It has been a long time since I have written anything. I was out of the state for 1 week, out of the country for two weeks, then I had to make up two weeks worth of school work, graduate, then start working on 50 different things, and now I have to start blogging again–It has been a long, long time since that last post.
I won’t be able to post anything of substance until Sunday, but I would like to introduce my next topic. Lord willing and the creek don’t rise, I want to discuss the doctrines of grace. I will also have some book reports and maybe a page or two from my travel journal.
The doctrines of Grace are also known as Calvinism. The acrostic TULIP provides us with the traditional and easy way to remember the doctrines. They are the following:
- Total Depravity-all men are born with a sin nature, that is all men have a desire for sin.
- Unconditional Election-all men that were saved, are saved, or will be saved were chosen by God to be saved before the beginning of the world.
- Limited Atonement-Christ’s blood only paid for the sins of the elect. His death did not pay for the sins of the damned.
- Irresistible Grace-all men that Christ calls (or elects) to salvation will be saved.
- Perseverance of the Saints-all those that Christ saves will be saved to the uttermost, both positionally and practically. No one will fall from grace; all of the elect will mature in godliness and will not fall away.
The Issue of calvinism (after John Calvin) and arminianism (aver Jacobus Arminius), two entirely opposite doctrines, and yet as i have read what I could into each subject (initially with a calvinist predisposition) I have come to see that both these doctrines both have biblical basis, both have their own evidences, and both have their own problems.
In general I agree with eternal security, called “Perseverance of the saints” in this acrostic and total depravity. However, I find that the middle three points in the Five articles of Remonstrance and the Five points of Calvinism are perhaps more debatable. That being said, I look forward to what you will have to say on the subject of Calvinism.
(however, I do dislike the use of these so-called “hypothetical scenarios” by arminianists in order to validate their viewpoint. It shows an inherent lack of faith in the sufficiency of scripture, putting too much emphasis on human logic, though in both doctrines it is a necessity to use human logic to some extent.)
[...] gave a brief definition in the intro: all men are born with a sin nature, that is all men have a desire for [...]