BOOKS/DVD

John Calvin Goes to Berkeley

Group Discussion Questions

Download: JCGTB Group Study Guide.pdf

A great way to enjoy a book is to share it with friends. For advice on how to do so by forming a reading group, go to readinggroupchoices.com. Then download the “John Calvin Goes to Berkeley Group Study Guide” to the right and email it to some friends along with an invitation to discuss the book. The Study Guide provides questions about the characters, imagery, and theology of the book.

Please note: This study guide contains information which will spoil your reading of the story. Do not open the file until you have finished reading the book.

Inductive Bible Study Syllabus

Download: 25 Steps to Bible Knowledge.pdf

In Chapter Sixteen of John Calvin Goes to Berkeley, Michael Konrad presents a concept that becomes an important theme in the book. “If you study predestination within the context of the dispute between Calvinists and Arminians,” he tells Alex and his friends, “you’re going to be taking on a lot of theological baggage. Their assumptions will become your assumptions; their questions your questions. It can happen without you even realizing it.” Heeding his advice, the students gradually move away from a theological approach to the study of predestination and begin to study the Bible directly. After several false starts, they finally employ sound inductive Bible study methods and solve the mystery of predestination. For the reader who is unfamiliar with these methods and who would like to learn more about them, I offer my sixty-six page syllabus titled 25 Steps to Bible Knowledge. It provides an introduction to inductive Bible study using a book-by-book, verse-by-verse, clause-by-clause, and word-by-word approach.

Summary of Calvinism and Arminianism

Download: Calvinism & Arminianism Summarized.pdf

Studying predestination from a biblical perspective can be as difficult for us as it was for the characters in the book. We go to the Scriptures with good intentions, but we read it with preconceived ideas and definitions already in our minds that color our understanding of God’s Word. To counteract this, we must constantly discipline our thinking to allow the Scriptures to speak for themselves, to read the text in context, and to use those parts of Scripture which are clear and simple to explain those parts which are more difficult. We need to be constantly aware of our biases, lest they affect us without our realizing it.

To that end, I offer brief summaries of Calvinism and Arminianism that the reader might better understand the two most widely held viewpoints on predestination and the doctrines of salvation, their possible influence on his or her thinking, and possible misconceptions or biases he or she might have about these positions. The summary of Calvinism employs TULIP, a long-established mnemonic for remembering the main points of the Reformed doctrines of salvation. The summary of Arminianism uses PEACH , a mnemonic which I propose here for remembering the main points of Arminianism.

Summary of Author’s Beliefs

Download: This I Believe.pdf

In John Calvin Goes to Berkeley I present various theological viewpoints through the characters, some which I hold and consider biblically correct, others which I considers misguided or plain wrong. Lest there be any confusion as to where I stand on the doctrines of salvation, I offer here a summary of my beliefs.

Author’s Word Studies

In chapter Twenty-one of John Calvin Goes to Berkeley, Alex Kim asks Angela León to study the word election in the New Testament. She later summarizes for the other team members what she found. What follows is some of the work I did while preparing to write this chapter of the book. I offer these notes to facilitate the reader’s personal study of the topic. Each paper organizes the New Testament occurrences of one or more words and provides in a table the Greek text, the English text, the form in which the word is found, a summary of the context, and classification or category into which the word can be placed. A final column marked “comments” is provided for the reader to place his or her own notes and insights.

Articles on Important Biblical Texts

In preparation for the writing of John Calvin Goes to Berkeley, I identified the most frequently discussed biblical texts in the debate between Calvinists and Arminians. I selected twelve to address in the book. Much more could have been said about these verses and others could rightfully have been added to this list, but the format of a novel would not allow it. In the coming months, I will be posting papers at this site, which will expand on the verses discussed in the book and address additional texts. Below is a projected schedule, but it is certain to change, depending upon reader interest and my other ministry responsibilities.