It is difficult to discern which Christian doctrine is the most hated by the worldópredestination, total depravity, justification by faith alone, or the wrath of Godóbut predestination must rank right near the top. In this book, Dr. Clark marshals hundreds of verses to demonstrate that the Bible teaches that God is indeed almighty, and that he alone determines the eternal destiny of all men. Predestination is perhaps the best book available on the subject, for Dr. Clark begins with the doctrine of creation, and few other theologians explain the connection between creation and predestination.
Clark's clear-headed, biblical logic is always a breath of fresh, bracing air in an age of muddle-headed fuzziness. He'll have none of the "antinomies" or "paradoxes" of most other authors, which, far from being a sign of piety are actually (as Clark calls them) "a charley horse between the ears."
Perhaps the best and most unapologetic presentation of the Reformed doctrine of predestination and God's sovereignty in print.
Can a book be comprehensive and brief at the same time? If so, Clark briefly outlines the Word of God's teaching on God's sovereignty over the entirety of His creation. I wouldn't say the book is by exhaustive by any means, but Clark certainly presents a straightforward and convincing argument.
An in-depth discussion of the theme of Presestination. He brings together the classic texts as well as a large collection of little noticed passages which bear on the topic. Predestination, with its twin doctrine of Reprobation, has of course been highly detested by the Arminian scheme. So he spends much time in directly engaging with the objections.
I am currently exploring different views on predestination. This is the book I chose to learn more about the Calvinist perspective, and I must say that Clark is very persuasive in his arguments, particularly because he relied so heavily on Scripture instead of just moral/hypothetical/emotional arguments. If you're looking for Scripture that supports the Calvinist perspective, this book has an amazing collection. I continue my journey in my predestination research in the meantime!
This felt rock solid. I took my time with this one. Some days I read an entire chapter and some days just a page or two because I had to think about so much.
I highlighted lots and will probably be referring back to it.