Roger Olson: Don’t Hate Me Because I’m Arminian
Olson felt a need to help bring these two evangelical groups together, not in unanimity, but unity. “A new outbreak of conflict and exclusion over this issue cannot serve any useful purpose but to divide, exclude, and weaken the fragile evangelical unity so carefully constructed and preserved over the past five decades” (p. 92). It is crucial that Arminians and Calvinists allow for variation in disputable matters, including favorite or defining doctrines. “Truth matters, but not all truth matters equally. Some things we will never know for sure until the darkened glasses are removed and we all see ‘face to face.’ In the meantime we need to learn how to respect and appreciate one another in humility while holding to our own favored interpretations of the debatable biblical materials about divine sovereignty, election, free will, and the resistibility of grace” (p. 94).
Olson poses quite a challenge to the evangelical community in this excellent article. The church is oftentimes held up to ridicule by the world we are trying to reach as a result of loveless in-fighting. We who believe that there is salvation in the Lord Jesus alone need to join together as brothers. It is my sincere hope that the church heeds Olson’s plea, which I feel originates ultimately in the heart of God. “I pray also for those who will believe in Me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as You are in Me and I am in You” (Jn. 17: 20b-21a).
Reviewed by Mike Dies
Read the full article online: http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/1999/september6/9ta087.html
Category: Ministry, Spring 2000
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