On the one hand, the Society of Evangelical Arminians has a nominal statement of faith. On the other hand, Roger Olson’s open, defiant repudiation of Biblical inerrancy directly contradicts the SEA statement of faith. Yet, to my knowledge, Olson remains a member in good standing, and SEA routinely reproduces many of his posts.
Perhaps the SEA administrators haven’t been able to take time out of their busy schedules to update their statement of faith. As an exercise in ecumenical charity, I’m volunteering my services (free of charge!) to help revise their statement of faith with a view to reconciling what they say with what they do. Here’s a draft copy for their consideration.
Statement Of Faith*
For PR purposes, we’d like the general public to believe that we believe the Scriptures as originally given by God, both Old and New Testaments, to be the inspired Word of God, infallible, entirely trustworthy, and the supreme authority in all matters of faith and conduct. In reality, what we say we believe and what we really believe are not to be confused.
We believe that the shed blood of Jesus Christ and his resurrection were provided for the salvation of all people, but are effective only for fellow Arminians. That’s why we hold Roger Olson to a lower standard.
*The views expressed in our official statement of faith are solely those to whom it may (or may not) concern and do not reflect the actual views of SEA.
As an exercise in ecumenical charity, I’m volunteering my services ...
ReplyDeleteSteve, I never cease to be amazed by your generosity.
It's hard to be humble when I'm so wonderful, but I try my best :-)
ReplyDelete