Featured Unqualified Rhetoric

Thanks for the clarification. As for your last statement - wholeheartedly agree!

 

I believe it is the only answer that can be given. Unless a voice from heaven speaks directly into one's spirit, how would one know if God was the cause of the opinion formed about any particular theology?

Or maybe it was the Holy Spirit inside you resisting the error you were about to embrace?

I put a great deal of study and prayer into this subject as well, and my conclusions are opposite of your conclusions. Should I say God attributed to the anti-Calvinist position which I have taken through my prayers and studies?

 

steaver;

No...you should not say that. Perhaps you have not yet experienced God enabling you to welcome the truth yet Steaver....like here-

10 But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.

11 For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.
12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.
13 Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.

14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
Clearly this describes Divine enablement:thumbs: see vs 10 Steaver;

But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit....unless God allows you to see truth , you will not see it.


Paul taught it there, Jesus taught it here;
25 At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes.
26 Even so, Father: for so it seemed good in thy sight


You and DHK mock that this happens....so you will not progress if you scoff at revealed truth.


10 For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater:

11 So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.

 

No...you should not say that. Perhaps you have not yet experienced God enabling you to welcome the truth yet Icon....like here-

10 But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.

11 For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.
12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.
13 Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.

14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
Clearly this describes Divine enablement:thumbs: see vs 10

But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit....unless God allows you to see truth , you will not see it.


Paul taught it there, Jesus taught it here;
25 At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes.
26 Even so, Father: for so it seemed good in thy sight


You mock that this happens....so you will not progress if you scoff at revealed truth.


10 For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater:

11 So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.

:thumbs:

 

I am onboard with you, and my interactions with SBM which are contained earlier in that thread called SBM out for making the unfair, unbiblical, uncharitable assertion that those who don't grasp or agree with limited atonement, are in an unregenerate state. No Calvinist I know, and I know plenty, holds to such an idea.

Anyone who has been debating SBM has not been debating with a Calvinist, but a caricature of one - a distortion.

 

I like this post.

Many comments here are very disrespectful toward Calvinists, with the assumption that we are idiots. Disagree with my theology, but don't call me stupid for believing it when some of the greatest theologians, living and dead, believe what I do. Calvin, Edwards, and RC Sproul are no mental midgets.

Far from stupid, the Calvinists I know are among the most intelligent Christians I have even come across. On a whole they are thinkers. They have wrestled with these issues and studied thick books, the main one being the Bible. Also, most stories of coming around to Reformed theology include an initial resistance to the doctrines, but when the biblical evidence overwhelmed their/our human reason, they/we had to accept them as true.

Most of the rank and file in your average evangelical church has not thought much about these things as they just parrot the common, "man has freewill" without ever questioning what that even means. I myself did the same for many years.

 

Bub you have not been around here long enough. The snide, belittling, arrogant comments come from cals around here. More times than not when they run out of arguments and have nothing else they just say "God has not given you the wisdom to understand the doctrines of grace yet". Or they will say that you just do not understand.

I will tell you like I do other newbies. Stick around and build some relationships before you draw one sided conclusions. At least then people will think you actually know what your talking about.

 

Traditionally (at least from the 4th century to the 11th), a heretic was one who did not embrace the classical Christian creeds (Apostles, Nicene, Athanasian, and Chalcedon). Anything accusations of heresy outside of this is a bit much. IMHO

 

If God does not reveal truth to you, you will never find it, so what you do know of his truth is a gift. For example, how many Roman Catholics have the same bible as you and I do but never "see" the truth of the gospel contained within its pages?

 

Heresy and a heretic are two different things.

 

A heretic would be one who believes a heresy. ???

 

A heretic is most often used in the context of one who denies fundamentals of the faith.

Heresy is anything not orthodox.

 

Lol. I think one of us is being a bit too technical. All is well though.

 

Ok then, I know freewill to choose Jesus Christ is true, thus God revealed this to me from the scriptures.....

So repent of your belief that it is not.......

 

Wherever the spread of Calvinism went from Geneva onward there also went the spread of persecution, just as Calvin enacted in his state-church, executing some, banishing others who did not conform to his creed.

In 1648 in England, the largely Calvinistic Parliament passed an Act making the rejection of Calvinistic baptism punishable by death.

During the Reformation Anabaptists were persecuted not only by the Catholics, but by the Calvinists and the Lutherans because they "re-baptized."
Calvin believed in baptismal regeneration, a carry over from his Catholicism.

When Calvinism spread to New England in America, Obadiah Holmes was severely beaten by the Puritans in Massachusetts.

Even in America there was a great persecution by Calvinists against those who believed in free will.

Even the Alliance of Reformed Christians, in their 2000 declaration, do not believe that those who believe in the free will of man should be classified as evangelicals.
http://web.archive.org/web/20040311190511/www.allreform.co.uk/LonDec2000.htm

 

As one looks back over history since the creation of the Calvinism doctrine, has this doctrine brought peace and harmony to the body of Christ? Or has it caused great strife and division? The answer should teach us all something.