Product Description

Using the Scriptures from which they are drawn, the five points of Calvinism (Total depravity, Unconditional election, Limited atonement, Irresistable grace, and Perseverance of the saints) are explicated and explained.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #603821 in Books
• Published on: 1996-02-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 136 pages

Customer Reviews

Informative and well written on a meaty doctrine
Palmer's book provides a great study on predestination. Though it is such a hard concept to grasp, it is perfectly clear that scripture teaches it. Why so many sincere Christians want to try to deny its reality is trully a knock on God's soverignty. Once you study the facts and look at free willers arguments you see that the doctrine of free will is nothing more than humanism. To anyone who thinks other wise I challenge you to read this book. It does a great job of showing how absurd an Arminian's arguments are without being insensitive to the Arminian. A good book to add to your Christian collection.

Palmer's handles Scripture better than similar books.
Palmer does a better job than other authors covering this area. He does far more biblical exegesis (which you'd expect from the Executive Secretary of the NIV Bible), and his exegesis is generally more precise. (I've long wished Sproul would revise his Chosen by God to include more exegesis.) Palmer's methodology is sound. He raises the issues, then let's Scripture prove his (and its) point, but not in the "list of prooftexts" way that Steele & Thomas take. He exposits the passages he relies upon to bolster his argument, which is helpful. Unlike a few authors with similar books who shall remain nameless, Palmer is not an angry man, and doesn't have a chip on his shoulder or a proverbial axe to grind. He isn't teaching "against those terrible Arminians"--he simply wants his fellow Christians to understand our neediness and God's grace--a grace he models in response. His treatment of predestination is solid, biblical and uncompromised... and kind.

Helpful guide to TULIP
Palmer's book is a helpful guide to the so-called Five Points of Calvinism. He tells us at the very beginning of his book that there is much more to Calvinism than these 5 points, and that they were not invented by Calvin. It is also worth pointing out that they are a response to a submission to the Church of Holland and not an original statement by Calvinist believers.

I found Palmer's presentation compelling. I think that if you believe the Bible is authoritative, he has shown that the so-called five points are its teaching [along with much, much else].

Palmer's short account of Calvin's perseverance despite opposition and all sorts of illnesses is also a worthwhile feature of this book.

If you want to pursue this topic further, I also recommend Loraine Boettner's Reformed Doctrine of Predestination and Wayne Grudem's Systematic Theology for more detailed treatments.