Last week at the Evangelical Theological Society meeting in Providence, Rhode Island, I delivered a paper on 21st century research on Calvin’s view of the extent of the atonement. The paper is an edited summary of two sections in my book The Extent of the Atonement: A Historical and Critical Review (Nashville: B&H Academic, 2016). The paper is 20 pages.
A growing number of scholars have critiqued arguments that Calvin held to limited atonement and have presented overwhelming evidence that Calvin held to unlimited atonement. My paper covers the work of David Ponter, Kevin Kennedy, Pieter Rouwendal, Paul Hartog, and myself. Ponter offers a salient critique of both Roger Nicole and Tom Nettles. Kennedy, Rouwendal, and Hartog all present arguments for Calvin’s adherence to universal atonement. I evaluate and critique Richard Muller and Paul Helm on the subject.
Here is the link: Allen ETS Paper – Calvin and the Extent of the Atonement
Enjoy!
Dr Allen; I enjoyed this piece and found it so thorough. It does give me pause about all that I’ve been taught about my Presbyterian Church (Calvin) because it forces me to ask what is left of TULIP? That flower, which was taught as the anchor for most of my life, has lost its bloom and I’m down to about 2-1/2 points. Never did I think Calvinists evangelized enough nor explain apostasy. We all knew a handful of former believers that didn’t just leave the faith; but reject and attack believers and the faith they espoused..
It can be very disappointing what can happen when a group (persons) is spoon fed a particular series of points and force that on their kids. These were well meaning people, of course, but I feel I’ve wasted a lot of time and so have my kids that have never found a church home.