Grace of God and the Will of Man, The [Paperback]

Clark H. Pinnock (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 1995

An important theological perspective from an impressive team of evangelical scholars from many traditions.

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size : 5.4 x 8.2

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Bethany House Publishers (November 1, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1556616910
• ISBN-13: 978-1556616914
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #174,923 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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24 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An good Arminian offensive worth a serious look, July 23, 2000

By 

Alwyn Lau (Petaling Jaya, Selangor Malaysia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Grace of God and the Will of Man, The (Paperback)

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).

(At this point I wish to point out to Mr.Ashton Wilkins that Calvinism is itself HEAVILY founded upon Greek philosophical structures and if anything it is the Reformed theologian who needs to examine why he thinks Man cannot perform other than that which God desires - why else postulate that totally unBiblical notion of 'hidden' and 'revealed' divine wills?)

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.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A case for... open theism, July 9, 2006

By 

bayman15 (Milton Keynes, UK) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Grace of God and the Will of Man, The (Paperback)

In this symposium edited by Clark Pinnock in 1989, a selection of Arminian leaning theologians present essays on a variety of themes attached to man's free will.

Though I have always been more Arminian than Calvinist in my convictions, I am sorry to report that this collection fails in the promise held out in the subtitle of other printings of this work: "A case for Arminianism." It is possible to read this book from cover to cover without finding out the five points of Arminianism, much less a scriptural explanation for them. Holiness is surely Arminianism's glory, and there is no rousing call for a holy life in this collection. Instead there is a lot of philosophy, some fragments of the history of soteriology, and personal reflections on the question of free will.

What hamstrings Grace of God is a surfeit of authors. Hence good essays, such as those by Terry Miethe and Jack Cotterell, are not given adequate space to develop their arguments. On the plus side less lucid contributions, such as I Howard Marshall's rather stolid essay on the pastoral epistles, are soon out of the way. Arminians remain a minority within evangelicalism. Perhaps for this reason Pinnock felt that he had to muster the troops in force for the Grace of God.

Having said this, a lot of the essays are very good and well worth reading. Pinnock's provocative From Augustine to Arminius is lucidly written. Grant Osborne's Soteriology in the Gospel of John is thoughtful and well argued. Terry Miethe's The Universal Power of the Atonement does an excellent job in defending the universal atonement, though he seems reluctant to take on Packer's notorious Death of Deaths introductory essay (freely available on the Internet). Jack Cotterell's The Nature of Divine Sovereignty presents the more traditional Arminian view on the subject. Jerry Walls compares and contrasts Luther and Calvin's views on predestination with Wesley: a very readable essay that needs more scripture! I certainly didn't mind reading about Molinism (middle knowledge) or Kierkegaard, but if I was Calvinist I would have been reinforced in my view that Arminianism is more concerned with philosophy than exegesis.

This is pre-Openness Pinnock - just - open theist ideas are present in Grace of God co-open theists Richard Rice and John Sanders feature in the collection. Rice falls into the Calvinist trap of assuming that foreknown means foreordained. Thus he denies God's omniscience and the seed of open theism germinates. Sanders' essay on God as Personal discusses the influence of Greek philosophy on classical theism. He was to develop this further, his essay in The Openness of God is well worth reading, whatever your views on open theism (this reviewer is sympathetic but has reservations).

The Grace of God and the Will of Man, evoked a Calvinist response in Still Sovereign a collection of essays edited by Thomas Schreiner and Bruce Ware. If time allows, reading the two volumes in parallel is highly recommended. Still Sovereign is more measured and less knee-jerk than much of what has been published more recently in response to Open Theism. It is also a valuable introduction (and summary) of contemporary 5-point Calvinist thought. Regrettably, Grace of God does not do the same for Arminianism.

23 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very good, scholarly collection of Arminian essays., June 17, 1998

By 

ArmyMan "jwagner4" (California, USA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Grace of God and the Will of Man, The (Paperback)

This book is a scholarly collection of 15 articles (each written by a different theologian) addressing the fierce historic Calvinist-Arminian debate from the Arminian point of view. I recommend it highly. It gives sound analysis and refutations of Calvinist positions on election, the atonement, exhaustive sovereignty, and other issues. Most of the reasoning is top notch. However, I don't necessarily agree with all of the articles. Two stray into hyper-Arminianism and insist that God has limited his omniscience to give man freedom. But even those articles are well-reasoned and challenging. Clark Pinnock, the editor, is to be commended for this work and I hope it stays in print for a long time.