[Calvinist_Dark_Lord]

I wonder if you would agree with me that ones views are immediately eschatological and thus effects ones hermeneutics?

Generally speaking, yes, i would agree, and suspect that we both could come up with speciic examples here at FR.

My own particular controversy is primarily an in-house matter among members of the Reformed Faith, and not likely to disturb doctrinal issues within that Faith. i simply do not wish to debate this controversy, when it would distract from discussion of the Institutes.

[lockeliberty]

Understood.

Let me bring some opinions about the subject of these threads. I question the approach to understanding Calvin's theology in this way. Calvin's theology is a systematic approach to theology and to understand him is to understand all that he says as a whole. What is being done here is deconstructing each of Calvin's premises on their own merit apart from the system as a whole.

This is a problem, as I see it, with American evangelicals. We tend to chop up the Bible into pieces without trying to understand the overall picture. I understand it would probably be impractical to ask everyone to read the entire Institutes and then go back and anaylize the premises but that would be the most appropriate approach, IMHO.