The choices of God
|

The choices of God

The second and third of the Five Points of Calvinism (known by the acronym of TULIP) have to do with the time God decided or knew (past tense) about what would happen (future tense). As I said in my previous column, these doctrines violate the fact that God does not exist in time, which in…

A doctrine of time
|

A doctrine of time

As mentioned in my previous column, the Canons of Dort (1619) were formulated as an orthodox Calvinist response to purported errors in theology taught by Jacob Arminius (1560 – 1609). Although the theological differences between Arminians and Calvinists were (and are) complicated, they fundamentally hinge on different claims about the sovereignty of God. Calvinists claim…

Tiptoe Through the TULIP(s)
|

Tiptoe Through the TULIP(s)

The Three Forms of Unity is a collective name for the Belgic Confession (1561), the Heidelberg Catechism (1563) and the Canons of Dort (1619) which reflect the teachings of Calvinism and which are accepted as official doctrinal statements by many Calvinist churches, including the Christian Reformed Church (CRC). Anyone seeking an official position (minister, elder, deacon) in the CRC must…

Many are called, but few are chosen?
|

Many are called, but few are chosen?

“[God] desires everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” (1 Tim. 2:4). Having been brought up in a Calvinist home and listened all my life to sermons in Reformed churches, I have grown to believe that only a chosen few will be saved from eternal damnation by the grace…