I was looking forward to hearing the debate over Calvinism that was to take place in Lynchburg, Virginia this month. Ergun and Emir Caner were set to take on Tom Ascol and James White on the perennial evangelical dispute over the biblical doctrines of Grace. The Caners were going to argue against the Calvinist position, and Ascol and White were to argue in favor of it.
Sadly, the debate has been cancelled just two weeks before the event was to take place. Apparently, the debate moderator changed the terms of the debate without getting permission from both sides to do so. This was most unfortunate as the two sides went to great pains to come to an agreement on the terms this summer. Since Ascol and White could not agree to the new terms (and I don’t blame them), the debate is not going to take place.
For those of you who care to read more about what happened, I direct you to the lengthy explanations and documentation given by Tom Ascol and James White, and the brief explanations given by Ergun Caner and Emir Caner.
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P.S. I suppose I could have titled this post “Ascol vs. Arminianism.†The alternate title would have preserved a preacher’s penchant for alliteration. My guess, however, is that the Caners would not want to be called “Arminians.†So “Caners vs. Calvinism†it remains!
