I am not going to spend too much time on this article, but I found it to be funny. While many in the discernment camp claim to not be 5-pointer Calvinists, most of them publish articles with titles like Why I am a Calvinist. You figure it out. Probably the most confusing part of all this is that they have attacked people with less reformed views as heretics.
But, it looks like the roles were reversed this week. apparently Jerry Falwell has come out and said that Limited Atonement is heresy. Now, I don’t agree with that at all, but it is funny to see these guys scramble when their theology is publicly addressed as heresy. Apparently it is alright for them to call non-Calvinists heretics, but when it is reciprocated they have an issue. Just thought that to be a bit funny. You can read Mike Corley’s blog on it here.
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8 Comments(+Add)
It is rather funny. I don’t really know why these people get their collective panties in bunch over these sorts of things. I mean I’m all for studying theology, but after a while, it becomes more an issue of semantics than anything.
Limited atonement, full atomement, what practical purpose does it serve? It’s not like we will ever understand completely the way God works. I mean the actual process of atonement still holds some mystery. What actually happens and how it happens will not be proven in some sort of theological lab someplace.
In my mind, a doctrine must serve the body of Christ, not the other way around.
Beautiful. Absolutely beautiful.
It is heresy. Period.
In love.
Phil…
I think I know what you meant by your seemigly controversial statement. Can you expand please?
Nathan,
I assume you mean the statement that Joe quoted. I wasn’t intending for it to be controversial, really. My point was just that to me it doesn’t make sense to dwell on things that in the grand scheme of things don’t make a difference in how our faith is actually lived out. Using limited atonement as an example, other than a relatively few hyper-Calvinists, most in the Reformed crowd will say that Jesus died only for the Elect, but we don’t know for sure who is Elect so we still must evangelize everyone to the best of our ability. Arminians will say we have to evangelize everyone because everyone has a chance to be saved (I know these are ver simplified). In the end, this makes very little difference to how a believer lives his or her life.
I think some Christians hold doctrine in a place where it almost becomes a master to them. They become fixated so much on theology, that they look past the main point of theology. I always think of it terms of mathematics. I knew brilliant mathemeticians in school, but in reality they never applied their knowledge to the real world. Everything was a puzzle to them. I also knew people who took those same concepts and applied to them very practical engineering problems.
The world doesn’t need more theorists, it needs more people who know God’s voice and do His will. Sometimes I feel like we miss the forest for the trees.
I completely agree then with that statement. The church was never intended to do theology for the sake of doing theology. Theology is to inform the church on how to live.
Rick,
“It is heresy. Period.”
I am not following you here… what are you calling “heresy” Calvinism?
iggy
I have to be honest, I didn’t think it was controversial at all. I thought it was beautiful.