This Week in Calvinism - June 1, 2012

(Updated June 2, 2012)

• Rev. Tom Bower laments the rise of a "new fundamentalism," including Calvinism, which he thinks is causing the rapid fading of Christianity in America. Personally, I think it's those like Rev. Bower who seek to "live out a healthy balance between the personal gospel and the social gospel." Last I checked, there was only one gospel. But, then again, I'm one of those "new fundamentalists."
  
  
• Is Calvinism Islamic?
  
  
• When the Bible speaks of things happening in eternity past, such as God choosing us in Christ before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:4), we tend to read passages like that too literally. This, according to Jerry Shugart, is the root error of Calvinism. Once we abandon the clear language of scripture, we are free to interpret in a way that fits our theological presuppositions. "Therefore," Shugart writes, "it could be said that God chose us for salvation before the foundation of the world and it could also be said that God did not choose us for salvation until we believed." I must admit, that's a new one to me.
  
  
• The SBC has A group of current and former Southern Baptist leaders have released an official statement regarding the issue of Calvinism, entitled "A Statement of the Traditional Southern Baptist Understanding of God's Plan of Salvation."
  
  
• David Hankins weighs in on what the SBC they had to say.