Comments on: Calvinism, Drivel, and the Best Possible World http://theologyforum.wordpress.com/2010/11/08/calvinism-drivel-and-the-best-possible-world/ Serving the joyful cultivation of the theological craft for the life of the church: inquiring honestly, deliberating wisely, acting faithfully Wed, 15 May 2013 06:00:16 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.com/ By: “Landmarks in the critical study of secularism- “Internal Barriers to Online Expansion ………… | Erkan's Field Diary http://theologyforum.wordpress.com/2010/11/08/calvinism-drivel-and-the-best-possible-world/#comment-23288 Sat, 13 Nov 2010 13:48:53 +0000 http://theologyforum.wordpress.com/?p=4005#comment-23288 [...] Calvinism, Drivel, and the Best Possible World from Theology Forum by Steve Duby [...]

]]> By: Steve Duby http://theologyforum.wordpress.com/2010/11/08/calvinism-drivel-and-the-best-possible-world/#comment-23270 Tue, 09 Nov 2010 19:48:30 +0000 http://theologyforum.wordpress.com/?p=4005#comment-23270 Sounds good, man; I’ll look forward to more interaction.

]]> By: Bobby Grow http://theologyforum.wordpress.com/2010/11/08/calvinism-drivel-and-the-best-possible-world/#comment-23269 Tue, 09 Nov 2010 19:16:46 +0000 http://theologyforum.wordpress.com/?p=4005#comment-23269 Thanks, Steve.

Someday, when I have time, I definitely want to spend some time with Bavinck. Until then I’ll just keep reading your posts on him :-).

]]> By: Steve Duby http://theologyforum.wordpress.com/2010/11/08/calvinism-drivel-and-the-best-possible-world/#comment-23267 Tue, 09 Nov 2010 08:40:42 +0000 http://theologyforum.wordpress.com/?p=4005#comment-23267 I think the eschatological piece is in the background here. I included it because I think Bavinck would write about this with a sense of despair if we didn’t have the biblical description of the life to come. The immediate context concerns reprobation and Bavinck is basically saying that, if we resist sugarcoating things, we can see that the doctrine of reprobation resonates with the tenor of the world.

I’m not an expert on contemporary accounts of Molinism (by, say, William Lane Craig), but what Bavinck claims here does challenge the idea that in eternity God identified the best possible world and chose to actualize it out of all the other options. It seems to make sense to me, not least because it’s conceivable that there could have been creatures who were both self-determining and, by virtue of their constitution, more resolutely opposed to evil.

]]> By: Bobby Grow http://theologyforum.wordpress.com/2010/11/08/calvinism-drivel-and-the-best-possible-world/#comment-23266 Tue, 09 Nov 2010 03:51:55 +0000 http://theologyforum.wordpress.com/?p=4005#comment-23266 It seems to allow for a ‘surplus’ in God (a variance) that a contemporary Calvinist probably wouldn’t like.

When he speaks about this world not being the best possible world; is he speaking out of an eschatological lens (e.g. in re. to creation’s original telos), or does he have Molinism in mind (with this kind of language)?

]]> By: Bobby Grow http://theologyforum.wordpress.com/2010/11/08/calvinism-drivel-and-the-best-possible-world/#comment-23265 Tue, 09 Nov 2010 03:45:36 +0000 http://theologyforum.wordpress.com/?p=4005#comment-23265 Well, Mark Garcia liked this post; so I suppose I better too :-) .

]]> By: No Use For Such Drivel « Life in Christ http://theologyforum.wordpress.com/2010/11/08/calvinism-drivel-and-the-best-possible-world/#comment-23264 Mon, 08 Nov 2010 15:22:50 +0000 http://theologyforum.wordpress.com/?p=4005#comment-23264 [...] at Theology Forum, Bavinck is quoted on a topic more recently called “horrendous evils,” a topic [...]

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