oddXian: Challenge the Consensus

I lifted this article in toto from the blog of Joel Barnes - Many thanks to him for this excellent summary! Calvinism Fact Sheet Below are explanations of TULIP (an acronym representing Calvinism’s main tenets) followed by supporting biblical texts. Remember that not all supporting texts will explicitly teach a given tenet. In such instances, the tenet of Calvinism in question will be, to borrow from an old confession, “by good and necessary consequence deduced from” the supporting texts. Total Depravity (or Total Inability) ( 1 ) When Calvinists speak of man as being totally depraved, they mean that man’s nature is corrupt, perverse, and sinful throughout. The adjective “total” does not mean that each sinner is as totally or completely corrupt in his actions and thoughts as it is possible for him to be. Instead, the word “total” is used to indicate that the whole of man’s being has been affected by sin. The corruption extends to every part of man, his body and soul; sin has affected...

"Commit thy works unto the LORD, and thy thoughts shall be established." Proverbs 16:3

2 Corinthians 10:5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; A h, I remember those golden days of my youth, exploring the vast reaches of outer space with Heinlein (before he got **WEIRD**),Silverberg and Asprin and the fantastic worlds of JRR Tolkien, Piers Anthony (before HE got weird!) and even as recently as David Eddings. Somehow, I have gotten away from reading those flights of science fiction and fantasy. I imagine, pray, hope it has something to do with my continuing sanctification and maturity in my walk as a follower of Christ. Hm... The imaginations of man have become less interesting to me (at least in book form - I still enjoy a good Sci-Fi/fantasy movie!), so I don't like to invest my time in reading a book that may take 8-20 hours of time that I could be devoting to singing, studying, defending or teaching the Gospel of Christ. ...or blogging...

The Three Types of God's will (from www.monergism.com ): 1. Revealed/Preceptive Will: God’s laws concerning righteous living for all Christians (it is not God’s will/desire for persons to ever break His laws, such as the command to worship Him alone or to believe the gospel ). But God's "permission" and ordaining of the fact of human sin is not His moral approval. He desires that we obey His commands but we often do not. Since this is not His decretive will, His will is not thwarted. 2. God's decretive, sovereign, or hidden will: That cannot be thwarted, stopped or frustrated by anything. This kind of will infallibly comes to pass. 3. Will of disposition describes God's attitude or disposition. It reveals what is pleasing to Him. "And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ..." (1 John 3:23) "I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion." So then it depends not on...

THE THREEFOLD USE OF THE LAW by R.C. Sproul Read this first! Every Christian wrestles with the question, how does the Old Testament law relate to my life? Is the Old Testament law irrelevant to Christians or is there some sense in which we are still bound by portions of it? As the heresy of antinomianism becomes ever more pervasive in our culture, the need to answer these questions grows increasingly urgent. The Reformation was founded on grace and not upon law. Yet the law of God was not repudiated by the Reformers. John Calvin, for example, wrote what has become known as the “Threefold Use of the Law” in order to show the importance of the law for the Christian life.1 The first purpose of the law is to be a mirror. On the one hand, the law of God reflects and mirrors the perfect righteousness of God. The law tells us much about who God is. Perhaps more important, the law illumines human sinfulness. Augustine wrote, “The law orders, that we, after attempting to do what is ordered, a...

"God's best servants are distinguished by their cleaving closely to His Word. Among them was John Rogers of Dedham in Essex in the early part of the seventeenth century. He was at first so addicted to vice that, when he was sent to study at Cambridge, he sold his books and spent the money. Notwithstanding his base ingratitude, his kinsman procured him a fresh stock of books and sent him again to Cambridge. Still continuing a profligate, he repeated the same evil behaviour. The same kind benefactor furnished him with books for a third time and, the grace of God this time changing his heart, he became an ornament to his college and eminent for true godliness of life. In time he became famous as a preacher of the gospel, and was even called 'the Enoch of his day.' A bishop said of him that England hardly ever brought forth a man who walked more closely with God. He was remarkable for gravity and seriousness in company. On one occassion a gentleman of rank said to him, ...

A propo of nothing, just sitting here watching the Discovery Health channel show Before & After stunned by the lengths folk will go to modify their bodys and hold on to that "youthful" look and feeling. What happened to the respect and honor of growing old? Particularly in the Judeo/Christian tradition - elderhood was a position of wisdom. It's really sad... 1 Timothy 5:1 Do not sharply rebuke an older man, but rather appeal to him as a father, to the younger men as brothers, Acts 14:23 When they had appointed elders for them in every church, having prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord in whom they had believed. -JD