Theology Matters!

Theologian A. W. Tozer said that “What I believe about God is the most important thing about me.” [1]  Yeah verily!  For whether you are disabled or not, what you believe about God impacts every single aspect of your life both here and in the hereafter.  So join me as we launch boldly into a new Blog series entitled:  Theology Matters: Considering Calvinism.

Image Source: istockphoto.com

For this ambitious goal we shall consult the erudite theological source: Christianity For Dummies.

So let’s start with a look at Calvinism, including a brief history along with some basic characteristics as well as some comparisons with another important theological concept called Arminianism.

The Catholic Church—pretty much the only game in town in the early 1500s—began selling “indulgences” to help absolve the sinful sheep in the flock (think “Get Out of Hell Free Prepaid Debit Card). This aroused the indignation of a truly righteous man named Martin Luther who on October 31, 1521 nailed his 95 Theses to the church door in Wittenberg.  His protest earned him the title of First Protestant and his followers became known as Lutherans.

Around the mid-1500’s the Second major Protestant Movement headed by John Calvin (who fathered a theology known as Calvinism, or 5-Point Calvinism) [2] summed up his theology with the acronym “TULIP.”  However the basic premise of Calvinism is that though we are saved through God’s Grace alone, He still has to make the first move which became known as Predestination. Oh and by the way—it’s not open to everyone:  just the “Elect” whom He chose before the foundation of the earth.

Gee I never met a Calvinist who wasn’t one of the elite Elect.  Weird, right?

Fast forward to the late 1600’s and a Dutch Pastor named Jacobus Arminius who rejected Calvinism’s foundational concept of Predestination with his own Five-Point theology known as Arminianism. Though they agreed on the Total Depravity of man, unlike Calvinism, Arminianism allows for Free Will meaning that man can freely choose to accept God’s gracious gift of salvation.  But alas!  Man also has the freedom to totally blow it and lose his salvation forever. 

Ouch! Talk about defeat from the jaws of victory!

But seriously folks–bottom line?  Know what you Believe and Live it.  For with it, everything matters.  Yet without it, nothing else ever could.     

In His Accessible Grace,

Linda

[1] http://www.iwise.com/i7Ma6

[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calvinism#Five_points_of_Calvinism