Determined to Believe?

The sovereignty of God, faith and human responsibility

by John C Lennox

Monarch Books

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Monarch Books

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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.

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...

A Note From the Publisher

John Lennox is Professor of Mathematics at the University of Oxford and Fellow in Mathematics and Philosophy of Science at Green Templeton College. He lectures on Faith and Science for the Oxford Centre for Christian Apologetics. He has lectured in many universities around the world, including Austria and the former Soviet Union. He is particularly interested in the interface of Science, Philosophy and Theology. Lennox has been part of numerous public debates defending the Christian faith. He debated Richard Dawkins on "The God Delusion" in the University of Alabama (2007) and on "Has Science buried God?" in the Oxford Museum of Natural History (2008). He has also debated Christopher Hitchens on the New Atheism (Edinburgh Festival, 2008) and the question of "Is God Great?" (Samford University, 2010), as well as Peter Singer on the topic of "Is there a God?" (Melbourne, 2011). John is the author of a number of books on the relations of science, religion and ethics. He and his wife Sally live near Oxford.

John Lennox is Professor of Mathematics at the University of Oxford and Fellow in Mathematics and Philosophy of Science at Green Templeton College. He lectures on Faith and Science for the Oxford...

Advance Praise

“John Lennox is widely recognized as one of the top Christian intellectuals of our time. Yet he is also rightly admired for his uncanny ability to get right down to the basic issues in a discussion and to write about them with a simple clarity that still exemplifies depth and range of treatment. And, as one would expect, Determined to Believe? is a model of these virtues. This is no ordinary rehash of old debates about Calvinism vs. Arminianism, God’s sovereignty vs. free will and moral responsibility, and so on. In fact, the real brilliance of the book lies in Lennox’s insistence that we set aside old labels and try a fresh approach with new eyes to the topics related to the acceptance or non-acceptance of theological determinism. As a result, this is a treasure-trove of clear, easy-to-understand biblical exegesis, helpful definitions of key terms like “foreknowledge” and “predestine”, and coverage of theological determinism as it relates to the human condition, the nation of Israel and the hardening of Pharaoh’s heart, and the assurance a believer may rightly claim regarding one’s salvation. I highly recommend this refreshing and helpful book.” J. P. Moreland, Distinguished Professor of Philosophy, Talbot School of Theology, Biola University, La Mirada, California, USA

“John Lennox is widely recognized as one of the top Christian intellectuals of our time. Yet he is also rightly admired for his uncanny ability to get right down to the basic issues in a...

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ISBN	9780857218728
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Featured Reviews

Calvin C, Reviewer

My Recommendation

John Lennox is well known both as a maths scholar and Christian apologist. He has publicly debated with Christopher Hitchens and Richard Dawkins. He is highly regarded in the apologetics field and has earned a reputation as a champion of Christian theism in the public square. For these reasons I was curious to read this book given that the subject matter was outside his usual field, and arguably his expertise. Lennox sets out his stall early doors and declares his disliking for the commonly used labels 'Calvinists' and 'Arminians', coining in the process a new one to me, 'Calminian'. He goes on to challenge the received reformed wisdom on predestination and election, which he dismisses as theistic determinism. This simply couldn't be fair, rather this would be despotic and would be closer to atheist (dec'd) Christopher Hitchens' view of the Christian god. Through the book Lennox makes generous use of bible quotes which is great, but what is not so good is the plain attack on some well loved Christian writers and theologians, not just Calvin and Luther, but AW Pink, RC Sproul, and John Piper; declaring in the process many of their writings as unbiblical.
The recurring argument that Lennox makes is that for God to hold as blameworthy those who are not extended the necessary act of grace to cause a person to believe in God simply not just. Man must be free to act unhindered or all is unfair. What he does not allow for though is for any notion of Adamic federalism that renders man's will spoiled and bent toward sin and freely choosing wrong. instead in Lennox's scheme, man is unfettered entirely and not bound by his nature. This is just wrong-headed in my view. The other major issue I have with the book is the incongruity of insisting on man's complete autonomy when it comes to the decision to trust in God, but once made, Lennox insists then that perseverance kicks in and God makes unalterable the decision made freely. Surely this is just as despotic, in his terms, as causing them to believe in the first place. In any case this act of God's in lifting the fog of the fallen sinful man and allowing him to see what he could not by himself is clearly an act of mercy and not despotism.
I was delighted that John Lennox at least claims belief in God's primacy in initiating salvation and conceding that without his acting, there would not be regeneration, but I found the way he argued his position on what he mislabels determinism somewhat arrogant. I detect an underlying system of belief that is far from the ground-breaking, new term-coining rethink it purports to be. Something to work on. I didn't like the book very much, I haven't recommended it.

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Mark K, Educator

My Recommendation

John C. Lennox's book "Determined to Believe," was well-written, thought provoking, and simply a must-read for those interested in God's character, nature, sovereignty and free agency of human beings. Just when you think you have things figured out, Lennox throws a wise theological wedge into the small God-shaped box I put him in. Thank you for making me think and change my views on this important subject!

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