This Week in Calvinism - January 4, 2008

I'm a Calvinist, so that means I'm a follower of men. My theology is man-made. Thomas Richards, on the other hand, follows Christ and Christ alone. He doesn't "need to look through Calvin as a sight glass to understand the Word of God." And because I "have to reject most of the Bible to believe" doctrines like election and eternal security, it's clear that I'm "on the side of the Antichrist." Just thought our regular readers should be aware of that.

With Calvinists and Arminians waging war in the SBC, some moderates feel like they're caught in the crossfire.

A gangster boxes a kangaroo.

T. J. Pennock starts the new year off with a bang, claiming that "Calvinism disintegrates on the rock of scripture." His reasoning? "FOR WHATSOEVER IS NOT OF FAITH IS SIN. To teach a regeneration prior to and apart from faith is both unscriptural and sinful." Faith is a gift from God (Romans 12:3, Ephesians 2:8), and if we didn't receive that gift in faith (which we couldn't have done, since we didn't have faith before it was given to us), then is the gift of faith sin? You see, T. J., you're missing one of the most basic teachings of Calvinism: God's sovereignty. He and he alone is responsible for our salvation. If we were once "dead in trespasses and sin" (Ephesians 2:1), how could we have ever exercised any kind of faith unless we had first been given life? How can a dead man have faith in anything? To say that regeneration is a result of our faith is to say that we are responsible for our own salvation. That's why you'll hear Calvinists talk about the ordo salutis, or the logical order of salvation. It focuses our attention on the One who deserves all the glory.

Joshua Hitchcock just started reading Laurence Vance's book The Other Side of Calvinism, and he isn't impressed. Now, I think Vance is a talented writer. I really enjoy his political commentaries. But he's no theologian, and he clearly doesn't understand Calvinism.

How Arminians teach their kids to resist Calvinist theology.

Happy New Year, everyone!