Posted on 06/21/2012 8:24:00 AM PDT by fishtank
As Baptists Prepare to Meet, Calvinism Debate Shifts to Heresy Accusation Hundreds, including seminary presidents, have signed a statement on salvation criticized by both Reformed and Arminian theologians. Weston Gentry [ posted 6/18/2012 ] A statement by a non-Calvinist faction of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) has launched infighting within the nation's largest Protestant denomination, and tensions are expected to escalate Tuesday as church leaders descend on New Orleans.
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http://janetmefferd.com/
Non-Calvinist baptists are like hamburger eating vegetarians.
No matter how much they try to claim they are both at the same time, the assertion is so ludicrous as to not be worth any time contemplating it.
The Bible is very clear on the plan of salvation. God offers us this gift, we can take it or not. If God forces it on us, then it is not a gift. Calvinism, begone!
(Flame suit donned)
It is therefore entirely possible that Christ died for no one, since it is possible that everyone could exercise free will to say, “no.”
Oooh, A Calvinism debate. Dibs on the popcorn concession!
The original Anabaptist movement was best exemplified by the martyr Jan Hus and did not consider themselves either reformers of the Catholic church nor followers of the 4th century Nicene Creeds, though they did not explicitly reject them either.
They considered themselves to be originalists and drove both Calvinist and Catholic leadership crazy. Some of them, of course, later united with the Calvinist faction for protection.
Others refused and went their own way. Roger Williams was perhaps the best example.
It is therefore entirely possible that Christ died for no one, since it is possible that everyone could exercise free will to say, no.
Your debate opponent is right also, but the chances of this actually happening is considerably less than my chances of buying the ticket which hits the Powerball jackpot with $2.
Question for those at the convention :
Is God sovereign or not?
If He says “jump”, do we say “how high” or do we say “no”?
(Another Example:
He hardened Pharaoh’s heart for a reason)
I avoid these debates.
I’m predestined to believe in free will.
John Calvin 3:16
For God so loved the elect that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever he chose should not perish but have everlasting life whether they want it or not.
Will Wallace
Well, maybe I don’t avoid these arguments after all. I now await the Calvinists to argue with me to choose not to believe in free will- with straight faces no less.
I wouldnt characterize myself as a 5 point type, however, how much “choice” do I have with something that God has foreknowledge of?
“If God forces it on us, then it is not a gift. Calvinism, begone!”
I am not flaming you, buddygirl, but that is a misrepresentation of Calvinist theology. If you are going to argue against it, define it honestly.
“Calvinism” says that God’s grace is irresistible. “For who has resisted His will?” (Romans 9:19). To characterize that as “forcing” is not accurate.
I once asked Dr. Roger Nicole if some were predestined to be Arminians. He replied, “Oh, no. God is not the author of sin.”
Disclaimer: (This is not a Baptist ping)
But you can be reading this while I am deciding to ping the Baptist list or just wait and see if it happens anyway.
Calvinism doesn’t teach that you don’t have a free will.
It teaches that men are totally depraved, and that left to their free will, they will choose evil every time. Unless God in His Mercy restrains you from evil. He gives you the gift of salvation. In your sin, you’d never take it. In His mercy, you do.
You’re either dead in your sins, or alive in Christ. There’s no such thing as half alive.
Anyway, as long as things don’t get contentious, don’t avoid the debates. We’re all suppose to work out our salvation in fear and trembling. God wrote about it in His Word so we can think about it and talk about it. Come, let us reason together according to the Scriptures.
(1) Pelagianism
(2) Semipelagianism
(3) Orthodox soteriology
(4) Calvinism.
(5) Hypercalvinism/Jansenism.
Well, when “Will” is in your name, what can be expected?
Seriously, it expanded my horizons and comfort level tremendously when I accepted that God is sovereign in all things - especially in the area of salvation, thus making it impossible for me to back out, mess it up, or ruin other things He might be waiting for me to do. I wish that peace, assurance, and hope for others, that they might be brave, and fear God alone.
This calvinist just checked and I am not supposed to be part of this particular discussion.
The only reason we think foreknowledge and choice are incompatible is because we think w’in the context of time. God is above time. He created time. For him to know the end from the beginning is part of what being above time entails.
As finite creatures w finite minds it is impossible for us to imagine the workings of the infinite mind of a Supreme Being who created everything we see and experience, including time. For that reason, it’s very easy to imagine that foreknowledge precludes choice. But knowing in advance how a person will decide does not force that decision. It only involves knowledge of the choice, a knowledge entirely possible for God precisely because He is not constrained by time as we know it.
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