"What Love is This?" by Dave Hunt

Dave Hunt was a tremendous Bible teacher. He passed away in April of this year (2013). As I read this book, it became clear to me that this man had a passion for the Word of God. The amount of research that went into this book is absolutely astounding. I have read more "technical" theological books that weren't as well-researched and had much shorter bibliographies - and far fewer footnotes. There were literally at least 50 or so footnotes per chapter!

Dave Hunt tackled the sticky problem of Calvinism not in order to start a fight, but to expose the true roots of Calvinism (the Roman Catholic church) and to present the Biblical evidence that shows so strongly against it. After seeing the history of the doctrines of Calvinism, as well as the shockingly evil behaviors and heretical beliefs of a few of it's earliest adherents (John Calvin, Martin Luther, and St. Augustine), one wonders how ANY Bible-believing Christian could call themselves after the name of such heretics.

The sheer volume of verses in the Bible that the Calvinist is forced to re-interpret to fit the points of TULIP should be the first warning. Why not let the Bible speak for itself? Why "wrest" it to say anything? The weakness of the Calvinism framework is clearly exposed. Their web of strange doctrines fails to hold up under scrutiny. Dave Hunt does a SUPERB job of reviewing all 5 points of traditional Calvinism, and demolishing their presuppositions with the plain teaching of Scripture.

He uses HUNDREDS of quotes of prominent Calvinists' own writings in order to accurately represent their beliefs. He also does not shy away from the very tough Scriptures that are favorites of Calvinists to support their views. But, as you can see in this book, even in these tough passages there is NO Biblical support for 5-point Calvinism. This was important to me - because some of these very verses have troubled me for years. Calvinism seemed to lack the ring of truth to me, but these verses were very thorny; and I had no explanation for some of them.

Dave Hunt also took the noble and honorable step of letting some of his Calvinist friends review the early manuscript so they could correct him if he caricatured Calvinism wrongly. He included many of their critiques, and answered them accordingly.

This book is not nearly as technical as "Whosoever Will", which I reviewed here. But the use of Scripture in "What Love is This" was, in my opinion, more compelling than the arguments in "Whosoever Will".

If you have wondered about some of those troubling Bible passages, or if you have not come to a decision about Calvinism, then read Dave Hunt's book. Calvinism will be seen as an atrocious - and blasphemous - heresy.

The only negative is that much of the book is repetitive - because the 5 points of Calvinism are all contingent on each other, so many of the Scriptures and arguments show up in several places. But as a resource, this book is priceless.

I thank God for courageous and godly men like Dave Hunt who teach the Bible with simplicity and power. I pray that God will raise up more men like him.

"Whosoever Will" by David Allen (editor) and Steve Lemke (editor)

It took me several months to read this book. Partially because it contains some very deep theological information, and my brain could not quite process it all in a quick manner. The other reason is that I got distracted by some other books I wished to read. Needless to say, I am very glad I finished the book - not just because it was taking so long to read. Anyone who is interested in the discussion of salvation as it regards the theological system of Calvinism will find this book to be an invaluable resource.

I love the brutal honesty of this book. The editors state that the official position of the book is neutral. They are neither for nor against Calvinism or Arminianism. They merely wish to contribute to the dialogue with an honest critique of Calvinism from a conservative Biblical and theological perspective. Having said that, the authors of each chapter freely admit that there are inherent problems no matter which theological perspective you are attempting to defend. The only reasonable position to take, then, is the one which does the least damage to the Biblical evidence, the sovereignty of God, and the free will of man. In reading these pages, it is clear that Calvinism (in its traditional sense) is not the best answer.

By far, my favorite chapter is the first one - a sermon transcript from Jerry Vines on John 3:16. (Perhaps I am biased because I am a preacher, not a theologian). But there is not a single chapter in the book which is not thought-provoking and informative. The first part of the book addresses the five points of Calvinism in order. The second part of the book looks at some peripheral (but important) issues. The chapter, "Was Calvin a Calvinist?" was especially interesting. There were also great chapters concerning the public invitation, the existence of evil, and the free will of man.

Any student of theology would do well to read this book, and any Christian who ponders the imponderables of God and salvation should at least attempt to read it.