Perspectives on the Doctrine of God: Four Views (Review)

Millard Erickson has said that how we view God will not only determine the whole framework within which our theology is constructed, but also how we live our lives, and conduct our ministries. Four positions are described and defended in Perspectives on the Doctrine of God: Four Views by Paul Helm, Bruce A. Ware, Roger Olson and John Sanders. Two pairs of viewpoints are presented in this book. The first pair comes from the Reformed tradition while the second pair comes from the Arminian camp. Paul Helm starts off the book by making the case for the classical Calvinist doctrine of God. Bruce Ware retains the Reformed doctrine of God but attempts to make modifications of the divine attributes such as immutability and eternality. Roger Olson presents the “classical free will theist” understanding of God and John Sanders makes a case for “open theism and divine providence.”

A.W. Tozer said, “What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.” The four positions expressed and responded by Helm, Ware, Olson, and Sanders are readable. All of them articulated their views and critiqued each other well but each view has its attendant shortcomings and the debate over the sovereignty of God and human responsibility continues. This book would serve as a good introduction for those who would like to get familiar with issues like predestination and election, free will and human responsibility.