Man Saved Out of Calvinism Gives Testimony at SBC

And in John 20:31!

 

Please forgive my naive question, but before I ask it, first let me say I respect how literate this whole group is about the Bible (moreso than myself, though I am working on that intermittently).

But as a newcomer my first impression is that the Five Points of Calvinism remind me of the Catholic Catechism. That is, I wonder why somebody would cite those and read those rather than just scripture alone, if the Protestant belief is in Sola Scriptura.

Since this is a forum specifically about Calvinism vs. Arminianism, I felt safe asking this question here

Though I barely have a clue what Arminianism is. I had never heard somebody use the term in my life until coming here.

I was not brought up in ignorance of Bible teachings; it's just that I spent a childhood in Herbert Armstrong's Worldwide Church of God, followed by an adulthood of atheism drifting toward New Age thinking. I have only returned to Christianity since about five years ago, and I have limited time to intermittently study up. This happens to be one of those times.

 

Welcome to our board, and thank God that he brought you out of that Cult and into your new life in Christ!

I am what is called a Reformed baptist, as in hold to the scriptures alone as being inspired of God /Infallible, but do also see the 1689 Confession of faith as being a good summary of Christian theology!

 

I Love An Atheist,

A good confession of faith is loaded with scripture, just into an organized format
Look here;
The 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith

 

[add]

Scratch all that, this is better:

Calvinism vs Arminianism – Comparison Chart – Grace Online Library

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A very brief history may help here:

Synod of Dort - Wikipedia

".... After the death of Jacob Arminius his followers presented objections to the Belgic Confession and the teaching of John Calvin, Theodore Beza, and their followers. These objections were published in a document called The Remonstrance of 1610, and the Arminians were therefore also known as Remonstrants. They taught election on the basis of foreseen faith, a universal atonement, resistible grace, and the possibility of lapse from grace....."

"...The Synod concluded with a rejection of the Arminian views, and set forth the Reformed doctrine on each point, namely: total depravity, unconditional election, limited atonement (arguing that Christ's atoning work was intended only for the elect and not for the rest of the world), irresistible (or irrevocable) grace, and the perseverance of the saints. These are sometimes referred to as the Five points of Calvinism. The Decision of the Synod of Dort on the Five Main Points of Doctrine in Dispute in the Netherlands, popularly known as the Canons of Dort, is the explanation of the judicial decision of the Synod.[12] In the original preface, the Decision is called:

a judgment, in which both, the true view agreeing with God's word concerning the aforesaid five points of doctrine is explained and, the false view disagreeing with God's Word is rejected...."

(I provide this only so that you may follow better some of the discussions here on the board. In no way is it needful for you to know this stuff in order to be pleasing to the Lord.)

 

I will need to read up more about it and think more about it.

In my early childhood, when my parents would read me stories from the Old Testament, I would try to understand why God was mean (to my child's mind). My parents would immediately counter by explaining that humans have free will and they were incurring consequences on themselves by going against the laws of God, laws which come with some cause and effect.

For instance, when I was told that people are evil, I asked why God made them evil. It seemed unfair to me for God to make people evil and then to punish them for it. When I was told God didn't make them that way -- but that they became that way through the Fall after disobedience to God -- right away that introduced the concept of the free will to obey or disobey God.

I can't square this explanation with Calvinism, and I know it may have contained subtle theological errors in some way. I realize my childhood thoughts and feelings don't signify anything about Scriptural truth.

But I'm curious if any of your children or grandchildren have responded to OT stories as I did; and if so, what you told them at the time.

 

...ah, now I remember:

British-Israelism and Herbert W. Armstrong

I can remember hearing him on the radio when I was a kid.

 

yes, really into Sabbath day being kept, Jewish diets, kind of like another SDA, with Armstrong instead of Ellen White!

 

Armstrong combined SDA, Mormon and JW teachings, along with his own ideas. He called himself the Last Prophet, not immediately but eventually.

Yes, growing up, I was taught not to eat unclean meats and fish; including not only pork, but also catfish and shellfish.

No Christmas, and no singing Christmas songs in school, either. We kept the Feast of Tabernacles instead. Also the Seven Days of Unleavened Bread. And others. Thanksgiving and Fourth of July were allowed. Not any Catholic holidays.

When I was three years old, an aunt tells me I was saying over and over, "If you don't go to church on the Sabbath, you'll burn in the Lake of Fireeeee!!!" Thankfully, I have no memory of this.

My father and mother left the church when I was in first grade. Most people left. There are still small splinter groups remaining.

My father butted heads with church hierarchy. He said to Rod Meredith, Armstrong's second-in-command, "Rod, you are not the head of the church, Christ is!" Meredith responded by calling my father a liberal and an anarchist. Actually, my father would learn later that he is really a Libertarian.

My parents were very young when they were sucked in. They listened to Armstrong on the radio, and my mother was invited to a Bible study group in high school. They both decided to go to Ambassador College in California, which is where they met.

It's hard for people to understand why anybody falls for it, but if you read the literature, you will see that Armstrong was a persuasive writer. He used to write advertising copy.

Also Armstrong was playing off the turmoil of the sixties to try to point to evidence of the Last Days.

 

My parents did, too. They also watched the TV show The World Tomorrow with Garner Ted Armstrong.

 

There are people who believe they are God almighty and seriously how could that be in short supply presuming everyone is totally depraved.

Tellem about when God parted the cloud and said "YOU SIR ARE ELECT".

When you were outside minding your own business......mowin the lawn. and zap you are regenerated..

Oh what is this thing.....i care for people now......oh wow....

And the shock of sincere kindness, where everything before that was fake.

 

One of the things that annoys me most about many (not all) Calvinists is they suggest or even plainly say that only Calvinists will go to Heaven. Here are non Cals essentially doing the same thing in reverse. It annoys me even worse when they do it.

 

Who in the world even suggests such a thing? I haven't heard that and I have been around the block a long time.

 

Member of BB, hasn't posted in years, Luke 2427.

 

I believe in particular or definite redemption and know for a fact I am saved. Guess I'm in the happy minority.

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