Very few people here will be able to answer that, since most of them are attempting to dance on unaccredited pins. As for me, I'll never tell.
I am not sure but as an Arminian I can say that they chose to do so. As a Calvinist I can say with certainty that they were predestined to do so. As an Open Theologian I am not sure what I would say there seem to be many courses of possible action. North
Predestination I am not at fault because I was predestined to murder. Innocent! But you're predestined to hang. Interesting, philosophically, but what was Calvin thinking? On second thought, I really do not want to know.
Re: Predestination It is really quite complicated but logical and goes along way to maintaining the sovereignty of God while still maintaining man's responsibility for his sin. Armininism can cause one to wonder if God will ever defeat evil as he was unable to prevent it. To be completely honest each theory has its own problems and is the cause of contentious debate. One of the new thoughts is the Open Theology which BLD mentioned. It has not been looked upon kindly in some circles and I really do not know enough to make comments about it. The Evangelical Theological Society (?) made an unpositive assessment of Open Theology. North
Re: Re: Predestination Indeed they do, North. I find myself somewhere near the center, with a slight tendency toward Arminius: Arminianism<------------------------------------------------->Calvinism However, the only contentious debate I am aware of is among those who fail to recognize that my position is correct.
Re: Re: Re: Predestination Russell, well, you are close. Unfortunately, you are exactly 2 ticks too far to the Arminian side. Keep trying and some day, just maybe, you can get it right.... clint
Actually, I come from a highly Arminian heritage. Until the past couple of years, I never gave Calvinism much thought - except all the reasons it was wrong... But with honest study, I have found some inconsistencies on "my" side. So I have moved toward Calvinism, to a degree. Having said that, I still have some serious problems with Calvinism. So I guess the point here is that it has been an interesting ride so far, and I look forward to the rest of my journey - wherever it takes me (of course, here I mean the destination on this particular topic, as my eternal destination is already determined - regardless of which side of the debate one is on ) clint
Clint, You say that you have "moved toward Calvinism, to a degree." Does this mean a bachelor's, master's or doctoral degree? Seriously, my difficulty regarding hyper-calvinism is with each tenet of the acrostic TULIP. I have no problem with predestination, when understood through the lens of foreknowledge. Hope you and your family have acclimated to the new environment. God bless!
Surely this will open up a can of worms....... What do you mean by "hyper-calvinism"? Are you using the term to describe those who believe double predestination, or just those who hold to historic calvinism? Not trying to argue, just trying to clarify it for myself. I expect that you and I share similar beliefs on this one, anyway.... Sorry is this has been covered before (and I am sure it has), I must have missed it. We are adjusting very well. It is definitely different, but not too much different. Thank you for your kind words. later clint
Well, now that you mention it... I must take Greek for my MA in Christian Ministry from Abilene Christian Univ. They don't offer it online, or in any DL format. So I must take it somewhere else, and they recommend Reformed Theological Seminary..... So in a sense, maybe I am moving toward Calvinism FOR a degree, rather than TO a degree... food for thought clint
This is correct. Hyper-Calvinism as I used it describes a belief in each of the five doctrinal positions of TULIP, but also their interrelation as a whole. There are myriad who are positionally calvinistic, yet not hyper-calvinistic. What if I was one of those, who in my "Totally Depraved" condition, was "Unconditionally Elected" to be damned. Because of "Limited Atonement," I was not covered under the insurance policy. God's "Irresistable Grace" had forced me into compliance with my eternal damnation. What if I then make a cognitive decision to "Persevere," accept what Jesus did on the cross, take God at his word, and accept Christ. Calvin was wrong, however, he had no choice in the matter.
Are there separate pins for each demonimation? If these were Jewish angels, there'd be at least TWO pins; one you'd dance on and one you wouldn't be caught dead on! Nosborne, JD (who wouldn't be caught dead on ANY pin because he's too fat to dance.)
I'm not a theologian by any stretch of the imagination, but I understand that angels are believed to be in the presence of God. So, I would say there are no distance learning angels; an angel with a question would just ask God, who is immediately present. Gerry Ashton