Good because Calvinism doesn't show in the scriptures either.
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Why I love Ray Comfort
- Thread starter evangelist6589
- Start date
Good because Calvinism doesn't show in the scriptures either.
But just yesterday you said:"No No No!!! Not another book to buy as I have too many books."
You are kidding right?
Exactly. I have too many books. I think it may be best to look at Sproul's mini (non academic) systematic theology called Everyones a Theologian to find my answers.
John....you appear to be a little confused on Calvinism a wee bit. Since Rippon is the bookworm in here maybe he can suggest something. For me....when I started to reach deeper I began with CALVINS Golden Books, I read the 1689 Confessions of Faith, and I read The Doctrines of Grace by James Montgomery Boice for the basics.
After, and only after that did I dig deeper...Pink (you can get lots on line) Martyn Lloyd Jones, George Whitefield, Jonathan Edwards. But you don't have to be a bookworm......there are tons on line.
After, and only after that did I dig deeper...Pink (you can get lots on line) Martyn Lloyd Jones, George Whitefield, Jonathan Edwards. But you don't have to be a bookworm......there are tons on line.
I do not have any of Boice but I do have What is Reformed Theology by RC Sproul and the Five Points of Calvinism by another author I can't recall.
I do not read books online. Oh and there are lots of varieties of Calvinists if you did not notice and each one will claim the other is confused because they do not agree with their interpretations. But yes I am open to book suggestions, but I DO NOT read books on a computer screen.
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Lets STOP this debate this second. I do not debate this issue when out on the streets for a good reason and I have kept it out of discussions at church.
I heard the clip in question. I understand what you're saying, but I think you're overstating what he did and making him look bad by saying he had no mercy.
He wasn't without mercy, he was just very firm with her.
JDF.....yes and he even displayed grace and consern for that woman.....but his confrontational style did not reach her (sadly). If and when we have an audience confronting us regarding Christ as savior, is it right to confront the person as a sinner in such a way as to get the crowd to throw up walls of defence in such a way that in the end they are convinced than ever that Christianity is bogus? I sincerely hope not. Anyway watching that video convinced me that Ray Confort failed to get people excited about how God is in their lives.
Lets examine what happened. This woman Toni, she referenced her daughter's going to church and attempting to understand God....but it was through Roman Catholism. Did he take that as a positive or a negative? What would you have done? Next she stated her husband was an aethiest so would you have addressed that as well.....Ray didn't. Since George Whitefield was an open air preacher also would he have approached it that way...like Ray Comfort? I don't think so!
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Earlier,when I saw evan's post I thought of these very men. Calvin, Boice, A.W.Pink, D-M-L-J are excellent sources. Packer is another. Sermonaudio.com is a resource not to be neglected. Listen to Michael Barrett, Don Green out of Ky. (He was my Sunday school teacher/pastor when I was a member of Grace Community church years ago.), John MacArthur and so many more.
Go and listen or read S.Lewis Johnson. --The SLJ Institute.
James White's site is wonderful. And there are many posts not authored by him as well on his page. He has sermons on audio.com too. -- Really good,edifying stuff.
There are so many fine,free resources out there. Avail yourself of them.
If Calvinism is biblical then why on earth are all of these books needed to understand it? Could Evangelist not rely on Scripture and study rather than gobbling up all of these books to tell him what to believe? He may find out that a study of Scripture leads him to the same conclusion…but with a much better foundation. I do understand commentaries and external sources, but IMHO Evangelist is relying way too much on the writings of others. He cannot defend his faith by quoting MacArthur, Boice, Sproul, Pink, or Packer (one of my favorites, BTW). IMHO, some look for shortcuts rather than Scripture just as some look for evangelistic methods rather than being a witness of the gospel.
thisnumbersdisconnected
New Member
:thumbsup: I believe that is a tendency among a lot of people. We want it explained to us rather than do the work for ourselves. I'm not sure my theology would literally line up with any so-called system, though dispensationalism fits most closely with what I've come to believe through extensive study over the years.
There are those who say these books on theology and systems are absolutely necessary to understand the Bible. I'm not so sure of that. I believe anyone with a good word-for-word translation, an extensive lexicon and a quality concordance can figure it out for themselves, if they have the time to do so.
After all, somebody had to do the original work. How did they do it?
Yes however he admitted to being a bit confused by DoG.....so that's why I mentioned The Doctrines of Grace book by James Montgomery Boice.....that one is foundational. Boice wrote it why battling cancer because he felt the world needed it as a explaination for what we believe. He also provides an explaination of Arminianism as a counter balance.
What on Earth does having books have to do with whether or not its Biblical?
Are you claiming that Arminians/Finneyists don't write books to help people understand their beliefs?
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Ever hear the expression, "Methodists are Baptists with shoes" LOL!
People have been going to war since time began......so why did you go to War College?
thisnumbersdisconnected
New Member
I studied war strategies and generals throughout history. I didn't glom onto one general, one theory, and remain stubbornly and irrationally glued to it regardless of how it proved itself out.
So somehow you are attempting to make a parallel with Calvinism? In your estimation it has a general, one theory, and that we Calvinists are "stubbornly and irrationally glued to it" huh? How unobservant you are. I would like you to tell us how it has not proven itself out.
It appears that you personally have come from an educated family.
Having books has nothing to do with whether Calvinism is Biblical (I guess this is what is called “begging the question”…something I’m sometimes accused of…often correctly). But there is a difference between arriving at Calvinism (or non-Calvinism) through Scripture and trying to own another’s understanding . What I see in some people is that they understand Scripture through the works of another…this is different from using other’s works as tools or looking for help in understanding difficult doctrines.
I am not claiming that Christians do not try to teach Scripture by writing books. I’m not even claiming that they are wrong to do so. What I am saying is that some people lean too heavily on the works of men. They become disciples of MacArthur, Wesley, Enns…(fill in the blank) rather than Christ. The study of Scripture does not start, nor should it end, with the opinions of others. When we rely on the views of other rather than Scripture then we have an instant theological framework, but not a biblical framework even if it is correct - because the authority of that view is man rather than Scripture. This leads some to hold dogmatically to beliefs that they do not actually own and often do not understand. They simply regurgitate what someone else has told them. (For example, on one thread about N.T. Wright someone criticized his view based on the opinion of another and never having actually read Wright; others offers up the view of MacArthur, Ray Comfort, etc., but rarely engage Scripture outside of another’s opinion or view).
Like TND there are aspects where I may not literally line up theologically with every aspect of any so-called system. But at least I know what I believe and I own and understand my beliefs. This is really my point. Not that the books are bad, only that they should not be read with such authority (not that this applies to you, but I doubt you would deny it applies to some). Put it this way. It would be one thing for me to say that I believe Jesus is God because I read it in a MacArthur book, and yet another for me to believe that Jesus is God because it was revealed to me through Scripture as God’s own revelation to man. That said, if Calvinism is primary doctrine and Biblical, then I don’t see why it would be so hard to extract from Scripture. Personally, I don’t think it is…I just think people are becoming biblically illiterate and lazy.
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