The issues of God’s sovereignty and foreknowledge, predestination and election, man’s free will and responsibility, have been debated since the beginning of the Christian religion. Augustine and Pelagius were early antagonists, as were Calvin and Arminius a millennium later. Thus the debate is not new, and it still rages today.
This very brief bibliography looks at some of these issues in detail. Obviously it is a very limited and narrow range of titles I offer here. I do not include the earlier writers such as Calvin and so on. Indeed, this bibliography could blow out if I do not radically proscribe what volumes I include here.
Many of the books I feature have to do with a new debate which has erupted under the heading of free-will theism, the openness of God, or evangelical process theology. Also included are some titles dealing with issues of eternal security and perseverance.
These volumes cover many aspects of these debates: historical, theological, biblical, exegetical, philosophical, hermeneutical, and pastoral. The books listed here are primarily those written in the last half century. And they primarily are from the evangelical/conservative point of view.
Some of the volumes present various points of view, and some decidedly argue for just one side of the debate. Others offer a helpful pro and con take on these themes, either in a single volume (as in Hunt and White), or in dual companion volumes, such as the two by Horton and Olson, or by Peterson/Williams and Walls/Dongell.
The 45 titles listed here are only a small sampling of the huge literature on these subjects, but they provide plenty of helpful introductory material for those wishing to wade into it all. Happy reading.
Allen, David and Steve Lemke, eds., Whosoever Will: A Biblical-Theological Critique of Five-Point Calvinism. B&H, 2010.
Basinger, David, The Case for Freewill Theism. IVP, 1996.
Basinger, David and Randall Basinger, eds., Predestination and Free Will: Four Views of Divine Sovereignty and Human Freedom. IVP, 1986.
Beilby, James and Paul Eddy, eds., Divine Foreknowledge: Four Views. IVP, 2001.
Berkouwer, G.C., Divine Election. Eerdmans, 1960.
Berkouwer, G.C., The Providence of God. Eerdmans, 1952.
Brand, Chad Owen, ed., Perspectives on Election: Five Views. Broadman & Holman, 2006.
Bray, Gerald, The Personal God. Paternoster, 1998.
Carson, D.A., Divine Sovereignty and Human Responsibility. Baker, 1981.
Craig, William Lane, The Only Wise God: The Compatibility of Divine Foreknowledge and Human Freedom. Baker, 1987.
Davis, S.T., Logic and the Nature of God. Eerdmans, 1983.
Farley, B.W., The Providence of God. Baker, 1988.
Forster, Roger and Paul Marston, God’s Strategy in Human History. Tyndale, 1973.
Geisler, Norman, Chosen But Free: A Balanced View of God’s Sovereignty and Free Will, 3rd. ed. Bethany House, 1999, 2010.
Geisler, Norman, Creating God in the Image of Man? Bethany House, 1997.
Hasker, William, God, Time and Knowledge. Cornell University Press, 1989.
Helm, Paul, The Providence of God. IVP, 1993.
Horton, Michael, For Calvinism. Zondervan, 2011.
Hunt, Dave and James White, Debating Calvinism: Five Points, Two Views. Multnomah, 2004.
Keathley, Kenneth, Salvation and Sovereignty: A Molinist Approach. B&H, 2010.
Klein, William, The New Chosen People: A Corporate View of Election. Zondervan, 1990.
Olson, Roger, Against Calvinism. Zondervan, 2011.
Packer, J.I., Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God. IVP, 1961.
Peterson, Robert and Michael Williams. Why I am Not an Arminian. IVP, 2004.
Picirilli, Robert, Grace, Faith, Free Will: Contrasting Views of Salvation: Calvinism and Arminianism. Randall House, 2002.
Pinnock, Clark, Grace Unlimited. Bethany, 1975.
Pinnock, Clark, A Wideness in God’s Mercy. Zondervan, 1992.
Pinnock, Clark, ed., The Grace of God, the Will of Man: A Case for Arminianism. Zondervan, 1988.
Pinnock, Clark, et. al., The Openness of God. IVP, 1994.
Pinnock Clark and Robert Brow, Unbounded Love. IVP, 1994.
Pinson, J. Matthew, ed., Four Views on Eternal Security. Zondervan, 2002.
Piper, John, The Justification of God. Baker, 1983.
Rice, Richard, God’s Foreknowledge and Man’s Free Will. Bethany House, 1985.
Sanders, John, The God Who Risks: A Theology of Providence. IVP, 1998.
Schreiner, Thomas and Ardel Caneday, The Race Set Before Us. IVP, 2001.
Schreiner, Thomas and Bruce Ware, eds., The Grace of God, the Bondage of the Will. 2 vols. Baker, 1995.
Sell, Alan, The Great Debate: Calvinism, Arminianism and Salvation. Baker, 1982.
Spiegel, James, The Benefits of Providence. Crossway, 2005.
Sproul, R.C., Chosen by God. Tyndale, 1986.
Sproul, R.C., The Invisible Hand: Do All Things Really Work for Good? Word, 1997.
Sproul, R.C., Willing to Believe: The Controversy over Free Will. Baker, 1997.
Storms, Sam, Chosen for Life: The Case for Divine Election. Crossway Books, 1987, 2007.
Swinburne, Richard, The Coherence of Theism. OUP, 1977.
Walls, Jerry and Joseph Dongell, Why I am Not a Calvinist. IVP, 2004.
Wright, R.K.M., No Place for Sovereignty: What’s Wrong with Freewill Theism? IVP, 1996.
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