Getting the Gospel Right

Prof. Olson was one of my teachers in College. He is a former missionary to Pakistan. The primary method used in this book is Biblical word-study. Olson comes to his conclusions based on an examination of the Greek (and to a lesser extent, Hebrew and Aramaic) words in relevant Bible passages that deal with Calvinism vs. Arminianism. To a lesser extent he deals with what he considers to be logical fallacies and historical prejudices found in Calvinism. There are several chapters toward the end that seem to veer off topic -- chapters about Lordship Salvation, the History of Missions, and what-not. There are also numerous appendices that could have been integrated into the main book, or dropped altogether. He also criticizes Open Theism as a form of "extreme Arminianism", though I think Open Theism doesn't qualify to be called Arminian. All this extraneous material is equally clear and reasoned, but could have become other, separate books or booklets. The distinguishing mark of this book is that it doesn't just re-hash old, stale pro-Arminian arguments, but uses inductive Greek exegesis to question Calvinistic handling of specific passages. In the spirit of the 'scientific method', Olson (a former civil engineer before he went into the ministry) criticizes Calvinism's scholastic and creed-controlled approach to the Bible.

This is Dr. Olson’s 2005 abridged and revised edition of his groundbreaking “Beyond Calvinism and Arminianism: An Inductive, Mediate Theology of Salvation” (2002). This version is suitable for Pastors, Elders, and laypeople alike who don’t necessarily need all the exegetical details of the full version. I appreciate Dr. Olson’s willingness to do a fresh exegesis of the issues at hand using an inductive method. This is part of what puts this book head and shoulders above the rest. He is not afraid to dig deeper into resources that have been ignored by others, or to recognize that some Bible translations are better than others in some areas. Over the course of the book, he also enlightens the reader on how deductive/scholastic theologies have hindered the growth of the Church since the Reformation. Furthermore, Dr. Olson goes on to point out how the mediate position he advocates is decidedly different from those who say one must be either an Arminian or Calvinist. This work will help put an end to that kind of deductive reasoning. He goes on to show how even church historians like Philip Schaff have recognized a semi-Augustinian position going back many centuries. In any case, Dr. Olson shows how biblical Evangelical Protestantism has moved beyond Calvin, who could not shake himself free from all the errors of the Roman Catholic Saint Augustine. Some might ask why Dr. Olson goes into the history of missions and evangelism in relation to this topic, but therein lies another of this book’s strengths. As an actual missionary who served in Pakistan, he has seen firsthand the deadening effects of deductive theology on evangelism and the growth of churches. Doctrine does indeed have serious consequences in regards to evangelism. Beyond just rehashing many of the same old issues, as some other books have done, Olson proves this has, and continues to be, a historical result of teaching Calvinism. Too many of today’s Theology and Missions majors are still indoctrinated by materials written from a Reformed slant that gloss over the whole truth. Dr. Olson gives the reader just a taste of what the real story is. I highly recommend this book to everyone who sincerely desires to be a serious student of the Gospel!