Determined to Believe?

The Sovereignty of God, Freedom, Faith, and Human Responsibility

De: John C. Lennox

Narrado por: William Crockett

Determined to Believe is written for those who are interested in or even troubled by questions about God's sovereignty and human freedom and responsibility. John Lennox writes in the spirit of helping people to get to grips with the biblical treatment of this issue for themselves. In this comprehensive review of the topic of theological determinism, Lennox seeks firstly to define the problem, looking at the concepts of freedom, the different kinds of determinism, and the moral problems these pose. He then equips the reader with biblical teaching on the topic and explores the spectrum of theological opinion on it. Following this Lennox delves deeper into the Gospels and then investigates what we can learn regarding determinism and responsibility from Paul's discussion in Romans on God's dealings with Israel. Finally Lennox tackles the issue of Christian assurance.

This nuanced and detailed study challenges some of the widely held assumptions in the area of theological determinism and brings a fresh perspective to the debate.

©2017 John Lennox (P)2018 Monarch Books

Great book

Lennox does a wonderful job on this hotly contested topic. I recommend because of the content. It’s just too bad Lennox doesn’t read himself.

Very Educational

This book provided an excellent education on the subject. Our God is an awesome loving God!! The narrator though was very robotic, almost sounded like an artificial telephone voice. Realized that this book is also available on audible using a different narrator. So I am returning this book because of the narrator.

Great content. Terrible narration.

“Casual” is not the same as “causal”. The misread this word makes a profound truth confusingly nonsensical.

long but comprehensive

I found the issue to be addressed politely and in detailed. Comprehensive in defending Freewill doctrine.

Valuable discussion, but lots of questions

First, I greatly admire Dr. Lennox & have the utmost respect for him. However, I do question some of his arguments. I would like a definition of God's sovereignty; at times it feels as if God is thought of as sovereign overseer rather than sovereign creator exercising his will on all of his creation, including every human. There is a difference. Also, Lennox gave an exhaustive definition of faith, but not so much on grace by which you have been saved, Eph. 2:8-9. A reading of the biblical text gives a broad definition of grace well beyond salvation alone that was missed. Additionally, Lennox seems to ignore the divine tension, brought forth mostly by Paul, between God's sovereign will (sure wants & make sure) and human freewill. In the tension is where the truth lies, with God's sovereignty trumping our will at his divine discretion. One final question, Dr. Lennox seems totally comfortable with the LORD'S determination over a people group, but how is that possible without at least some determination over the individuals in the group? There is no simple answer to much of this, it seems; like the tension, we need to fully accept it, although in our human vessels, we are incapable of fully understanding. On an affirming note, I found Lennox's account of assurance, quite good and compelling.
The performer, although adequate, loses the kindly tone that is pure Lennox. Often sounds lofty and just doesn't fit well.