Roger Olson

Last updated
Roger E. Olson
Born1952 (age 6667)
Education Ph.D. Rice University,
OccupationProfessor, Author
ChurchCalvary Baptist Church, Waco, Texas
Offices held
Evangelical Theology Group of the American Academy of Religion
Titleco-chair
Website www.patheos.com/blogs/rogereolson/

Roger E. Olson (born in 1952) is an American Baptist Theologian and Professor of Christian Theology of Ethics at the Baylor University.

Baptists Denomination of Protestant Christianity

Baptists form a major branch of Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing professing believers only, and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul competency, sola fide, sola scriptura and congregationalist church government. Baptists generally recognize two ordinances: baptism and communion.

Baylor University private university in Waco, Texas, United States

Baylor University, or simply Baylor, is a private Christian university in Waco, Texas. Chartered in 1845 by the last Congress of the Republic of Texas, it is the oldest continuously operating university in Texas and one of the first educational institutions west of the Mississippi River in the United States. Located on the banks of the Brazos River next to I-35, between the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex and Austin, the university's 1,000-acre campus is the largest Baptist university campus in the world. Baylor University's athletic teams, known as the Bears, participate in 19 intercollegiate sports. The university is a member of the Big 12 Conference in the NCAA Division I.

Contents

Biography

Olson was born on 2nd of February 1952 in Des Moines, Iowa.

Des Moines, Iowa Capital of Iowa

Des Moines is the capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small part of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines, which was shortened to "Des Moines" in 1857. It is on and named after the Des Moines River, which likely was adapted from the early French name, Rivière des Moines, meaning "River of the Monks". The city's population was 216,853 as of the 2018 population estimate. The five-county metropolitan area is ranked 89th in terms of population in the United States with 655,409 residents according to the 2018 estimate by the United States Census Bureau, and is the largest metropolitan area fully located within the state. A portion of the larger Omaha, Nebraska metropolitan area extends into three counties of southwest Iowa.

Olson studied at Open Bible College in Des Moines, North American Baptist Seminary, and Rice University, where he obtained his Ph.D. in Religious Studies in 1984. He is also an ordained Baptist minister. [1]

Rice University university in Houston, Texas, USA

William Marsh Rice University, commonly known as Rice University, is a private research university in Houston, Texas. The university is situated on a 300-acre campus near the Houston Museum District and is adjacent to the Texas Medical Center.

He is married and together with his wife, they have two daughters and one granddaughter. He is member of Calvary Baptist Church in Waco. [2]

Since 1999, he has been Holder of the Foy Valentine Professor of Christian Theology of Ethics at George W. Truett Theological Seminary of Baylor University, Waco, Texas. [1]

George W. Truett Theological Seminary is a Baptist theological seminary in Waco, Texas. The seminary, named after Southern Baptist preacher George Washington Truett, was founded in 1993 as part of Baylor University and is affiliated with the Baptist General Convention of Texas.

Waco, Texas City in Texas, United States

Waco is a city in central Texas and is the county seat of McLennan County, Texas, United States. It is situated along the Brazos River and I-35, halfway between Dallas and Austin. The city had a 2010 population of 124,805, making it the 22nd-most populous city in the state. The 2018 US Census population estimate is 138,183 The Waco Metropolitan Statistical Area consists of McLennan and Falls Counties, which had a 2010 population of 234,906. Falls County was added to the Waco MSA in 2013. The 2018 US Census population estimate for the Waco MSA is 271,942.

Theological Contribution

Advocacy of Arminianism

Olson is known for his Classical Arminian theological stance. [3] He has written several books including Arminian Theology: Myths and Realities (2006) [4] and Against Calvinism (2011) [5] in which he defined and defended his vision of Arminianism.

Arminianism Based on theological ideas of the Dutch Reformed theologian Jacobus Arminius and his historic supporters

Arminianism is a branch of Protestantism based on the theological ideas of the Dutch Reformed theologian Jacobus Arminius (1560–1609) and his historic supporters known as Remonstrants. His teachings held to the five solae of the Reformation, but they were distinct from particular teachings of Martin Luther, Huldrych Zwingli, John Calvin, and other Protestant Reformers. Jacobus Arminius was a student of Theodore Beza at the Theological University of Geneva. Arminianism is known to some as a soteriological diversification of Calvinism; to others, Arminianism is a reclamation of early Church theological consensus.

Olson fundamentally defines Arminianism by God's "limited" mode of providence and by God's "predestination by foreknowledge" mode of election, [6] expressed another way :

"“Arminianism,” [...] is simply a term we use in theology for the view, held by some people before Arminius and many after him, that sinners who hear the gospel have the free will to accept or reject God’s offer of saving grace and that nobody is excluded by God from the possibility of salvation except those who freely exclude themselves. [7]

According to him, adherence to Classical Arminianism is defined by being classically Protestant, affirming total depravity, conditional election, unlimited atonement, prevenient grace, and that God is in no way, and by no means the author of sin and evil but that these are only permitted by him. [8] It can be noted that Olson definition sticks literally to the opinion expressed for instance in the Five articles of remonstrance (1610), concerning the question of conditional preservation of the saints, which was left unsettled at this time.

For Olson, "Classical Arminianism" as defined is centered on God's Grace. [7]

Olson also refers to "Classic Arminianism" as "evangelical synergism": [9] "Synergism" referring to cooperation between God and creature (through prevenient grâce) [10] and "evangelical" to distinguish it from Catholic or Easter Orthodox synergism. [11] This is "because Arminius’ beliefs did not begin with him. For example, Anabaptist theologian Balthasar Hubmaier promoted much the same view nearly a century before Arminius". [10]

Olson says that the first principle of Arminianism is "Jesus Christ as the full and perfect revelation of the character of God". [12] This principle has a particular significance within the Calvinism-Armininian debate, where the character of God (and especially his love) as revealed by Jesus-Christ, is for Olson, better represented by the Arminian view:

"Basic to Arminianism is God’s love. The fundamental conflict between Calvinism and Arminianism is not sovereignty but God’s character. If Calvinism is true, God is the author of sin, evil, innocent suffering and hell. [...] Let me repeat. The most basic issue is not providence or predestination or the sovereignty of God. The most basic issue is God’s character." [13]

Olson says that, as a consequence of this point, Arminians only believe in libertarian free will to avoid making God the author of sin and evil, and because it is an experienced reality necessary for responsibility :

"Classical Arminianism does NOT say God never interferes with free will. It says God NEVER foreordains or renders certain evil. [...] An Arminian COULD believe in divine dictation of Scripture and not do violence to his or her Arminian beliefs. [...] Arminianism is not in love with libertarian free will –as if that were central in and of itself." [14]

Theology history and analysis

Olson wrote a popular and widely acclaimed survey of Christian theology titled The Story of Christian Theology (1999). [15]

He is noted for a broad view of what constitutes Protestant "orthodoxy." For example, on annihilationism he commented that some evangelical theologians have "resurrected the old polemical labels of heresy and aberrational teaching" in order to marginalize other evangelicals holding the view The mosaic of Christian belief, (2002). [16]

Olson is one of the writers who sees two "loose coalitions" developing in evangelical theology. [17]

Olson coined the label "Pannenberg's Principle" for Wolfhart Pannenberg's argument (1969) that God's deity is his rule - "The divinity of God and the reign of God in the world are inseparable." [18]

He was the editor and author of the Handbook of Denominations in the United States, 14th edition (2018). [19]

Bibliography

Books

Articles

Notes and references

Citations

  1. 1 2 Olson 2018a, p. 1.
  2. Olson 2018a, p. 2.
  3. Olson 2010b. "I [...] have always identified myself as a classical Arminian."
  4. Olson 2006.
  5. Olson 2011.
  6. Olson 2018c. "What is Arminianism? A) Belief that God limits himself to give human beings free will to go against his perfect will so that God did not design or ordain sin and evil (or their consequences such as innocent suffering); B) Belief that, although sinners cannot achieve salvation on their own, without “prevenient grace” (enabling grace), God makes salvation possible for all through Jesus Christ and offers free salvation to all through the gospel. “A” is called “limited providence,” “B” is called “predestination by foreknowledge.”"
  7. 1 2 Olson 2017. "“Arminianism,” [...] is simply a term we use in theology for the view, held by some people before Arminius and many after him, that sinners who hear the gospel have the free will to accept or reject God’s offer of saving grace and that nobody is excluded by God from the possibility of salvation except those who freely exclude themselves. But true, historical, classical Arminianism includes the belief that this free will is itself a gift of God through prevenient grace; it is not a natural ability every person has of himself or herself. All people have free will to do many things, but free will to repent and believe unto salvation is always a gift of God’s grace."
  8. Olson 2014, p. 21. [...] in my mind, any person is an Arminian who: 1) is classically Protestant, 2) affirms total depravity (in the sense of helplessness to save himself or contribute meritoriously to his salvation such that a sinner is totally dependent on prevenient grace for even the first movement of the will toward God), 3) affirms conditional election and predestination based on foreknowledge, 4) affirms universal atonement, 5) affirms that grace is always resistible, and 6) affirms that God is in no way and by no means the author of sin and evil but affirms that these are only permitted by God’s consequent will.
  9. Olson 2006, p. 18.
  10. 1 2 Olson 2014, p. 1.
  11. Olson 2010c.
  12. Olson 2014, p. 11.
  13. Olson 2013.
  14. Olson 2010a. "Classical Arminianism does NOT say God never interferes with free will. It says God NEVER foreordains or renders certain evil. [...] An Arminian COULD believe in divine dictation of Scripture and not do violence to his or her Arminian beliefs. [...] Arminianism is not in love with libertarian free will –as if that were central in and of itself. Classical Arminians have gone out of our way (beginning with Arminius himself) to make clear that our sole reasons for believe in free will AS ARMINIANS [...] are 1) to avoid making God the author of sin and evil, and 2) to make clear human responsibility for sin and evil."
  15. Olson 2018a, p. 22. Award for best book in theology/ethics for 1999, Christianity Today, April, 2000. “Gold Medallion Award”, Evangelical Christian Publishers Association, June, 2000. Award for “Best Book in Theology/Doctrine” for 2001, Christian Publishers Association of Brazil, April, 2002
  16. Knight 2003, p. 473. "In a similar vein, Roger E. Olson has pointed out that "many conservative evangelical theologians have resurrected the old polemical labels of heresy and aberrational teaching to marginalize those evangelicals who would dare to embrace a belief that was once relegated to the sectarian margins of Protestantism. This hardly seems like a valuable expenditure of time and energy. Annihilationism does not strike at the heart of the gospel or even deny any major Christian belief; it is simply a reinterpretation of hell."
  17. Toulouse 2006, p. 241. "Roger E. Olson has developed the discussion of these two "loose coalitions" in "The Future of Evangelical Theology," Christianity Today (hereafter CT) (February 9, 1998): 40-48. He offers Edward Veith's Postmodern Times: A Christian Guide."
  18. Grenz 2001, p. 49. "[...] to cite his own poignant statement, which Roger E. Olson has labeled "Pannenberg's Principle""
  19. Olson & Mead 2018b.

Sources

Related Research Articles

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Predestination Theological doctrine

Predestination, in theology, is the doctrine that all events have been willed by God, usually with reference to the eventual fate of the individual soul. Explanations of predestination often seek to address the "paradox of free will", whereby God's omniscience seems incompatible with human free will. In this usage, predestination can be regarded as a form of religious determinism; and usually predeterminism, also known as theological determinism.

Total depravity Calvinist doctrine that the fall of man enslaves all to sin; needing Justification

Total depravity is a Christian theological doctrine derived from the concept of original sin. It is the teaching that, as a consequence of the Fall of Man, every person born into the world is enslaved to the service of sin as a result of their fallen nature and, apart from the efficacious or prevenient grace of God, is utterly unable to choose to follow God, refrain from evil, or accept the gift of salvation as it is offered.

Predestination in Calvinism Calvinism doctrine

Predestination is a doctrine in Calvinism dealing with the question of the control that God exercises over the world. In the words of the Westminster Confession of Faith, God "freely and unchangeably ordained whatsoever comes to pass." The second use of the word "predestination" applies this to the salvation, and refers to the belief that God appointed the eternal destiny of some to salvation by grace, while leaving the remainder to receive eternal damnation for all their sins, even their original sin. The former is called "unconditional election", and the latter "reprobation". In Calvinism, some people are predestined and effectually called in due time to faith by God.

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Monergism

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The Five Articles of Remonstrance were theological propositions advanced in 1610 by followers of Jacobus Arminius who had died in 1609, in disagreement with interpretations of the teaching of John Calvin then current in the Dutch Reformed Church. Those who supported them chose to call themselves "Remonstrants".

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Remonstrant Confession

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