Institutes of the Christian Religion

John Calvin wrote a monumental Christian-theology set entitled Institutes of the Christian Religion. Calvinism is at the heart of much of Protestant doctrine. Five ideas are the framework for Calvinism: babies are born in sin; Christ saves the elect without conditions, only the elect can be saved, the Holy Spirit comes on those whom Christ has chosen, and the elect then cannot be lost. The biggest denomination that embraces Calvinism is the Baptist church, or at least it was.

But the Baptists are having a hard time (finally!) reconciling Calvinism with the Bible. Some have spoken out against it – like Norman Geisler in his book Chosen but Free. The controversy has stirred within the ranks of the Southern Baptist Convention to the extent that on May 31st, some SBC leaders put out a paper entitled, “Traditional Southern Baptist Understanding of God’s Plan of Salvation.” The concern is that “New Calvinists” are going to make Calvinism the central Southern Baptist position.

“[R]adical Calvinists are trying to force their theology on their non-Calvinist Baptist brethren” (Thomas Kidd, “Reform and Reaction” in World, June 30, 2012, page 68). The position – pro-Calvinist and anti-Calvinist – is dividing Baptists among themselves. Surveys show that only a minority of Baptist “clergy” now embrace historical Calvinism. But younger preachers are embracing it. Maybe the older preachers have been able to study the Bible longer and come out of the false teaching in which they were indoctrinated in their seminaries.

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May all Baptists reject Calvinism. Let all of us who want to go to heaven, come together in pure, humble, open study of the Bible with no axes to grind, to creeds to defend, no prejudices to blind us. We’ll discover the truth. Paul guarantees it. If partisanship in Washington makes us nauseated, how do you think God feels when we looks at the denominationalism prevalent among “Christians”?

–Paul Holland

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