A Friday Edition of "Who Said That?"

Who Said That?

"The God of Calvinism scares me; I'm not sure how to distinguish him from the devil. If you've come under the influence of Calvinism, think about its ramifications for the character of God. God is great but also good. In light of all the evil and innocent suffering in the world, he must have limited himself."

Since this was just posted elsewhere, you'll probably figure it out.  But it is worth considering anyway.   Please leave your guesses in the comments section below.  No cheating or google searches (but this exhortation never seems to work for some of you!) 

Update on Sunday, September 9, 2007 at 06:52PM by Kim Riddlebarger

Our favorite "Arminian" Roger Olson is at it again.  These words were penned in response to the recent bridge disaster in Minneapolis.  When John Piper tried to comfort those afflicted by this terrible tragedy with the doctrine of God's sovereignty, Olson replied with the words quoted above.

Nothing scares me any more than the living in a world where Olson's "god" is in charge--well, almost in charge.  Try as he will to stop bad things from happening, they do.  Click here: Baylor University || The Lariat Online

Comments

[Gage Browning]

Has to be Ergun Caner. Arminianism is his god.

[chance]

i appreciate the "Who Said That?" posts. however, we calvinists already are labeled as "arrogant" even if that is not true in every case. but i am afraid that many of the comments to these posts affirm that label. it seems that many of us, including myself, have a tendency to forget that if it were not for the grace of God we would still be reading the Scriptures through the veil of arminianism. it was Spurgeon that said, "we are all born arminians, but by the grace of God some of us become calvinists." it is the clavinist who should be setting the example of what it means to be a humble servant to his Lord and to his brethren.

[Terry J]

It's recent White Horse Inn guest Roger Olson. I wonder if he was worried about talking to that "scary" Calvinist Michael Horton.

I think Arminianism is like a cozy security blanket for some people, where God is warm and fuzzy and everything he does is in accordance with what makes people comfortable. They seem to have trouble with a God who does anything they can't fully understand or accept.

[Alberto]

Isn't it interesting how an Open Theist and an Arminian can both agree with the quote. I don't know who said this, but I can definitely sense a lack of reasonableness in this quote.

[Ivan]

I did hear Olson a recent WHI... could be.
Caner; he is a trip!

Jerry Falwell said some brash things about Calvinism a couple of months before his sudden death.... not to suggest there was any correlation or anything...

[Stephen Walton]

Guessing someone's name is one thing. Calling them a "jerk" is another- exactly what Jesus forbids us to do in Matthew 5:22. If this is how we Calvinists behave, no wonder people are driven away from the doctrines of grace. When comments like this are made by an anonymous blogger, they are also cowardly. I'm afraid Dr Riddlebarger must bear some responsibility for allowing this remark to remain on the blog.

Stephen Walton (Cheshire, England)

[Wayne Rohde]

Stephen,

I understand and appreciate your point. It's surely good for all of us, even in the heat of debate, to strive for grace as well as truth.

Of course Paul apparently had no difficulty realizing that some people are foolish (Gal. 3:1), indeed fools (I Cor. 15:36) ... and used some pretty tough language to describe his reaction to them and their false teachings (e.g., Gal. 1:8,9; 5:12).

I say this not to excuse how we speak of those who hold what seem to be very sub-biblical views, but simply to say that it's pretty clear to most of us that the God of the Bible is the Sovereign Lord of the universe, who does whatever He pleases and works all things after the counsel of His will (i.e., precisely who Calvinsists say God is). So for Roger Olson to say that he finds it difficult to distinguish this God from the devil is quite a statement.

I think I'd rather call a man a jerk, than God the devil.

[Scotty]

Calvin on a bad day?

[Alberto]

I accidently came upon this quote on another website. It's Roger Olson. Is he an Open Theist?

[schoolofthesolitaryplace.blogspot.com]

Sounds like Dave Hunt.