Religion - Part II
Just as Luther was partially wrong when he stated "Man's will is enslaved either to God or to Satan, but it is never free", so Calvin is also partially wrong with his stance on predestination. I am not a Calvinist, nor am I an Armenianist(hope that is the correct spelling).
Only the scripture is correct, and there are many verses that support both stances. So what we have here is a problem with mutual exclusivity by both doctrines. Let me make one thing very clear, I don't feel that there is anything wrong with any denomination (as my parents are Catholic, and I know they are saved). I don't want to give the appearance of bashing anyone's beliefs. What I am stating here and in my previous post are my opinions.
I disagree with much of what is taught in many churches, denominational or not. I have been to a number of each, and left feeling far worse than when I went in. I believe in Gods' word, not in any particular doctrine. I'll leave it at that. Calvin's Five Points doctrine is interesting, yet unfulfilling.
I am not going to talk about Total depravity, or Limited atonement, or Irresistible grace or even Perseverance of the Saints. I am going to challenge Calvinism on only one point; Unconditional Election, or in plain English, God selecting those to be saved before they were created. Calvin uses Romans 8:29-30 and 9:16 for the basis of the second of his five points, which boiled down to its basics is this: Election means "choice". God's choice from eternity, of whom He will bring to Himself, it is not based on foreseen virtue, merit or faith in the persons He chooses but rather, is unconditionally grounded in His own mercy.
We as Gods children don't have a choice in the matter, unfortunately, the scripture does not bear Calvin's stance out, at least not completely. What we find with certain doctrines, is that some scriptures, that contradict the message being taught, become discounted, made to sound ambiguous, or conveniently ignored, verses like; 2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is long suffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. Isaiah 55:6-7 Seek the LORD while He may be found, Call upon Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way, And the unrighteous man his thoughts; Let him return to the LORD, And He will have mercy on him; And to our God, For He will abundantly pardon. Ephesians 1:13 In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise,
These passages show there are two truths held in tension, (that should be a dead giveaway as to the church I attend), that we are called by God (Predestined), but that we still have a choice, we can accept (free will) the call from the Lord, or reject it.
Calvinism or maybe instead, hyper-Calvinism (which minimized the moral responsibility we as sinners bear) while not being entirely wrong, is also not entirely right. That is the crux of the problem. An analogy would be like the lie that gets told so often, that the teller starts to believe it.
Calvinism has denied certain truths and so has, to this simple sinner, mislead a great number of Christians for a very long time. Calvinism does not teach all of Gods revealed word, only that which supports the stance that was taken almost 500 years ago.
I don't mean to pick on Calvinism, I'm sure there are more than enough flaws in any doctrine to go around, that is why it is so important to actually read and comprehend the bible, so we as Christians can discern the truth from that which seeks to mislead us.
Only the scripture is correct, and there are many verses that support both stances. So what we have here is a problem with mutual exclusivity by both doctrines. Let me make one thing very clear, I don't feel that there is anything wrong with any denomination (as my parents are Catholic, and I know they are saved). I don't want to give the appearance of bashing anyone's beliefs. What I am stating here and in my previous post are my opinions.
I disagree with much of what is taught in many churches, denominational or not. I have been to a number of each, and left feeling far worse than when I went in. I believe in Gods' word, not in any particular doctrine. I'll leave it at that. Calvin's Five Points doctrine is interesting, yet unfulfilling.
I am not going to talk about Total depravity, or Limited atonement, or Irresistible grace or even Perseverance of the Saints. I am going to challenge Calvinism on only one point; Unconditional Election, or in plain English, God selecting those to be saved before they were created. Calvin uses Romans 8:29-30 and 9:16 for the basis of the second of his five points, which boiled down to its basics is this: Election means "choice". God's choice from eternity, of whom He will bring to Himself, it is not based on foreseen virtue, merit or faith in the persons He chooses but rather, is unconditionally grounded in His own mercy.
We as Gods children don't have a choice in the matter, unfortunately, the scripture does not bear Calvin's stance out, at least not completely. What we find with certain doctrines, is that some scriptures, that contradict the message being taught, become discounted, made to sound ambiguous, or conveniently ignored, verses like; 2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is long suffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. Isaiah 55:6-7 Seek the LORD while He may be found, Call upon Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way, And the unrighteous man his thoughts; Let him return to the LORD, And He will have mercy on him; And to our God, For He will abundantly pardon. Ephesians 1:13 In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise,
These passages show there are two truths held in tension, (that should be a dead giveaway as to the church I attend), that we are called by God (Predestined), but that we still have a choice, we can accept (free will) the call from the Lord, or reject it.
Calvinism or maybe instead, hyper-Calvinism (which minimized the moral responsibility we as sinners bear) while not being entirely wrong, is also not entirely right. That is the crux of the problem. An analogy would be like the lie that gets told so often, that the teller starts to believe it.
Calvinism has denied certain truths and so has, to this simple sinner, mislead a great number of Christians for a very long time. Calvinism does not teach all of Gods revealed word, only that which supports the stance that was taken almost 500 years ago.
I don't mean to pick on Calvinism, I'm sure there are more than enough flaws in any doctrine to go around, that is why it is so important to actually read and comprehend the bible, so we as Christians can discern the truth from that which seeks to mislead us.
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