This Week in Calvinism - September 21, 2007

Cathy tries desperately to refute Calvinism's "false doctrine" point by point, but ends up refuting her own arguments by saying that our assurance of salvation is "firmly based upon Christ's finished work of atonement." Yeah, that's kind of what we've been saying all along.

Perhaps she should take Calvinism 101.

It's true: Calvinists quite often make the worst Calvinists.

Philip Ryken reminds us of the importance of mercy ministry.

I suspect that the Seeking Disciple (one of my favorite Arminian bloggers) believes in eternal security, but just doesn't know it. I think part of the problem is the common confusion of "perseverance of the saints" with "once saved, always saved." Scripture is quite clear that grace is no license to sin (Romans 6:1-2), so the only logical conclusion we can reach concerning those who profess faith, but produce no spiritual fruit, is that they were never saved in the first place.

Are the New Testament accounts of Christ just a myth? Pyromaniac Dan Phillips addresses this important question.

What's this? An Arminian writing about limited atonement? Well, just when he starts to sound like a Calvinist, he reverts back to the old "everything God did he did because he could look down the corridors of time and see who would choose him and who would not" position. Remember: in Arminian theology, everything hinges on man's sovereign choice -- despite what Romans 9:11 teaches.

Christopher Neiswonger on the five points of Calvinism (Part 1, Part 2).

Do you think Calvinism is good doctrine? Chuck Adkins wants you to think again. He challenges four of Calvinism's five points. Why only four? "We have decided not to deal with the last point of TULIP theology because it is defined in several different ways and because if it means simply that the saved cannot be lost, then we agree with it." Can someone please explain why so many Arminians are willing to accept the P of TULIP when, according to their own theology, everything else is based on man's free will? I mean, if man is able to choose to be saved, then why isn't he able to choose to no longer be saved? I'm still trying to figure that out.

I will be starting a series of posts dealing with my own understanding of the five points of Calvinism and how I think they can affect the lives of believers. Look for it soon!