No Place for Sovereignty: What's Wrong with Freewill Theism [Paperback]

R. K. McGregor Wright (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 19, 1996

In recent years an increasing number of evangelical thinkers have called for a reevaluation of our understanding of God, making a case for what has variously been called "freewill theism" or the "open view" of God. R. K. McGregor Wright sees their efforts not as something radically new, but a contemporary reaffirmation of Arminianism. Concerned that evangelicals may soon find no place for sovereignty in their thinking, Wright sets out to show what's wrong--biblically, theologically and philosophically--with freewill theory in its ancient form. Along the way, he provides a short course in historical theology, making a fresh, powerful case for the Reformed emphasis on God's sovereign grace. Wright also meets challenges head-on with a discussion of the Arminian position and a chapter on the problem of evil. Finally, he subjects to close scrutiny the recent work of Clark Pinnock, a contemporary advocate of freewill theism. Regardless of where readers' sympathies lie, they will want to hear, think through and respond for themselves to the arguments Wright makes on behalf of the Reformed understanding of God.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Wright holds a Th.M. from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School and a Ph.D. from Denver University/Iliff School of Theology. With his wife, Julia Castle, he codirects the Aquila and Priscilla Study Center, a Bible and apologetics teaching ministry in East Tennessee.

Product Details

• Paperback: 249 pages
• Publisher: IVP Academic (August 19, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0830818812
• ISBN-13: 978-0830818815
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #669,130 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Bob K. Wright is an Australian who has lived in the USA for many years. His education is from Adelaide, London, and Denver Universities as well as Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. His interests include Church History and Theology, Apologetics and cultural critique in terms of an Evangelical Christian world- view. He is currently in the process of publishing books on Scripture and Apologetics, and he and his wife Julia are currently starting their own publishing concern. They are both available to lecture on theological and historical issues in churches and Sunday Schools, and have given many educational seminars on topics such as Islam, working with International Students, history and a variety of doctrinal and apologetics issues. They can be contacted by e-mail at [e-mail]

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent and comprehensive treatment, June 14, 2001

By 

Gary F. Zeolla "Director of Darkness to Light... (Pennsylvania USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: No Place for Sovereignty: What's Wrong with Freewill Theism (Paperback)

Dr. Wright and I were friends when we both lived in Denver, Colorado. We have both since moved to different states, although I have maintained some sporadic contact with him.

No Place for Sovereignty is Dr. Wright's first book. And it is sure to be controversial! Dr. Wright takes head-on the Arminian notion of human "freewill."

In the very helpful Glossary at the end of the book, "Freewill theory" is defined as "View that the human will is free to act independently of divine control or external causation. Arminians usually define it as the ability to choose good or evil equally. Hence, `the liberty of indifference'" (p.236).

But is this concept true? Or more to the point for Christians, is it Biblical? Most Christians just assume that it is. But Dr. Wright demonstrates that this idea has more in common with Greek notions of autonomy than the Bible.

The book is divided into eleven chapters. Chapter One begins with a quick historical overview of the freewill controversy, from the time of the Apostolic Fathers to the present.

Dr. Wright then lists five reasons people believe in the freewill theory: 1. If we have no free will, we are not responsible for our actions. 2. It is essential to the image of God. 3. The denial of free will undermines both human effort and morality. 4. The Bible teaches free will. 5. Free will gets God off the hook in the problem of evil (pp.40,41).

Subsequent chapters then show that each of these claims is faulty, both logically and Biblically. In regards to the first claim, Chapter Two shows that a will "free" in the Arminian sense would not be responsible as it would be no different than chance. Responsibility is based on what God decides, not on what we decide.

As for the imago Dei, Chapter Three presents a study of passages in the Bible in which it is discussed. Dr. Wright concludes, "Throughout all the biblical references to the image of God, its loss in the Fall and its restoration in Christ, not a hint appears that the image necessarily includes anything recognizable as free will. The Bible simply does not use the idea of free will as an explanatory category at all" (p.76).

Chapter Four looks at Genesis chapter three and the Fall. It focuses on Eve's conversation with Satan and shows it was her desire to be autonomous from God that lead to her disobedience. Some consequences of the Fall are then noted.

As for human effort and morality, Dr. Wright states, "... freewill theory destroys any hope of relating human action to God's sovereignty and makes human action purely a chance affair" (p.40). These ideas are elaborated on in Chapter Five.

As for whether freewill theory is Biblical, Dr. Wright correctly notes that if any of the Five Points of Calvinism are true, then there can be no freewill in the Arminian sense. Chapters Six to Eight are then devoted to Biblical proofs of the Five Points of Calvinism.

Then Chapter Nine addresses the question, "Are there any `Arminian verses' in the Bible?" The chapter soundly exegetes supposedly Arminian verses and demonstrates that they simply do not teach what Arminians "assume" that they do.

Chapter Ten discusses the problem of evil. This question is often considered a "stronghold" for Arminians and unbelievers alike. The chapter first demonstrates that an appeal to freewill does not "solve" the problem but actually makes matters worse.

Dr. Wright then states very bluntly:

"Let it be stated plainly here that the problem of evil can be solved in a straightforward manner by proposing that if God decides to predestine or decree any particular evils for any purpose he may intend, who are we to answer back to God (Rom 9:19-24)? However galling it may seem to the fleshly mind, God is the final reference point for what counts as the good, not me, the sinner. If there ever was a practical application of Jesus' prayer "not my will but yours be done" (Lk 22:42), this would be it. The good is good because God determines it as such, not because it conforms to my irrelevant innate conception of how things ought to be. It is wholly besides the point that I might personally prefer things to be otherwise" (p.197).

Chapter Eleven demonstrates that a belief in human freewill can easily lead to a denial of essential attributes of God. As an example, the chapter chronicles Clark Pinnock's descent from a conservative Christian viewpoint of the attributes of God into finite godism.

This book covers a lot of ground and can be difficult reading at times, especially for those not familiar with the subject. But overall, it does a very effective job of refuting the commonly held notion of freewill, along with Arminianism in general.

I heartily recommend No Place for Sovereignty. And for further study on Calvinism, you can consult the three chapters on this subject in my book, "Scripture Workbook: For Personal Bible Study and Teaching the Bible." These chapters include hundreds of verses supporting the Calvinist viewpoint while refuting proposed arguments against it.

29 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Well written, but left with questions, January 28, 2000

By 

johniii - See all my reviews

This review is from: No Place for Sovereignty: What's Wrong with Freewill Theism (Paperback)

I truly enjoyed reading Wright's book as it is well written and full of great information. I enjoyed Wright's careful and meticulous analysis as well as his passion and forthright language. My only concern is in his insistence upon logical continuity. I am not one to deny the pursuit of logical continuity, but I question whether we should lift logical continuity to a position over the plain interpretation of Scripture.

It wasn't until I accepted the plain interpretation of Scripture that I was willing to abandon many of the Arminian assumptions I used to cling to. As I read Romans 9, I could not accept the "explaining away" that the Arminian argument tended to do. I found the Arminian position to shrink from the authority of the revealed word of God. In order to abandon my assumptions of free will, I had to be willing to abandom my views of who God should be. Fortunately, Isaiah supports the notion that we cannnot tell God who He should be: "His ways are not our ways."

However, Wright criticizes those who believe both in the Sovereignty of God and free will because of their logical inconsistence. Wright calls such believers "inconsistent Calvinists" as if Calvinism is some cherished virtue. What bothers me even further is in Wright's interpretation of the verses which Arminians usually hold as their defense. He insists that there are no Arminian verses, which is fine, but goes on to explain these verses under the light of Calvinist assumptions, ignoring, once again, the plain interpretation of the text. This is what I was trying to avoid. I think we have to ask ourselves what our epistemological assumptions are. If the Bible is our source of truth and knowledge, then we should not be quick to sweep away the plain interpretation of texts even if they seem to contradict our views of other texts.

Let us look for the plain interpretation of the text, and if the plain interpretation is outright antithetical to itself, then let us find reasons to understand the scripture in other ways. However, we must be very careful about denying the plain interpretation of the text. In my view, "consistent calvinism" is not a good reason for reinterpreting Scripture. Is logic sovereign or is God? I would rather be consistently biblical than consistently Calvinist.

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Here is an important critism of "Freewill Thesism"., February 2, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: No Place for Sovereignty: What's Wrong with Freewill Theism (Paperback)

After reading Clark Pinnock's "The Grace of God and the Will of Man" and David Bassinger's "The Case for Freewill Theism", it was a pleasure to read Wright's "No Place for Sovereignty". His is a scholarly, biblicly-based critism of the danger involved in promoting "freewill theism" or "salvation by choice". These ideas are being promoted in evangelical circles by people who despise God's authority and who want to be free from God's control. Wright names several of these influential teachers and with sound reason and text-based critism correctly places them outside of the true gospel of Christ. I hope that Wright's book subtitled "What's Wrong with Freewill Thesim" will be widely read and debated.