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Question Dr. Stratton, In your debate with James White you made three claims that demand further clarification. First, you appealed to 1 Corinthians 10:13 as biblical support for libertarian freedom. Second, you claimed that the London Baptist Confession of Faith affirms libertarian freedom. Third, regarding the Problem of  Evil, you appealed to The Avengers in an attempt to show that your Molinist theodicy that God is certain evil will occur is superior to White's view wher

Shortly after graduating with our M.A. in Christian Apologetics, Tim Stratton asked me to join the blogging team of FreakEng Ministries, the ministry of his friend, Richard Eng. This is where I got my introduction to apologetics writing and began honing my skills as a writer. Eventually, this platform would evolve into FreeThinking Ministries. While Rich is no longer a regular contributor at FTM, he has remained a friend of ours and an occasional guest contributor. Rich also

Question Hey Tim, I hope you are doing well. At the church I pastor, we are going through Ken Keathley’s " Salvation and Sovereignty" book with our leaders. Some lean toward the Reformed view of providence. A question was raised last night that I’m needing help with. I thought you may be able to lend a hand. Here it is: If God is certain about what will happen then how are there other possibilities? (In the sense that only that will happen) So, take the incident with Mose

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

Disagreement is a necessary aspect of theological discourse.  Though unity is desirable, and like-mindedness is applauded throughout the New Testament (Phil. 2:2-8), it seems inevitable this side of glory that brothers in Christ will take issue with each other’s biblical interpretation and theological proclamation.  In fact, much of the development of theology throughout the history of the Church has relied on disagreement to flesh out nuances and answer important questions a

No theology is developed in isolation. Throughout the history of the Church universal, the theological discourses that have developed our most beloved (and most contentious) doctrines, confessions, and dogma were embedded deep in controversy. It seems that no theological musings can be traced back to a bubble, untouched by prior or co-terminus views that fostered the climate or context for the development of doctrine in the Church.  This is one of the many reasons why the hi

Apologetics, when done with gentleness and respect (1 Peter 3:15), is beneficial in evangelism as we see the Holy Spirit use it time and time again in the Scriptures through Paul’s “reasoning” and “persuading” to draw souls to the Lord.  However, in this article, I will show how apologetics in the local church has other benefits: equipping the saints and preventing apostasy.  Of course our entire Christian walk should be dedicated toward evangelism; that is a given.  But, not

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

“Those who think they know the Gospel best are frequently the most surprised by its true shape, content, boundaries, and purposes.” -Matthew Bates, The Gospel Precisely The purpose of apologetics as an outward defense of the Christian faith must be intimately tied to the Christian call to make disciples. This means that a proper apologetic must have as its foundation that same firm ground that Scripture gives for evangelism and discipleship.  This firm ground, known to us as

Question Dear Dr. Stratton, I hang out in atheist debate groups. These are among the top reasons why many Christians have "deconstructed" and are Christians no longer. 1. The Theory of Evolution 2. Santa Claus 3. Prejudice against homosexuality I don't think the church gives good answers on any of them. 1 and 3 were listed among the reasons why Rhett and Link "deconstructed." I honestly don't know why we perpetuate the Santa myth. How would you address these "Top 3" reasons f

*This article was originally published at Bare Bones Blog of Philosophy : https://barebonesblogofphilosophy.wordpress.com/2021/12/06/defining-philosophy-a-conceptual-analysis-in-progress/ For the first post on this blog, I will reflect on the nature of philosophy by providing a working definition of ‘philosophy.’ This is a difficult job. It is easier to evaluate other definitions than to construct one. Yet, I will start with some brief assessments as an underpinning for my o

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