Books on the Calvinism Issue
Election and predestination - the debate has raged for centuries. Which is right, Calvinism or Arminianism? The books available at www.penfoldbooks.com take the position that neither view is right because they have both veered off the scriptural path of truth.One of the most thorough researchers and authors in this area is Samuel Fisk (B.A, M.A.). He has written two major works on the subject of Calvinism. Election and Predestination is a 193 page work in which Fisk quotes the views of over 100 scholars on most of the verses in the Bible usually marshalled to press the Calvinistic case. There is a wealth of fascinating and illuminating material in here. His other title, Calvinistic Paths Retraced (225 pages), traces the history of Calvinism from Augustine to the present day. Quoting an amazing 300 writers, Fisk unravels the whole story behind the 5-point system of Calvinism. A real eye-opener.
For the serious reader there are a couple of large hardback works available. In Beyond Calvinism and Arminianism, C. Gordon Olson (538 pages) seeks a resolution of the conflict between Calvinism and Arminianism by an inductive approach to scripture. This work is a tremendous contribution to this debate and will help any reader to better understand the issues at stake. Dave Hunt’s 573 page What Love Is This? is a 31 chapter work dealing with every major issue, scripture, character and problem relative to the great Calvinism debate. This is Dave Hunt’s 2005 revised and expanded edition.
Two helpful individual titles came out at the turn of the 21st century. The Faith of God’s Elect by John Parkinson is a 128 page work subtitled ‘a comparison between the election of scripture and the election of theology’. Parkinson contends that election has been greatly misunderstood and re-examines all the relevant scriptures relating to the subject. Limiting Omnipotence by David Dunlap is a 292 page work answering questions such as ‘Is God the author of sin?’, ‘What is one-naturism?’, ‘Does a rejection of 5 point Calvinism automatically lead to antinomianism?’. Dunlap’s look at the consequences of Calvinism is a most interesting read.
The relationship of today’s Christian to the law of Moses is a serious issue that is never far from the Calvinism debate. Alva McClain’s book Law and Grace sets forth the true meaning of the law and God’s intention in giving it. It is a pertinent book for those puzzled Christians who are seeking light on the law and grace problem. Another author who has a sound grasp of these issues is George Zeller. In his booklets What is the Believer’s Rule of Life? and The Dangers of Reformed Theology, he takes a wider look at the issues and highlights problems with a whole system of thought that touches many areas of life and theology. George Zeller has also written three other powerful little booklets pertinent to this issue. Check out What is the Gift of God in Eph 2:8-9?, Does Regeneration Precede Faith? and God’s Willingness and Man’s Unwillingness.
The central issue of who Christ died for could not be more crucial. Readers familiar with the double-payment argument of the puritan John Owen will therefore find John Owen & Double Payment in the Atonement helpful. Also very useful is Robert Lightner’s 171 page work The Death Christ Died. Lightner subtitles his book ‘A Biblical Case for Unlimited Atonement’. It is a powerful work involving the kind of thorough and painstaking exegesis of scripture one would expect from the Professor of Systematic Theology Emeritus at Dallas Theological Seminary.
