This Week in Calvinism - August 15, 2008

Rhett believes both Calvinism and Arminianism fall short, so his "quest to find an orthodox, biblical worldview for how God relates to us and the world remains ongoing."

Yep, God is still sovereign.

"The concept of Sovereign Grace," writes Michael Spotts, "is simple enough, like black coffee. It's just beans and water. Some people hate it, some cannot start a day without it. That God is the decider of fates may seem at first bitter to him that distrusts God's benevolent intentions. But the sugar and cream of resulting joy and humility make the doctrines of grace more palatable for those who are learning the taste."

Martin Glynn thinks people are flocking to Calvinism not because it's "more logical or biblical than Arminianism, but because it is satisfying certain cultural needs better than Arminianism does."

When people make wild charges against Calvinists, saying things like "John Calvin's god ... is blasphemous, capricious, and malevolent," or that we teach a "mutant works righteousness," you would at least expect some kind of half-hearted attempt to provide scriptural support for such a position -- even it means ripping verses out of context. Nope. I've found that those who make such ridiculous and ignorant statements rarely use specific references to scripture.

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