) in their essays, arguing for God as Personal and One for whom Love is primary (as opposed to an Absolutistic deity whose main concern is control).  Sanders also highlights the effect of 'controlling beliefs' on the way we understand Biblical narratives, which I believe is a foundational methodological breakthrough for the Open God movement (or, put another way, is an Archille's heel in classical notions of divine foreknowledge).
Euthusiasts on issues pertaining to divine foreknowledge will not easily get another trinity of articles juxtaposed as appropriately as those of Cottrell, Rice and Craig.

Arguments focusing on the practical and experiential aspects of theology are then taken up by Randall Basinger (hidden vs. revealed will of God), William Abraham (predestination and assurance) and Jerry Walls (predestination and moral intuition).

It would be an understatement to say that this book is required reading for anyone interested in the Calvinist-Arminian debate.  The articles constitute solid Scriptural and philosophical platforms for Arminian theology, and that which Calvinist theology must interact seriously with or risk losing credibility.  With top-notch scholars and a diverse field of topics, I'd consider this an invaluable resource for searching the deep truths of God and a milestone release for Neo-Arminian theology.
 



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