I'm actually in a unique position to respond to this...

Jeff said...
Curious what you thought of this. No comments yet.

Thomist Or Molinist Or Neither?

E.g., "There is a tendency among many Calvinist authors to treat biblical language as if it is a lot less ambiguous than is really the case. For example, many of the key terms connected with salvation--"redemption," "justification," "sanctification," and even "salvation" itself--occur in Scripture with more than one meaning. This is not often appreciated in some circles. Also, it is often assumed that certain terms are synonyms, when in fact they may not be. These tendencies appear particularly in Calvinist writings, and in reading them one often gets the feeling that a system is being imposed on the data of the text rather than being derived from it."

Miss seeing you around... God bless.

January 15, 2007 10:03 PM

This is an excellent subject. I'd say what separates regenerate believers from nominal believers is the ability to fear/revere God Himself and not demanding any substitute or mediating influence othr than the Spirit (man, clerical hierarchy, Mary, etc.). Fearing/revering the Creator rather than any part of the creation. Because the Old Man (vanity, worldly pride, self-will) within fallen man will do anything to avoid recognizing God Himself because it is the death of the Old Man - or the beginning of it - when you recognize God Himself. Recognizing that which is both higher than 'you' and is real.

This is why the problem a regenerate Christian has with Protestant environments even (Calvinist, Reformed - other Protestant environments are too nebulous doctrinally to use as an example) is usually always in the realm of ecclesiology. It's in ecclesiology that the Old Man and the world and the devil is able to smuggle the fear/reverence of man into the temple. Clericalism, ritualism. And formalism and moralism always follow.

This is where the magisterial reformers (other than Zwingli when young and before he got political, or scared of being killed, whichever) left too much of the fat and darkness of the realm they were leaving on their plate.

This is also why modern day Reformed Christians have only a surface appreciation of the Puritans. They claim the Puritans because of the writings and history and so on, but they consider the Puritans to be no better than modern day 'emotional' or 'pietistic' evangelicals when it gets down to it. This is how a professor at a conservative Reformed seminary can consider John Bunyan to not be a Calvinist/Puritan (yes, they are currently redefining the term Puritan as well to suit their fear-of-man darkness, kind of like homosexual groups appropriate people and groups from history).

As for the subject of the link above... I don't consider biblical terms to be as loosely defined as the post suggests. When you take the whole counsel of God. Jesus didn't commission Paul to teach the faith for no reason, for instance, and the epistles hone much of the main language of redemption. I'll concede that a Calvin would use the term regeneration, for instance, in a more encompassing way (if not different way) than later Reformed theologians who refined doctrine to more degree, things like that, but ultimately what the Bible calls sound doctrine can be known, but it requires the Spirit of discernment (the Holy Spirit) to see it, let alone accept it. I didn't get born into a Calvinist family or church. I just discerned Calvinism to say what the Bible says, un-watered-down, un-negotiated to the demands of fallen man's nature.

When you can discern sound doctrine you just can. You, also, know what doctrine like regeneration is when you've experienced it yourself. (That last sentence gets you banned from most all Christian sites on the internet. Just as any talk of actually reading the Bible will, unless the ice has already been broken by a Christian not residing in the Village of Morality on that subject...)

You know what salvation is when faith gives you eyes to be able to see the kingdom of Satan all around you and throughout the world -- and in yourself.

The hardest to accept is the need for justification (the need for the atonement, for a saviour), but you get over that when you start truly seeing yourself by comparing yourself to God and His standard rather than merely comparing yourself to your fellow human beings and the standards of the world and your own standards.

Also, when you begin to provoke your limits for having the Spirit in you. A real Christian learns how to be filled with the Spirit. (Peter prayed and was filled with the Spirit.) That provokes your limits. When you experience first-hand how weak you are and how ignorant of yourself you are in that battle where the Old Man wars with the Spirit within you you see - actually see - that you need a prophet (to give you real knowledge), a king (to give you power to overcome the devil in you and around you), and ultimately a high priest (to reconcile you to God). You experience your weakness and darkness of mind and bondage to the devil first hand. This doesn't happen if you follow the teachings and demands of the churchians who have been convicned by the devil that the faith involves merely sitting on your backside in the Village of Morality.

Also, one's experience in life, with General Revelation, prior to coming into the faith, gives one much of this sound doctrine to at least the extent that when you finally see the real thing, unclouded, or unveiled, so to speak, you recognize it and know it for what it is. This is another problem with the churchians (churchianity, i.e. nominal, man-fearing Christians-in-name-only): they are shallow, for the most part. Undeveloped regarding higher influences and having a balanced development regarding the physical, emotional, and intellectual aspects of themselves. If I had a dollar for every internet Calvinist who has written an ecstatic post about their favorate science fiction television series starting up again I'd be wealthy enough to buy a seminary and draw up a real program of learning for the young fools. First thing would be to announce to them: "You won't be getting any degrees granted to you here." Yes, a major motivation change is being called for here... Hear the shuffling of the feet. The call of the world is very strong...

*I'm actually in a unique position to respond to this...because I came to Calvinism - i.e. biblical doctrine - from aspects of it found in General Revelation. Rare sources found in General Revelation. Prior to that I made the effort to actually download the Word of God complete, taking in the language in a pure way. Several times. I came to it all purely, in other words. With a pure motivation. Not a worldly motivation, but seeking Wisdom herself...