Can a Calvinist hold to Dispensational theology?

[evangelist6589]

There are those that believe that Calvinists can never hold to such a system and frankly by the traditions of the historic Reformed movement they are correct. However these days there are many Calvinistic Dispensationalist and I have met many and am one myself. In reality a Reformed church is different than a Calvinistic Dispensationalist church.

Some hold to Calvinistic soteriology, & a Tim Lahaye Dispensational system, and yet others disagree with Lahaye (yet have not read his book Charting the End Times) but hold to a different system of dispensationalism. I know this topic can be as complex if not more so than the the Lordship vs. Free Grace debate, and anyone whom thinks they have it figured out have not studied it.

 

[convicted1]

Cals and Arms/non-cals all hold to various views of eschatology. You have Cals who are amil, historic pre-mill, post-mill, etc. Same can be said for the Arms/non-cals...

 

[Yeshua1]

Cals and Arms/non-cals all hold to various views of eschatology. You have Cals who are amil, historic pre-mill, post-mill, etc. Same can be said for the Arms/non-cals...

reformed Christians would see it as ONLY those who uphold the entire system/treching of calvinism would be really cals, and MUST hold to the Covenant theology view!

So in their way of seeing it, NONE can be a cal/Dispy!

Non reformed calvinists tend to see calvinism as being defined mainly in soterological views, so to them, yes, can be a Dispy also...

 

[JamesL]

Calvinism springs forth from a Covenantal framework, and is at odds with Dispensationalist thought.

http://www.ligonier.org/learn/articles/reformed-theology-covenant-theology/


Dispensational theology involves much more than eschatology. It is possible to hold a Premillennial view and not be a Dispensationalist.

 

[Yeshua1]

Calvinism springs forth from a Covenantal framework, and is at odds with Dispensationalist thought.

http://www.ligonier.org/learn/articles/reformed-theology-covenant-theology/


Dispensational theology involves much more than eschatology. It is possible to hold a Premillennial view and not be a Dispensationalist.

yes, as some Calvinists have done that, like Spurgeon!

 

[thomas15]

reformed Christians would see it as ONLY those who uphold the entire system/treching of calvinism would be really cals, and MUST hold to the Covenant theology view!

So in their way of seeing it, NONE can be a cal/Dispy!

Non reformed calvinists tend to see calvinism as being defined mainly in soterological views, so to them, yes, can be a Dispy also...

Interesting that Henry Morris considered himself to be a "mild" calvanist. It is also interesting that dispensationalism sprang forth from presbyterianism. Finally, it is most interesting that when "defining the nature of the church", covenant theology has more in common with the roman church than that of the Baptist dispensationalist idea.

Truth is, the dispensationalist have more of a right to call themselves covenential than the reformed do. The dispies believe in the actual covenants as described in the Bible, the reformed kind of lump the covenant idea into what they call the covenants of grace, works and redemption. These are covenants which are not in the actual Bible.

 

[DHK]

Calvinism springs forth from a Covenantal framework, and is at odds with Dispensationalist thought.

http://www.ligonier.org/learn/articles/reformed-theology-covenant-theology/


Dispensational theology involves much more than eschatology. It is possible to hold a Premillennial view and not be a Dispensationalist.

And yet John MacArthur, a strong Calvinist is dispensational.

 

[JamesL]

And yet John MacArthur, a strong Calvinist is dispensational.

He's really confused, trying to separate Eschatology from the Covenantal approach to scripture.

 

[preachinjesus]

Per the OP, no.

Simply no, a Calvinist is assumed to be in line with the theology of John Calvin. In his many works, Calvin articulates a covenantal theology (or federal thought) that is unambiguous. As a result, no Calvinist can be a dispensationalist and be a thoroughgoing Calvinist.


To add to this, briefly, I always recall a story from my past where a friend of mine and I were walking around an academic conference. We met a brilliant British theologian along the way and began talking with him. Through the conversation my friend, who was a self-confessed "Dispensationalist Calvinist" expounded on this belief. The scholar scoffed and said, "You can't be a Dispensationalist and a Calvinist...oh but you're an American, I guess that means you think you can do whatever you wish with a theological category." He then tottered off and left my friend to stew in his juices over that one.

 

[Yeshua1]

And yet John MacArthur, a strong Calvinist is dispensational.

Would say that there are many Baptists, who do not see themselves as strictly Reformed, as myself and Dr Macarthur, who would tend to see calvinism defined as primarily how does one view and hold to Sotierology?

 

[Yeshua1]

Per the OP, no.

Simply no, a Calvinist is assumed to be in line with the theology of John Calvin. In his many works, Calvin articulates a covenantal theology (or federal thought) that is unambiguous. As a result, no Calvinist can be a dispensationalist and be a thoroughgoing Calvinist.


To add to this, briefly, I always recall a story from my past where a friend of mine and I were walking around an academic conference. We met a brilliant British theologian along the way and began talking with him. Through the conversation my friend, who was a self-confessed "Dispensationalist Calvinist" expounded on this belief. The scholar scoffed and said, "You can't be a Dispensationalist and a Calvinist...oh but you're an American, I guess that means you think you can do whatever you wish with a theological category." He then tottered off and left my friend to stew in his juices over that one.

Which is interesting, as much of the Dispy thought/theology came out from strong reformed calvinism, such as 19th century Presby churches!

 

[preachinjesus]

Just because one is Presbyterian doesn't mean they are inherently Calvinist. They are largely Reformed, not Calvinist.

BTW: Saying "reformed Calvinism" is a like saying small shrimp.

 

[Yeshua1]

Just because one is Presbyterian doesn't mean they are inherently Calvinist. They are largely Reformed, not Calvinist.

BTW: Saying "reformed Calvinism" is a like saying small shrimp.

Think that the reformed bethren would tend to see them as being the ONly "real calvinists", as they would see that ONLY those holding to the full theology of calvin, or else the Confessions fit the bill!