Free Will

Reading the transcript of a debate is beneficial. It allows one to analyze what arguments have been offered in support of the resolution and to see if these arguments were properly engaged. It also helps the reader not to be distracted by rhetoric and style (or lack-thereof), but to focus on the actual arguments, content, and substance.  I encourage anyone who is remotely interested in the topic of God's sovereignty and human freedom/responsibility (Calvinism and Molinism) to

I want to thank Dr. White for a stimulating debate tonight. I hope that you’ve enjoyed it as much as I have. In closing, I’d like to draw together some threads of this debate to see if we can reach some final conclusions. Recall that I began my case by providing carefully defined key terms so that Dr. White would know exactly “what Molinists mean by that” when it comes to the issues of contention. < Click=">Click" here="here" to="to" watch="watch" the="the" full="full" debat

Good evening! To everyone watching this debate, thank you for taking theology seriously. And to Dr. James White, it’s an honor to have this conversation with you. Thank you, sir! James and I disagree on tonight’s topic, but we have two things in common: (i), we are brothers in Christ . . . and (ii), we never have a bad hair day! Although this is an in-house debate, “outsiders” (as Paul refers to them in Col 4:5) are watching closely. If White’s view of God prevails, atheists

The following is a response to a review by Dr. James White of Dr. Tim Stratton's "omni argument" against irresistible grace. I will quote the premises of Dr. Stratton's argument, then quote Dr. White's comments in italics, then present my responses in normal text.  First the Omni Argument from Dr. Stratton in its entirety: 1- If Calvinism is true, whomever God provides “irresistible grace” to will go to heaven and not suffer eternal hell. 2- If God is omnibenevolent, He would

I am not a Calvinist.  I am not a Molinist.  I am not an Arminian. However, my life, theology, and ministry has been shaped by giants of the faith in all three of these realms.  Two such giants joined Justin Brierley to discuss which position best explains the problem of evil from a theological perspective on his show Unbelievable . https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ECcN-fisQRk William Lane Craig’s approach to philosophy and theology helped me to solidify my own faith when st

Recently I watched a video of James White explaining why middle knowledge is man’s attempt to explain God’s sovereignty while preserving man’s autonomy. There is an extended version that you can get here ( click here) and a shorter version that you can get here ( click here) . After listening to the shorter version, I was left scratching my head, wondering how poorly James White's conclusions were. So I decided to watch the extended version assuming there was crucial contex

Dr. James White claims that Psalm 33 is biblical evidence of exhaustive divine determinism (EDD) and reason to reject the idea that humans possess libertarian freedom. In 2018 Tyson James published an article here on the FreeThinking Ministries website suggesting otherwise. At the end of 2021 James White made two videos in response to Tyson's article. Before continuing it's vital to define our terms: : (1) Referring to an agent’s choice, action, evaluation, or judgement tha

Since publishing Human Freedom, Divine Knowledge, and Mere Molinism , many have asked for a resource to help study the book as an individual, in small groups, and even in seminary classrooms. My colleague Timothy Fox encouraged me to write a companion to the book that would help readers know the main points and exactly what they ought to take away from each chapter. I told Fox that this was a great idea, but that I currently did not have the time since I was committed to othe

Question Hey Dr. Tim, I've been thinking about Molinism for several years (coming from a Calvinist perspective). If I understand it correctly God exercises providential control through middle knowledge of what free creatures would do in any set of circumstances. My question is that given that a huge number of circumstances depend on other choices of free creatures, isn't God severely restricted in what circumstances he can arrange? Given the massive providential control the

It seems some of my comments have been the source of much confusion. Sometimes, something can be so clear in one's head, yet one fails to communicate exactly what is in one's head. I seem to be guilty of this regarding some of my claims about compatibilism. Although many have let me know that they grasp what I have attempted to communicate and argue regarding compatibilism, there are still far too many people -- especially advocates of exhaustive divine determinism (EDD) --

I recently responded to James White's video discussing William Lane Craig. Not only did White summarize his discussion with Craig, he also brought up me, myself, and I. So, I decided to "go live" on YouTube and discuss White's comments -- specifically his claim that he had a "fatal objection" to Molinism. To watch my video response to Dr. White CLICK HERE . To read a shorter response CLICK HERE . After watching my response video, Dr. White asked me the following question on

Question Hey Dr. Stratton, As you know, James White and William Lane Craig had a discussion on Justin Brierly's Unbelievable show on Monday (11-29-21). Although this conversation has not yet been made public (it's being released on 12-3-21), Dr. White made a video summarizing the debate. White made many claims in this video. The one that really got my attention is when he stated that he has a "fatal blow" against Molinism that no Molinist has ever thought about. Here is the

The majority of my time seems to be spent arguing against deterministic world views and for the proposition that humans possess libertarian freedom. I then seek to demonstrate how human freedom in a libertarian sense is evidence pointing to the existence of God. In fact, I contend that the biblical view of God is the best explanation of this seemingly supernatural phenomena! Often, however, after I have made a case concluding, "Therefore, humans possess libertarian freedom,"

Objection: Here's an objection to Molinism that was shared on the Mere Molinism Facebook group : "By the way, Molinism is probably self-contradictory if we define a "possible world" as a "maximally consistent set of propositions," so we need to be clear what we mean by "possible worlds" when discussing Molinism. Here's why: 1. Let's call the set of possible worlds P. A subset of those is the set of feasible worlds. It's a tenet of Molinism that the set of feasible worlds coul

It is far too common to see many former church-goers today identify as an "ex-vangelical" or proclaim that they have "deconstructed" from the Christian faith. These are folks who were raised in the Church, but are now leaving the Church. This is a concern.  There are several factors contributing to this movement. <1 > > I believe, however, that one of the primary reasons as to why so many have come to reject Christianity today is because many theologians, pastors, Sunday scho

Introduction Philip Swenson has recently offered an argument against Molinism. Although he opposes determinism and is a fellow libertarian freedom-fighter, he does not believe that God possesses middle knowledge. Thus, he believes that Molinism is false.  I have argued, however, that Swenson's view is extremely similar to "Mere Molinism." The Mere Molinist merely affirms both (i) humans possess libertarian freedom, and (ii) God possesses “what would happen if knowledge (with

Question Hey Dr. Stratton, I love your site and content. I am planning on reading your book soon. In the meantime I need your perspective on something. I love the MMA syllogism and the articles you’ve written on the subject of Molinism making the most sense of all the biblical data . But as someone who doesn’t hold to "once saved always saved" (due to my study of scripture), how can I reconcile the notion of "mere Molinism" with the warnings scripture gives of believers fall

Philip Swenson was recently interviewed by Jordan Hampton on the Analytic Christian YouTube channel. Although Swenson's goal was to argue against Molinism, I must admit that the two of us have much in common. Swenson, for example, is a fellow libertarian freedom fighter. On this vital issue we both agree and stand side by side in our fight against the tyranny of EDD (exhaustive divine determinism). Swenson (a professor of philosophy at the College of William & Mary) wrote hi

Question Dear Dr. Stratton, JD Martin has said that saying “exhaustive Divine determinism” (EDD) is redundant (“they don’t know what they’re talking about” he says) because on determinism everything is causally determined (I tend to agree it is redundant). I know that you have sought to make a distinction as you explain “Mere Molinism”, etc.  How would you respond? Why do you think including the word "exhaustive" is important?  - Drew Dr. Tim's Response Hi Drew! Thank you for

In 2012 I was sitting next to Timothy Fox listening to Dr. R. Scott Smith teach about the philosophy of intentionality at Biola University. Smith was explaining that intentional states of consciousness entailed an awareness OF and ABOUT things. With "of-ness: and "about-ness" in mind, I started thinking of the laws of logic and about competing hypotheses. It soon occurred to me that if one cannot think of and about competing hypotheses, then it would be impossible for one