sitting passively in heaven waiting to see if anyone chooses to become a Christian. Rather, God in love reached out to us through Jesus Christ on the cross. Becoming a Christian, therefore, is not an act of human whim but a process in which God is not merely active but is also the initiator, choosing those whom He in his perfect love and mercy will save. This is still a controversial issue today with some Christians, alas. Those who follow the Dutch thinker Arminius—of whom we will say more later—