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The title of the book really should be The Five Points of Calvinism, and the meaning of those points according to George Bryson, weighed and found wanting. I have to admit that George Bryson did fairly explain for the most part what Calvinist believe. However, that is only half of what George Bryson needed to do to represent Calvinism fairly. After giving what Calvinist believe George Bryson goes on to tell the reader about the ramifications of those beliefs. Representing a belief system in this...
I'll first note that you should be suspicious of a book whose back-cover blurb says "The first portion of the book... is very good". That's kind of like if someone vouches for their adult friend by telling you he was pretty cool until third grade. But it's kind of fascinating. The author is referring to texts and marshalling logical arguments in support of careful understanding of Calvinist doctrine. But some of the logical arguments are iffy, and his agenda is transparently anti-Calvinist. Here...
First of all I would like to say that I agree with Bryson's conclusions in this little book. Most of the points against "Reformed theology" are points that I have noted and proclaimed in the past (Sorry to all my Reformed friends out there, but it is my belief that Calvinists and Arminians need to listen to and respect one another, engaging in loving and honest dialogue, without resorting to arrogant and snide comments.) That being said, I was a bit disappointed in his brief "refutations." I ha
Simply put, George Bryson really has no idea what he is talking about. This book can be likened to a man coming into a move 3/4 of the way through and then feeling entitled to complain that he does not understand what is going on. Bryson quotes many reformed fellows but it is almost painful to see how he takes the quotes out of context. I don't think Bryson has done this maliciously, it seems that he really just isn't a scholar and doesn't have the foggiest idea in how to conduct a genuine work....
One of the worst books I ever read. I probably read this about 20 years ago, but the reading experience is still fresh in my memory. I felt sorry for this fellow, as he was either completely ignorant of "Calvinistic" soteriology, or he was intentionally lying in order to deceive people.Some better introductory books that would be far more helpful are "Chosen By God" by R.C. Sproul, or "The Five Points of Calvinism: Defined, Defended, and Documented" by Steele and Thomas.
Finally, a brief refutation of the Five Points. However, while Bryson meets his goal of scripturally answering some of the points, a couple are left not well answered. But given his correct statement that they all stand or fall together, the Five Points Of Calvinism are indeed found wanting.
An enlightening, relatively easy to understand explanation of Calvinism. I found it helpful to explain the basic stance of Arminianism and Calvinism, explain the Five Points of Calvinism and their implications, and highlight problems in light of the full counsel of Scripture. It's a short book, so it is not incredibly detailed, but I found it helpful as a person who came from a church that didn't lean too far to either side of the issue and now attends a very Calvinistic church.
Considering the small size of the book, there's a lot packed in here. Great overview of the Five Points, but the refutations suffer a bit from the size of the book. My guess is that his larger work on the subject has tighter refutations.
This was very helpful.
It was okay, but I don't think it challenges what the author intended, kind of a hit and miss.
Arful.
