Product Description

Paperback

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Product Details

Publisher	Wipf & Stock Publishers
ISBN	1579102735
Format	Paperback
Author	Roger Forster,Paul Marston
EAN	9781579102739
Label	Wipf & Stock Publishers
Studio	Wipf & Stock Publishers
Number Of Pages	386
Title	God's Strategy in Human History
Publication Date	2001-07
Manufacturer	Wipf & Stock Publishers

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Customer Reviews

Why are there wars,evil? All part of the plan.

Review by Sparkle, 2010-02-15

Proverbs 16:4: "The Lord has made everything for its own purpose, even the wicked for the day of evil." (cf. 1 Peter 2:8; Jude 4; Romans 9:22)
Revelation 17:17: Of the ten kings who wage war against the harlot (Babylon) it is said, "They will hate the harlot (new city of Babylon,Iraq) and will make her desolate (layed to waste) and naked (undisguised,defenseless), and will eat her flesh and will burn her up with fire (nuclear blast, see Hiroshima). For God has put it in their hearts to execute his purpose . . ."

Therefore God's plan for history must reckon with unwanted evil and suffering since these are "the price that had to be paid for freedom and love to exist at all" (27.3).
God's strategy in history, then, involves maneuvering unwanted evil to his good ends. In fact this very situation does not constitute a defeat for God but rather gives him occasion to demonstrate his greatness. "This is not to say that he wills evil himself, or even that he willingly allows it, but such is his greatness that he can use it for good" (93.3). "The great thing about God is that he is able, in his foreknowledge, to make use even of those who rebel against him. Thus, although Judas rejected him, God used his rejection to set in motion the events leading to Christ's atoning death" (123.4). "God does not directly determine everything that happens and his glory lies partly in the fact that he triumphs in spite of this" (25.5). Would God always want to be around you?

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Chapter on Job - worth the price of the book!

Review by Enyoyd Sannock, 2009-10-24

I had a hunch that Open Theism and the "New Perspectives" on Paul were compatible. This book brings the two streams together in a compelling way. Admittedly, the author's were preaching to the choir as I was reading. But regardless of your stance on openness or New Perspectives, you will appreciate a thorough argument. If you like Open Theism, you'll like this book. Many open theist concepts are in primitive form, but they germinate here to give quite a bit of insight. If you track with N.T. Wright, you'll also like this book. But most fascinating in this book is the appendix where the authors use a plethora of early church evidence to show that those who didn't believe in free will were the heretics of the early church.

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Excellent Book written from the Arminian View

Review by Kevin Jackson, 2009-09-18

The authors take a look at God's interaction with humanity, and come to non-Calvinist conclusions.

There is in depth coverage of the scripture passages that Calvinists use, such as Romans 9 and Ephesians 1. Their overview of Romans 9 is masterful. They go into some detail about the Hebrew words that we translate as "harden". They show how the meaning of these words are inconsistently and inadequately translated into the English language. This is relevant to God's interaction with Pharaoh, and helps to give context to the "hardening" of Pharaoh's heart in Exodus.

The book has an appendix that reviews the consensus of the early church on the issue of free will. They argue that determinism in a Christian context was an invention of Augustine. They point out that Augustine was the first church leader to reject free will, and the he came to his conclusions because he did not have an adequate understanding of Greek.

There are two versions of the book out, the newer version is more friendly to Open Theism, while the original version is more of a classical Arminian view.

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Refuting Calvinistic points

Review by Spencer Gear, 2007-04-29

This is one of the finest books I have read that attempts to give a biblical diagnosis of the extremes of some of TULIP Calvinism. These authors exegete the Scriptures to show that some of Calvinism's assertions against free-will don't stack up with the Bible.

A sample from the word study on "Chosen and Elect" explains some of their perspective: "Although God, in his foreknowledge, doubtless knew which individuals would repent and so be joined by him to Christ's body, this is not at all the same thing as picking them out to make them repent. God's choice is not an individual one of who should repent; it is a corporate choice of the church in Christ. . . Those in the early church seem to have grasped much more readily than ourselves the concept of being chosen in Christ."

I have been troubled for years by the Calvinistic autocratic determinism that leads to a predestination that seems to drag people into the Kingdom of God. This is a scholarly and readable biblical understanding that refutes the Reformed view of election/predestination.

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A Wonderful Treatise on Freewill and God's Plan for Humanity

Review by P. Nesselrotte, 2007-04-15

A very well written book on the freewill of mankind and how God interacts with him and works his plan for salvation, while yet allowing man the freedom of choice and freedom. If you have ever had difficulty harmonizing God's foreknowledge and freewill, this book will provide you with tremendous insight and knowledge. This book does a wonderful job of addressing the heresies of Calvinism. I highly recommend this book for any one seeking answers.

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