Replies

Calvinism has turned into the “new” version of the Catholic Church.

They have become that which they protested against.

What do I mean?

They have abandoned Sola Scriptura for the new doctrine of Calvinism.

If it can’t be learned, proved, and taught from the bible, it should not belong in a Christian church. 5 point Calvinism fits into that. It has become a doctrine taught outside of the bible, with a few weak proof-texts taken out of context, and not using the whole council of scripture.

It’s a sad day for Christendom when people are more quick to defend Calvin than Christ.

Calvinism has turned into the “new” version of the Catholic Church.

That is a very sweeping and inaccurate accusation against all Reformed churches.
May I suggest a visit to sermonaudio.com. Visit a whole world of Reformed churches preaching Sola Scriptura.
When I was introduced to Calvinism, aside from my basic knowledge of the Reformation, I wondered who is this guy, Calvin?
Of course, I would never consider substituting Calvin’s Institutes for my Bible...that is ridicules, but after reading Institutes it’s hard to understand how anyone could not be blessed and humbled by Calvin’s exposition of the Scripture. He stands head and shoulders above most of what passes for preaching in a lot of pulpits these days.
Just my humble opinion.

Calvin was a theologian, just a man, Jesus Christ is Lord and Savior, the Son of God.

I find Calvin’s writings (though I’ve only read a very small portion of them) to be quite excellent exposition on Scripture, as have millions of other Christians.

If you’ve read most of Calvin’s writings, and for every point you disagree, you can provide Scriptural proofs as to why your viewpoint is correct and Calvin is incorrect, then I’d understand you dismissing all of his exegesis in 8 sentences, even if I did not agree. Otherwise, such a brief yet complete dismissal of all the works of such a remarkable theologian could only be considered uninformed.

Perhaps we could start with one simple point (in the interest of time) that he made where you have a better interpretation of Scripture ?

Perhaps we might have a religious forum discussion that would prove profitable for everyone.

Sir, with all due respect..you don’t know what you’re talking about. Nothing of what you’ve said here is true.

In all honesty, I once had pretty much the same ideas about Calvinism that you’ve suggested. BUT then, I admit that I had not actually searched the Scriptures to see if these ideas were true; I probably simply got these ideas from others whom I respected.

Sure, I admit it; I was lazy, because I hadn’t actually spent anytime in the Scriptures to see if what the Reformed taught, was actually there in the Bible. I just took it for granted that what my respected friends and teachers said about Calvinism was true.

But, one day, some time ago; I was challanged to read Loraine Boettner’s “THE REFORMED DOCTRINE OF PREDESTINATION”. This book was written in 1929-30 by a graduate from Princeton,(when Princeton still graduated Conservative scholars.) The book contains a logical and systematic presentation of what the Scriptures actually teach in regard to the 5 points of Calvinism. It is a book that is well worth the time to SLOWLY read and THINK about what you are reading.

I could NOT refute what Boettner said in this book. All my objections, indeed; all of the objections to Calvinism that I had ever heard, were met “head on”, and answered.

As I read, and thought deeply about what this book said, I had to “swallow my pride”, so to speak, and admit to myself that I was very wrong about what Calvinism is.

The Reformed Faith is true to the Scriptures. Now, I can say this till I’m blue in the face..but you won’t believe me until you’ve actually done the work yourself, that is; studied these issues logically and systematically, by seeing what the Scriptures actually teach. I had my Bible open and followed along in the Scriptures, while thinking about Boettner’s arguments in the book. I found that he was not “making stuff up”, he actually provided Scriptural proof for what he was saying.

To that end, since Boettner is now in the Public Domain, the book is available to read ON LINE here = http://www.ccel.org/ccel/boettner/predest.toc.html

And, if you might possibly wish to read it on your Tablet, or any other device..here’s the book in PDF format, from my Dropbox account = https://dl.dropbox.com/u/16063967/Boettner-Predestination.pdf

So, please do what I did; accept the challange; read Boettner, and TRY to refute what he says in this book.. I bet that, after you’ve HONESTLY read the book, (No skimming, or skipping chapters, as some people do!) and thought deeply about his conclusions..you may come to the same position that I did; that Calvinism is indeed true to the Scriptures..but you won’t know that, until you’ve read, and thought about what the book says.

Boettner has not written the only book regarding these matters. There are many other books available that will answer the various criticisms and objections that people may have in regard to Calvinism.

I’ve talked about Boettner, simply because this is the book that turned LIGHTBULBS on over my head! After reading this book, everything made sense!

So, go ahead.. read it; if only to see if what you’ve always thought about Calvinism is true. I think you may be pleasantly surprised!