Why Reductionist Five-point TULIP Calvinism is Bankrupt
by Robert R. Higby 6-2-2010
Five-point TULIP Calvinism was formulated in response to the 1610 five articles of the Remonstrants, who were followers of Jacob Arminius. At the time of its assembly, when the Synod of Dort formulated TULIP, the issue of counteracting the five articles was paramount to continuing ANY semblance of a Reformation.
The soteriology (salvation theology) of the 16th century Reformation in essence counteracted the great apostasy prophesied by Paul conceived by the late 1st and 2nd century Church Fathers. For 14 centuries men in popular religious institutions called ‘Christian’ had attempted to destroy the pristine apostolic gospel.
Though the Synod of Dort scored a huge victory for gospel truth at the time of its occurrence, the pertinence of what was achieved is mostly ignored today. The rise of evangelicalism under the immensely popular teaching of Andrew Fuller mostly destroyed the practical impact of the synod of Dort.
Though a tongue-in-cheek confession of the correctness of the 5 points still remains, for centuries Reformed Calvinists have shunned any doctrine of absolute, positive, double, and causative predestination of all events.
In reality the Reformed churches hate such teachings. They embrace Arminians as full brethren in Christ and fellow evangelicals. This is because there is a common teaching of passive, non-causative predestination of sin among both. Both strains of evangelicalism cherish and promote a doctrine of God’s general love, common grace, bare foreknowledge of rebellion that is permissive but not caused, and the free offer of the gospel to reprobates.
The 5 points deal with redemption as it occurs existentially within time. These confessional statements do not cover the broader issues of how salvation and reprobation are purposed and carried out from the Divine perspective. So we need an expansion of past fundamentals to include the greater reality of how God relates to all aspects of predestining redemptive history from the inception of time to eternity future.
Adding the points of Supralapsarianism, Eternal Justification, and Active Decree to the historic five points of TULIP will provide a new and comprehensive basis for defending the truth of the gospel in future generations. Therefore I am convinced we need to pursue this formulation in earnest. The SEA-TULIP articles will provide an 8-Point confession of Gospel Predestination that will permanently reject and stand against evangelical Fullerism and its anti-Reformation heresies.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sea_tulip
Supralapsarian
Eternal Justification
Apermissive Decree
Total Inability
Unconditional Election
Limited Atonement
Irresistible Grace
Preservation of the Saints
Why not?...
btw, look for this original to be plagiarized elsewhere on the internet (but watered down immensely) as soon as it is posted!
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
CARM vs Roman Catholicism
Before July gets by without a post, here was something I found interesting...
Matt Slick at CARM.org took on Roman Catholic convert apologist Dr. Robert Sungenis on three radio shows this month. He found that Sungenis wanted to change the subject much of the time. The event also prompted the following from Slick:
Roman Catholicism teaches salvation by faith and works -- works, they say, that are done under God's grace. You cannot be saved without those works, so they are necessary, but at the same time don't "earn" salvation...even though salvation is merited by your works! Make sense? Well, when I was preparing for a class I'm teaching on Mormonism, I found some interesting quotes. Check out this comparison.
"If any one saith, that by faith alone the impious is justified; in such wise as to mean, that nothing else is required to co-operate in order to the obtaining the grace of Justification, and that it is not in any way necessary, that he be prepared and disposed by the movement of his own will; let him be anathema" (Roman Catholic, Council of Trent, Canons on Justification, Canon 9).
"All that we can do for ourselves we are required to do. We must do our own repenting; we are required to obey every commandment and live by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. If we will do this, then we are freed from the consequences of our own sins. The plan of salvation is based on this foundation. No man can be saved without complying with these laws" (Mormon President Joseph Fielding Smith, The Way to Perfection, p.172).
"If any one saith, that man is truly absolved from his sins and justified, because he assuredly believed himself absolved and justified; or, that no one is truly justified but he who believes himself justified; and that, by this faith alone, absolution and justification are effected; let him be anathema." (Roman Catholic, Council of Trent, Canons on Justification, Canon 14)
“One of the most fallacious doctrines originated by Satan and propounded by man is that man is saved alone by the grace of God; that belief in Jesus Christ alone is all that is needed for salvation," (Miracle of Forgiveness, p. 206, Spencer W. Kimball who was the 12th President of the Mormon Church).
Released new articles - In light of my discussions with Dr. Sungenis, I have released three articles on Tradition (http://www.carm.org/new). Also, to my utter delight, I found on my computer an electronic file of the Anti-Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers. It is public domain so I have been converting some of the files to articles on CARM for linking. Yes! This will come in very handy when dealing with Roman Catholic Tradition and, later, with Eastern Orthodox Tradition. Lots more articles on Roman Catholicism are now in the works including the Assumption of Mary, The Church Fathers and Tradition, The Church Fathers and Sola Scriptura, and more.
Matt Slick at CARM.org took on Roman Catholic convert apologist Dr. Robert Sungenis on three radio shows this month. He found that Sungenis wanted to change the subject much of the time. The event also prompted the following from Slick:
Roman Catholicism teaches salvation by faith and works -- works, they say, that are done under God's grace. You cannot be saved without those works, so they are necessary, but at the same time don't "earn" salvation...even though salvation is merited by your works! Make sense? Well, when I was preparing for a class I'm teaching on Mormonism, I found some interesting quotes. Check out this comparison.
"If any one saith, that by faith alone the impious is justified; in such wise as to mean, that nothing else is required to co-operate in order to the obtaining the grace of Justification, and that it is not in any way necessary, that he be prepared and disposed by the movement of his own will; let him be anathema" (Roman Catholic, Council of Trent, Canons on Justification, Canon 9).
"All that we can do for ourselves we are required to do. We must do our own repenting; we are required to obey every commandment and live by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. If we will do this, then we are freed from the consequences of our own sins. The plan of salvation is based on this foundation. No man can be saved without complying with these laws" (Mormon President Joseph Fielding Smith, The Way to Perfection, p.172).
"If any one saith, that man is truly absolved from his sins and justified, because he assuredly believed himself absolved and justified; or, that no one is truly justified but he who believes himself justified; and that, by this faith alone, absolution and justification are effected; let him be anathema." (Roman Catholic, Council of Trent, Canons on Justification, Canon 14)
“One of the most fallacious doctrines originated by Satan and propounded by man is that man is saved alone by the grace of God; that belief in Jesus Christ alone is all that is needed for salvation," (Miracle of Forgiveness, p. 206, Spencer W. Kimball who was the 12th President of the Mormon Church).
Released new articles - In light of my discussions with Dr. Sungenis, I have released three articles on Tradition (http://www.carm.org/new). Also, to my utter delight, I found on my computer an electronic file of the Anti-Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers. It is public domain so I have been converting some of the files to articles on CARM for linking. Yes! This will come in very handy when dealing with Roman Catholic Tradition and, later, with Eastern Orthodox Tradition. Lots more articles on Roman Catholicism are now in the works including the Assumption of Mary, The Church Fathers and Tradition, The Church Fathers and Sola Scriptura, and more.
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