Still Very Troubled

I have received a couple of emails from my post on Roger Olson's frightening words regarding "the God of Calvinism," asking if I was declaring the man to be unsaved.  I do want to go on record as saying that was not my meaning.  In general, I try to avoid making pronouncements on an individual's salvation, both because I am simply not competent to make such a determination and also because I always hope things are better than they might appear.  (We do want to hope that people are saved, you know.)  My point was to comment on the truly troubling statements being made by some of the hard-core Arminians today, and espcially by the Open Theists.  I know that there are some Calvinists who argue that one cannot be an Arminian and also be saved.  I simply disagree with this, for the simple reason that one is saved not by being a Calvinist but by trusting in the shed blood of Jesus Christ.  I find that the great majority of evangelical Arminians are trusting in Jesus' blood for their salvation, and I consider them brothers in Christ.  But I have also long believed that the logical implications of self-conscious Arminianism are anti-Christian.  As evidence, I would submit the Open Theists as exhibit A.  Their polemic against the God of the Bible is stunningly chilling.  The good news about most Arminians is that they do not follow the logical implications of free will, limited depravity, and conditional election.  But the bad news today is that the Open Theists are waging an increasingly ferocious battle not only against the biblical doctrine of salvation but also against the biblical doctrine of God.  I sincerely pray that much of their rhetoric is just that; for instance, I pray that Dr. Olson really can tell the difference between God and the devil.  But the rhetoric is very troubling indeed.