Post by Dr.Weismann on Feb 27, 2014 4:02:23 GMT 3
Calvinists claim that Calvinism "is the gospel". Yet, can a new convert really learn about God just by reading the Bible? What's the first thing a Calvinist says when you disagree with them? "You don't understand Calvinism". Well if that's true, then where can one go to "understand Calvinism"? Directly to the Bible? OF COURSE NOT. Like James White said to Dave Hunt, "You have to read the Reformers". In fact, every time James White's Dividing Line airs, he plays a clip of Dave Hunt saying he was ignorant of the Reformers writings (Not that Hunt had never read any of them, but that he just never spent as much time as a Calvinist would reading all 20,000 books published by Reformers instead of spending more time reading ONE book). Not only are Calvinists themselves not in agreement on just what IS Calvinism, but are not in agreement as to which noted Calvinist authors would accurately represent Calvinism if one wanted to know what to study to prevent "misrepresenting" Calvinism. The ones who misrepresent Calvinism the most are the Calvinists themselves.
Thus, to "understand Calvinism", you have to read and understand the Confessions first (Westminster, London, Philadelphia, Lambeth Articles, Canons of Dort, etc...) in addition to the writings of the Reformers. Not only must you know these writings FIRST, but you also must AGREE with them. If you DISAGREE, then "you don't understand Calvinism". I have personally read and quoted from hundreds of Reformed works from Boettner, Pink, Warfield, Gill, Price, Boice, Hodge, Packer, Carson, White, Sproul, Helm, Mohler, Hoeksema, et al, Calvin's Institutes 3 times cover to cover etc.., and still hear the same old rhetoric. Although, ironically, you will never see a Calvinist quoting from Arminius, Wesley, or the Remonstrants when accusing someone of being an Arminian. The Calvinist cliche "you don't understand Calvinism" is Gnostic cop-out speech for "we have knowledge that you don't, and never will have unless God elected you". Augustine's development of "the elect" was taken directly from the Gnostic teachings of the Manicheans. Although Augustine later repudiated them as heretics, he did not cast off all of their doctrine anymore than Calvin or Luther cast off all the Roman Catholic doctrines from which they were born of.
Understand, that for a Calvinist, understanding of the Bible (or lack thereof) is not what makes one a heretic, it's failure to "understand Calvinism", and if a person disagrees with Calvinism based upon their own understanding of reading Scripture, then it follows that the person has misrepresented Calvinism.
So to be a good and accurate Bible believer, you must FIRST understand the Creeds, Confessions, Catechisms, and Chronicles of the Reformers, and only THEN can you properly understand the Bible. What this means is that the traditions of men's writings ALWAYS come before Scripture.
If you've ever studied the cults, you will notice a striking similarity. The Muslims have their authority, the Quran, but essential to the Quran is the Hadith. Jehovah's Witnesses have the New World Translation but Charles Russell's "Studies in the Scriptures" and all Watchtower publications are essential to understanding the NWT. The Mormon's have the Bible plus the Book of Mormon, Doctrines & Covenants and Pearl of Great Price. The Christian Scientists have "Keys to the Scriptures". Every major cult has an unbalanced emphasis on additional writings outside of the Bible.
Not only therefore is Calvinism NOT "sola scriptura", but the fact that they preach "another gospel" in addition to adding to the Bible whether by confessions or the plethora of unbiblical man-made theological terms is what defines Calvinism as a CULT. The gospel of the Bible is not a gospel of God regenerating a person before they believe and ascribing responsibility to a person based on how God predetermined that person's character, or that man does not need to repent or choose to receive Christ without being compelled to so according to a non existent eternal 'decree' of unconditional election and irresistible grace . That is another gospel.
Calvinism, as any other successful cult, uses just enough Biblical language to make it appear orthodox, but when closely examined is Biblically and philosophically defunct of sound Biblical truth, and we need to start referring to Calvinism for what it really is-A CULT.
Thus, to "understand Calvinism", you have to read and understand the Confessions first (Westminster, London, Philadelphia, Lambeth Articles, Canons of Dort, etc...) in addition to the writings of the Reformers. Not only must you know these writings FIRST, but you also must AGREE with them. If you DISAGREE, then "you don't understand Calvinism". I have personally read and quoted from hundreds of Reformed works from Boettner, Pink, Warfield, Gill, Price, Boice, Hodge, Packer, Carson, White, Sproul, Helm, Mohler, Hoeksema, et al, Calvin's Institutes 3 times cover to cover etc.., and still hear the same old rhetoric. Although, ironically, you will never see a Calvinist quoting from Arminius, Wesley, or the Remonstrants when accusing someone of being an Arminian. The Calvinist cliche "you don't understand Calvinism" is Gnostic cop-out speech for "we have knowledge that you don't, and never will have unless God elected you". Augustine's development of "the elect" was taken directly from the Gnostic teachings of the Manicheans. Although Augustine later repudiated them as heretics, he did not cast off all of their doctrine anymore than Calvin or Luther cast off all the Roman Catholic doctrines from which they were born of.
Understand, that for a Calvinist, understanding of the Bible (or lack thereof) is not what makes one a heretic, it's failure to "understand Calvinism", and if a person disagrees with Calvinism based upon their own understanding of reading Scripture, then it follows that the person has misrepresented Calvinism.
So to be a good and accurate Bible believer, you must FIRST understand the Creeds, Confessions, Catechisms, and Chronicles of the Reformers, and only THEN can you properly understand the Bible. What this means is that the traditions of men's writings ALWAYS come before Scripture.
If you've ever studied the cults, you will notice a striking similarity. The Muslims have their authority, the Quran, but essential to the Quran is the Hadith. Jehovah's Witnesses have the New World Translation but Charles Russell's "Studies in the Scriptures" and all Watchtower publications are essential to understanding the NWT. The Mormon's have the Bible plus the Book of Mormon, Doctrines & Covenants and Pearl of Great Price. The Christian Scientists have "Keys to the Scriptures". Every major cult has an unbalanced emphasis on additional writings outside of the Bible.
Not only therefore is Calvinism NOT "sola scriptura", but the fact that they preach "another gospel" in addition to adding to the Bible whether by confessions or the plethora of unbiblical man-made theological terms is what defines Calvinism as a CULT. The gospel of the Bible is not a gospel of God regenerating a person before they believe and ascribing responsibility to a person based on how God predetermined that person's character, or that man does not need to repent or choose to receive Christ without being compelled to so according to a non existent eternal 'decree' of unconditional election and irresistible grace . That is another gospel.
Calvinism, as any other successful cult, uses just enough Biblical language to make it appear orthodox, but when closely examined is Biblically and philosophically defunct of sound Biblical truth, and we need to start referring to Calvinism for what it really is-A CULT.