This Week in Calvinism - March 28, 2008
Calvinism destroys freedom and leads to fatalism, right? Wrong.
Jerry Boyce quotes Dave Hunt in his ongoing quest to destroy Calvinism. The quote has to do with John 6:35-65, where Christ says, "All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out." What Hunt and Boyce fail to pick up on is that the giving precedes the coming. Only those given to Christ will come to him. How exactly does this passage refute Calvinism?
I'm afraid too many people think that Fred Phelps represents Calvinism. He doesn't. Actually, if you think that Phelps is even a Christian, then you obviously know nothing about him. But just because he talks about Hell doesn't mean it doesn't exist. Hell isn't a Calvinist or a Phelpsian teaching; it's a non-negotiable truth.
Reformed Theology and the Church: An Interview with Dr. Timothy George.
When passages of scripture are pulled out of context, anyone can "prove" that grace is resistible and that Christians can lose their salvation. But then you have those crystal-clear verses that should belay all doubt: "And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified" (Romans 8:30). Our justification and glorification are spoken of in the past tense, as if they have already been secured. Maybe that's because they have.
Eric Carpenter asks, "Where are all the Calvinist Troublemakers in the Southern Baptist Convention?" No, seriously. We hear about them all the time, but where are they?
Kerry Gilliard (a.k.a. BlackCalvinist) promises to get back to blogging and speaking soon. Come on, Kerry, let's go. I realize you're a busy guy, but we miss you!
I was intrigued about the guy in your fifth bullet point. I don't see a whole lot of Calvinists who decide to become synergists: the vast bulk of the flow is in the other direction, from my meager experience.
ReplyDeleteSo I went to his site and suddenly things make more sense. It's not just that he fell away from Calvinism, but that he just plain fell away, into the arms of the Beast.
Thanks for the link. Fred Phelps, though as far as I can tell, is a 5-points Calvinist who just takes his positions to the most extreme and mean spirited conclusions. I have yet to see anyone to prove him not to be one. See his debate with John Rankin that I linked to. It's 100% in line with 5-points Calvinist theology.
ReplyDeleteJonathan, I just read the debate that you linked. Thanks for that.
ReplyDeleteI think that what separates Phelps from other 5-point Calvinists is his quickness to anathematize any and all who do not immediately agree with every word he says.
That is much different than saying he is what he is because he's taken Calvinism to an extreme. He's taken himself to an extreme, in terms of his ability to discern who is saved and who isn't. And that has nothing to do with Calvinism.
Point being, I think it would be way, way wrong to look at Fred Phelps and blame Calvinism for that. Even extreme Calvinism.