[Pelham]

Calvinism is closer to Deism than it is to Christianity.

Hardly. You evidently have not taken a look at Calvin's Insitutes. Calvin considered himself Luther's student. Both had been Catholics prior to the Reformation, both were greatly influenced by Augustine's writings.

[mugs99]

Hardly. You evidently have not taken a look at Calvin's Insitutes

I was not refering to the Zwinglian doctrine preached by Calvin in 16th century Switzerland, but to the Arminian doctrine practiced by Americans in the 18th century. In colonial America Deists and Unitarians were not allowed to hold public office in most states. Until after the constitutional convention in 1787 they identified themselves as Calvinists. Article 6, Paragraph 3 of the Constitution corrects that. The Constitution forbids any religious test to hold office. A godless person is just as eligible as a godly one! After the separation of church and state Deists and Unitarians no longer had to call themselves Calvinists and the Unitarian Association became the Unitarian Church.
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