Podcast: If Our Names Have Been in the Book of Life Since Before Creation, Are We Still Free?

Rethinking Election: Romans 9, Part 1 August 17, 2015

Many people believe that Romans 9 demonstrates that God has the right and power to save whichever individuals he wants to save and damn whichever individuals he wants to damn. I’ll call this the “deterministic” reading of Romans 9, for it holds that God determines who will be saved and who will be lost. On…

Revelation 13:8 refers to “everyone whose names have not been written before the foundation of the world in the book of life.” How does that square with open theism? January 9, 2008

Three possibilities exist in terms of reconciling Revelation 13:8 with open theism. 1) First, the “from the foundation of the world” clause can attach to either “everyone whose names have not been written” or to “the lamb that was slain.” For example, the TNIV translates this passage “All inhabitants of the earth will worship the…

Lighten Up: Fate January 3, 2014

When Free Will Meets Unfathomable Evil December 17, 2012

In the face of tragedy Christians unfortunately tend to recite clichés that attempt to reassure people that, however terrible things seem, everything is unfolding according to God’s mysterious plan. We hear that “God has his reasons”; “God’s ways are not our ways”;  “God is still on his throne”; “God doesn’t make mistakes,” and things of…

Lighten Up: The Down Side of Free Will January 31, 2014

Sermon Clip: Does Romans 9 predestine you to Hell? June 3, 2014

Did God predestine you to Hell? Can he even do that? In this short sermon clip, Greg Boyd talks about his own struggles when trying to understand Romans 9 which on the surface seems to imply that God determines who goes to heaven and hell. In the full sermon, Greg takes a deep look at…