18
votes
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Do Calvinists believe they know whether they are saved?
Calvinists indeed believe they can only make educated guesses about others; if someone you thought was saved falls away, the conclusion is they were never actually saved. But Calvinism teaches that "...
- 15.1k
14
votes
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How do Calvinists account for Calvin's statements on atonement?
I see three questions beneath your one question, and I will handle them each separately.
Are Calvinists allowed to disagree with Calvin?
First of all, they get their name from him because they are ...
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13
votes
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If God "shows no partiality," how do Calvinists defend predestination?
Summary: Calvinists interpret these passages as referring to God's righteousness and justice — that he is a fair judge, consistently judging sin as wrong, whether committed by rich or poor, strong or ...
12
votes
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How do various traditions define the term "sufficient grace"?
If you do research on Calvinism, Jansenism, Pelagianism, etc., you might find the term "sufficient grace" bandied about. The trouble is, depending on who's using it, it's defined differently, which ...
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11
votes
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Did the authors of the Westminster Standards accept Roman Catholic baptisms as valid?
There is nothing absolutely specific in the Westminster Confession about Roman Catholic baptism. What there is supports its validity. However there was a long-established acceptance of baptism by ...
- 7,270
10
votes
Accepted
How do "once saved, always saved" advocates explain the Parable of the Sower?
As expected, "once saved, always saved" advocates (I'll use "reformed" as shorthand for this) generally agree that both the second and third types of soil represent people who were ...
10
votes
Accepted
How do Calvinists explain God's wanting no one to perish and electing some to judgement?
The typical Calvinist response to this question is captured well by Wayne Grudem in his Systematic Theology:
[1 Timothy 2:4 and 2 Peter 3:9] speak of God's revealed will (telling us what we should do)...
10
votes
Accepted
According to Reformed churches, is the trinity a finalized doctrine?
Yes and no. That is, in simple terms:
No, the doctrine of the Trinity is not "finalized" or "completed" – Reformed theologians regularly debate the intricacies of this doctrine
Yes, the doctrine of ...
10
votes
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How can there be Five Sola's (Solae) in Reformed theology?
I can see how this would look confusing and logically incoherent, but the reason that 5 statements, each about "something alone" can co-exist is that each of them achieves something different "alone". ...
- 420
10
votes
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Is the choice, or decision, to accept Salvation through Jesus Christ a Work?
You've fallen into a common trap of examining a single piece of a theological system by importing that piece into your own construct rather than seeing how it fits into its own context. A Reformed ...
- 37.1k
10
votes
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Do Reformed theologians understand the Catholic Church and the Papacy to have been true heirs of Peter until the Reformation?
It is clear from John Knox's words, recorded at his meeting with Queen Mary at Holyrood in 1561 (accompanied by Lord James Stewart) that the reformer regarded the Papacy to be an intrusion and the ...
- 21.1k
9
votes
Accepted
Is God's sovereignty a term associated with Reformed theology?
While the idea of God's sovereignty is closely associated with Reformed theology, other traditions also deal with it. Here are a few examples from prominent authors from various traditions.
Lutheran: ...
9
votes
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Ephesians 2:2, which one comes first in the Calvinist view?
From Calvin's commentary on Ephesians 2:2 :
We may now draw from it also this inference, that ungodly men have no excuse in being driven by Satan to commit all sorts of crimes. Whence comes it that ...
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9
votes
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What is the appeal of John Piper (Desiring God Ministries)?
I can understand your question. I may not agree with John Piper all the time, but when I would like a 21st century Reformed position on an issue or a Bible verse interpretation, especially when there ...
- 19.9k
9
votes
How does a Baptist church handle a believer who was already baptized as an infant and confirmed as a youth?
I was batized into the Church of Scotland at the age of five (in 1956), which I vividly remember, but later I left the Church of Scotland, on grounds of conscience, and joined with a Baptist assembly ...
- 21.1k
8
votes
What did Calvin think about Knox's "Monstrous Regiment"?
The summary in Mike's answer seems accurate. I would like to add some further background and primary sources.
Evidently, Calvin felt it necessary to write to Sir William Cecil, Queen Elizabeth I's ...
- 15.1k
8
votes
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How have Calvinist theologians dealt with statements about God repenting?
John Calvin does indeed treat this verse. He says:1
By saying אולי, auli, “if peradventure,” he made use of a common mode of speaking. God indeed has perfect knowledge of all events, nor had he any ...
8
votes
Why must God reach the fullness of Glory (reformed theology)?
Let me answer a few of your side-concerns before I get to your main question.
Reformed theology stresses that God created the universe for one purpose: to glorify him fully
I'm not certain how ...
- 573
8
votes
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Who first said, "We are all born Pelagians?"
Roger Nicole was certainly not the first to say this. The quote can be traced to two 17th-century English authors, Thomas Manton and Nathaniel Culverwell.
Culverwell's version of the quote appears ...
8
votes
What does TULIP stand for?
The tulip acronym stands for the following:
Total depravity, the idea that man can do only evil without God.
Unconditional election, the idea that the saved are chosen by God without any ...
- 12.9k
8
votes
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According to Reformed theology, where is the Scriptural evidence for homoousion?
Before we get into the weeds, here are the main points that I intend to impart:
Reformed theology generally accepts the church fathers' wisdom on the homoousion.
The concept of homoousion, not the ...
- 15.1k
8
votes
According to Calvinists, does God command the non-elect to do what is for them impossible?
Monstrous surely is the madness of the human mind, that it is more disposed to charge God with unrighteousness than to blame itself for blindness.
Before answering positively, allow me to object to ...
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8
votes
How does a Baptist church handle a believer who was already baptized as an infant and confirmed as a youth?
Baptist churches do not consider baptisms done as infants to be valid. They will treat you the same as someone who has not been baptized. The issue of confirmation is not relevant to their theology.
...
- 30.6k
7
votes
What is the Biblical basis for Limited Atonement?
Limited Atonement Defined
Limited atonement is defined in the Canons of Dort:
The Second Main Point of Doctrine: Christ's Death and Human Redemption Through It
Article 3: The Infinite Value ...
- 15.1k
7
votes
Accepted
How can God be Sovereign (in the Reformed sense) if a man can ignore His call to repentance?
To understand the Reformed approach to this challenging question, we should begin with the concept of the "wills" of God. Reformed theologians typically refer to the relevant ones as the ...
7
votes
Accepted
Did Karl Barth confess an orthodox doctrine of the Trinity?
Yes. In fact, one of Barth's lasting contributions was a recovery of the doctrine of the Trinity as central for theology, in reaction to German liberalism's denial or, at best, sidelining of the topic ...
- 396
7
votes
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What was at issue in the Clark-Van Til controversy?
Theological issues
To get it straight from the horses' mouths, you can read Van Til's complaint [PDF] and Clark's answer [PDF] online. Both are very long and in-depth and also spend a good deal of ...
- 15.1k
7
votes
How does Reformed Theology consider passages that may imply that God is the "subject of sufferings"?
The point Edwards makes here is that since God accomplishes his purposes in all things, even evil things, he cannot be said to be carried away by emotions and thus experience involuntary ecstasy or ...
7
votes
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How does Reformed Theology reconcile Jesus' meaningful temptation and impeccability?
This is admittedly a difficult problem that Reformed theologians have addressed in several different, though related, ways. Louis Berkhof mentions several approches to reconcile the "reality of the ...
7
votes
Accepted
What is an overview of Reformed beliefs about hell?
Like most labels, Reformed theology defies clean boundaries, especially on a divisive topic like this one. But if we consider the term broadly, we will notice that the positions tend to follow those ...
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