Thread: Is Calvinism Another Christian Denomination?
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Is Calvinism Another Christian Denomination?
Posted : 2 Sep, 2011 12:40 PM
Is Calvinism Another Christian Denomination?
Today I decided to drop by BaptistBoard, a online Baptist bulletin board where there are discussions on Baptist history, theology, evangelism, and other Christian denominations. I usually spend a few minutes in each of those forums and read 2-3 articles that appeal to me. Usually, the Other Christian Denominations forum is full of discussions on Catholicism, atheism, and everything in between. I was a bit surprised to find the forum full of discussions on Calvinism, considering that about 10% of Baptists are Calvinists and about 25% of new Baptist seminary graduates are Calvinists.
So, the questions "What is Calvinism" and "Is Calvinism a False Doctrine" in a forum labeled "Other Christian Denominations" somewhat begs the question "Is Calvinism Another Christian Denomination?" From my viewpoint outside of Calvinism and the Baptist faith, I can easily answer "yes", based on the meaning of "denomination". Denomination is of Latin origin and means "from the name". We should ask if Calvinism de-nominated from another branch of Christianity and from whom. John Calvin and his followers did in fact denominate and they denominated from the Catholic Church. So Calvinism is a denomination.
Is Calvinism a false doctrine? No, Calvinism is not a doctrine, but a collection of doctrines, some true and some false. As we know, all truth is from and of God and leads us to know and love God more fully. In that light, the true doctrines within Calvinism lead us to love and serve God; however, the false doctrines present impediments to knowing God fully. False doctrines are also known as heresies. So, the presence of heresies within Calvinism makes Calvinism a heresy and a popular modern heresy at that. That is what lies at the heart of the current conflict between Calvinists and non-Calvinists within the many Baptist associations.
Fortunately, many folks are attracted to Truth and always seek the Truth. These folks will eventually reject those doctrines that Calvinism got wrong, but will retain those doctrines Calvinism has right and move into more mainline Protestant denominations that contain an even greater proportion of the truth. Some will even move into Catholicism, Judaism, and Orthodoxy in search of the fullness of Truth. The recent Pew survey indicates that about a third of Christians are actively engaged in this search for the fullness of Truth.
Those interested in reading the stories of Calvinists who sought out the fullness of truth will find no shortage on the Internet. Here are a few:
Marcus Grodi
Rodney Beason
Christopher Cuddy
Where does one find the fullness of truth? In the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.
1 Timothy 3:15 ~ But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.
Sourced ~ Christian Apologitics Society.com
*** All people have there own unique perspective & opinion...it didn't list the author but none the less it is interesting...xo
Well Jude not to be argumentative, I have yet to see anything Calvinism teaches to be in agreement with the word. It is often said I profess faith in christ alone, but then deny all he has said, thus having lied in their profession, for faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God. It seems as many are not aware of the simple truth that bible faith has a voice.
Here is an example of the voice of faith:
Jn 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
20 For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.
21 But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.
The voice of twisted faith (fear):
All does not mean all
World does not mean the world as in all people of all time.
The voice of fear will continually add to or take away of a scripture.
Again back to John 3:16, the thief has said adding to this scripture and taking away from it by saying, only the elect can believe.
The thief loves this line fallen man can not believe, thus he can not respond to the word of God.
For the lord is Good and his mercy is extended to all who call upon his name.
I have to ask this Question��When that Scripture was Written�how many Churches were there?�
I will Answer my own Question. �One��
Oh...to answer your Question...Yes...Calvinism is an Abomination...sorry...Demon - ation...sorry...Denomination.
But...it is an Insidious one...in that it does not Declare itself as such but rather slithers through a church like a snake through the grass. Hmmm...sounds Familiar?
You guys are Tooo Funnnyyyy...:glow:...I post a Article because it is interestig and now we all get called Theologians and asked to Explain Scriptures...:laugh:...Its all Good...:bouncy:...I'll read those scriptures...in Context...always love readin & studying the Word...xo
Calvinist theology is sometimes identified with the five points of Calvinism, also called the doctrines of grace, which are a point-by-point response to the five points of the Arminian Remonstrance (see History of Calvinist-Arminian debate) and which serve as a summation of the judgments rendered by the Synod of Dort in 1619.[8] Calvin himself never used such a model and never combated Arminianism directly. In fact, Calvin died in 1564 and Jacob Arminias was born in 1560, and so the men were not contemporaries. The Articles of Remonstrance were authored by opponents of reformed doctrine and Biblical Monergism. They were rejected in 1619 at the Synod of Dort, more than 50 years after the death of Calvin.
The five points therefore function as a summary of the differences between Calvinism and Arminianism, but not as a complete summation of Calvin's writings or of the theology of the Reformed churches in general. In English, they are sometimes referred to by the acronym TULIP[9] (see below), though this puts them in a different order than the Canons of Dort.
The central assertion of these canons is that God is able to save every person upon whom he has mercy, and that his efforts are not frustrated by the unrighteousness or inability of humans.
"Total depravity": This doctrine, also called "total inability", asserts that as a consequence of the fall of man into sin, every person born into the world is enslaved to the service of sin. People are not by nature inclined to love God with their whole heart, mind, or strength, but rather all are inclined to serve their own interests over those of their neighbor and to reject the rule of God. Thus, all people by their own faculties are morally unable to choose to follow God and be saved because they are unwilling to do so out of the necessity of their own natures. (The term "total" in this context refers to sin affecting every part of a person, not that every person is as evil as possible.) This doctrine is borrowed from Augustine who was a member of a Manichaean sect in his youth.
"Unconditional election": This doctrine asserts that God has chosen from eternity those whom he will bring to himself not based on foreseen virtue, merit, or faith in those people; rather, it is unconditionally grounded in God's mercy alone. God has chosen from eternity to extend mercy to those He has chosen and to withhold mercy from those not chosen. Those chosen receive salvation through Christ alone. Those not chosen receive the just wrath that is warranted for their sins against God.
"Limited atonement": Also called "particular redemption" or "definite atonement", this doctrine asserts that Jesus's substitutionary atonement was definite and certain in its design and accomplishment. This implies that only the sins of the elect were atoned for by Jesus's death. Calvinists do not believe, however, that the atonement is limited in its value or power, but rather that the atonement is limited in the sense that it is designed for some and not all. Hence, Calvinists hold that the atonement is sufficient for all and efficient for the elect. The doctrine is driven by the Calvinistic concept of the sovereignty of God in salvation and their understanding of the nature of the atonement.
"Irresistible grace": This doctrine, also called "efficacious grace", asserts that the saving grace of God is effectually applied to those whom he has determined to save (that is, the elect) and, in God's timing, overcomes their resistance to obeying the call of the gospel, bringing them to a saving faith. This means that when God sovereignly purposes to save someone, that individual certainly will be saved. The doctrine holds that every influence of God's Holy Spirit cannot be resisted, but that the Holy Spirit, "graciously causes the elect sinner to cooperate, to believe, to repent, to come freely and willingly to Christ."
"Perseverance of the saints": Perseverance (or preservation) of the saints (the word "saints" is used in the Biblical sense to refer to all who are set apart by God, and not in the technical sense of one who is exceptionally holy, canonized, or in heaven). The doctrine asserts that since God is sovereign and his will cannot be frustrated by humans or anything else, those whom God has called into communion with himself will continue in faith until the end. Those who apparently fall away either never had true faith to begin with or will return.
Nature of the atonementAn additional point of disagreement with Arminianism implicit in the five points is the Calvinist understanding of the doctrine of Jesus's substitutionary atonement as a punishment for the sins of the elect, which was developed by St. Augustine and especially St. Anselm and Calvin himself. Calvinists argue that if Christ takes the punishment in the place of a particular sinner, that person must be saved since it would be unjust for him then to be condemned for the same sins. The definitive and binding nature of this satisfaction model has strong implications for each of the five points, and it has led some Arminians to subscribe instead to the governmental theory of the atonement. Under that theory, no particular sins or sinners are in view, but all of humanity are included in those whose sins have been taken away. The atonement was not the penalty of the law, but a substitute for the penalty, which allows God to remit the penalty by his grace when any sinner repents and believes in Jesus as the Christ.
The article CLAIMS that Calvinism is wrong, with ZERO evidence to support that claim.
Now, Jude is on a roll with her selections of articles and "questions" to those who would dare NOT be Arminian like Jude.
First she wanted to ask Calvinists some "Crucial Questions", which were just an insult to ask us if were even saved.
How wrongheaded is it to ask a Christian who stands with the historical creeds and councils of the church, and the Reformation.
Who believes in systematic theology, and covenant theology, Questions like they are some kind of alien species that suddenly showed up!
ARMINIANS are what just showed up in the last quarter of the history of the Christian faith, but she would not know that because part of the shallow, emotionally driven Christianity of Modern America is to IGNORE church history.
Now, we get another bad article asking the strange question
"Is Calvinism another Christian denomination."????
There are literally a hundred different denominations that are Calvinist.
Remember we are just talking about 5 points of Doctrine.
I don't know where you live, but do you have a phone book with church listings?
Reformed Baptist, ten different kinds of Presbytarian churches, non-denominational Reformed churches, Korean Presbytarian churches, the PCA, and Calvinistic Methodist churches, and what about the largest denomination in America, the Southern Baptists?
The author mumbled something about that, and he failed to mention that, that organization teaches the five points of Calvinism, and baptists call them "The doctrines of Grace".
Only a tiny minority of Baptists reject Calvinism, and they are easy to spot because they are their own denomination and they call themselves "Free will Baptist."
The vast majority of the founding fathers of America were Calvinists!
There are historians who say that if you don't understand Calvinism, you don't understand America!
So, Jude, acting like Calvinists are some strange alien species is a routine you need to give up.
Thank you Angel for the post and inforamtion in it :applause:...
I believe most here are aware of the Differances betwix Calvin & Arminian...thats a Battle thats been going on for Eons now...:laugh:..
When I came across this question on the INet...it made me wonder...:rolleyes:...there are so many Denominations in the world today claiming Christianity...Most are all off shoots of the Protestant Reformation...Separated from the Catholic Church...which Calvinisim is a off shoot of Protestant...Presbyterian...Baptist...so fourth and so on...
SOooo...ifin all these Denominations...Catholic...Protestant...Presbyterian...Baptist...throw in some Luthern...Nazareen...Trinitarian....Unitarian...the list goes on and on and on...Who is to Say...that Anyone One of them is 100% Right and that ONLY One of them is the Only Right One ???...
Did not Jesus when his Apostles came to him saying there were Others casting out devils in His (Jesus) name and they forbade not to...Jesus said forbid them not...for they that are for us are not against us...SOoooo...whats all the Seperation betwix All about ???�I really wana know...xo
:laugh:...I was typing while you where posting James...You wrote.."You can't pick your family Jude"......
*** Ya !! Your right there James...but I can pick good people with good hearts to Admire and Look up to...as to the rest of what you said...well...thats just how you are...GOD love ya & bless ya to...xo
Your welcome Angel...Im really glad you did research and came to a conclusion with the help of the Holy Spirit of the LORD..It really is best to leave the Battles of men to GOD and focus on the Relationship with the Lord...God Bless you...xo
