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My personal history with Calvinism

By Jeremy Myers
129 Comments

My personal history with Calvinism

calvinism

I am not really sure when I fully embraced Calvinism, but I do know that by the time I was in my early 20s, I was a five-point Calvinist.

Since Calvinism was so inherently logical and apparently biblical, I was fully persuaded in my own mind that โ€œCalvinism is the Gospel, and the Gospel is Calvinismโ€ (as some Calvinists claim). I vividly remember debating Calvinism with many of my non-Calvinist friends, trying to convince them of what was eminently obvious to anyone with a working brain.

Losing Limited Atonement

However, it was not long after this that one of my Calvinistic friends declared that he was no longer a five-point Calvinist, but was now a four-point Calvinist. He no longer believed in โ€œLimited Atonement.โ€

I told him that he had begun to slide down a slippery slope, for the five points of Calvinism are like five links on a chain: they stand or fall together and if one link in the chain breaks, it is only a matter of time before the whole system unravels. My friend assured me that nothing of the sort would happen to him, and he was still fully convinced of the other four points of Calvinism.

I was skeptical, but he and I talked about it, studied the Scriptures, and read numerous books.

It was not long before I too had given up on Limited Atonement as well. But I was convinced that I would remain a four-point Calvinist, just like my friend. As it happened, what I told him about the links in the Calvinistic chain turned out to be trueโ€”at least for me.

Shedding Perseverance of the Saints

Later that year, I sat through a Bible College class on the General Epistles in which the professor, Dr. John Hart, had us read numerous books which challenged the fifth point of Calvinism: the Perseverance of the Saints.

Among the books he had us read were two that really challenged my thinking and helped me see certain key texts in a new light: They are The Epistle of James by Zane Hodges and The Reign of the Servant Kings by Joseph Dillow (a revised and updated edition of the book is now titled Final Destiny).

There were numerous other books I read and the class lectures of Dr. John Hart were influential as well, so within a year I had abandoned my belief in the Perseverance of the Saints, and was now a three-point Calvinist.

Calvinist No More

I remained a three-point Calvinists for quite a while, until, after Seminary, I began my first pastorate in Montana. It was there, where the rubber of theology hits the road of life, where the final three points of Calvinism finally fell.

Calvinism 5 point

The sources of influence were numerous and varied.

One elder named Bob Weaver challenged me to view God differently than I had before. I read some books which were recommended to me by others. Godโ€™s Strategy in Human History was helpful, as were various books by Samuel Fisk, Harry Ironside, C. Gordon Olson, Laurence Vance, and Dave Hunt.

Also, I was preaching at this time through the book of Ephesians, and my research and study on Ephesians 1 helped me to see that this chapter does not teach Unconditional Election as many Calvinists claim. Somewhere during those first five years as a pastor, all three of the remaining points of Calvinism crumbled in my mind.

Coming to Terms with non-Calvinism

It was an exciting but scary time.

It was exciting because my theology was changing and I was discovering new vistas on about the grace of God and the role of faith and works in the life of believers.

But it was scary because I kept wondering how deep the rabbit hole went. I didnโ€™t want to be an Arminian, but at the same time, I knew I could no longer be a Calvinist.

In an attempt to stay true to my quickly fading Calvinistic beliefs, I read every Calvinistic book I could get my hands on. Not only did I read John Calvin, I also read John MacArthur, John Piper, R. C. Sproul, James Montgomery Boice, Philip Graham Ryken, A. W. Pink, Edwin Palmer, and dozens of other such authors, all of whom vigorously defended Calvinism.

In the end, though, none of them wrote anything in their books which persuaded me that my new belief system was wrong.

In fact, it often seemed to me that these Calvinistic authors themselves had never heard of the views which I myself held. They kept arguing against non-Calvinistic beliefs which I, as a non-Calvinist, did not believe!

It seemed to me that they had not read any of the books I had read, or even knew anything about the way of reading Scripture which I had adopted. At the time, I did not know exactly if these Calvinistic authors were trying to refute Arminian beliefs (which I had not read much of), or if they had simply erected anti-Calvinistic straw-man beliefs which were then easily knocked down. Looking back now, and having read many books on Arminian theology, I have to say that it was the latter.

Most Calvinists, it seems, rarely read books or listen to teachers that are not Calvinistic.

It is exceedingly rare to find a defense of Calvinism which actually deals with the documented beliefs and ideas of Calvinistic opponents. A typical Calvinistic defense seems to consist of stating the Calvinistic beliefs, quoting numerous Calvinistic authors, and referencing several biblical texts which seem to support the Calvinistic perspectives.

This pretty much brings me up to the present day.

Over the past fifteen years, I have continued to read both Calvinistic and non-Calvinistic authors, and study biblical texts from the various perspectives. With every passing year, I am more and more convinced that Calvinism reads Scripture incorrectly, distorts the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and has ultimately abandoned the roots of the Reformation.

All this will be seen in later posts.

So what about you? What is your history with Calvinism? Are you Calvinist now? Have you ever been a Calvinist? Do you know what Calvinism is? Share your stories in the comment section below.

God is Uncategorized Bible & Theology Topics: Arminianism, Books by Jeremy Myers, Calvinism, John Calvin, Theology of Salvation

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I believe in the Five Solas of the Reformation

By Jeremy Myers
22 Comments

I believe in the Five Solas of the Reformation

Last week I announced that I needed to take a break from my series on the violence of God, and that I was considering doing a series on Calvinism instead. I ran a survey to see if people were interested in this, and 98% of you said “Yes!” So here is the first post… (Some of these posts on Calvinism ended up in my book, The Re-Justification of God which can be found on Amazon.

I believe in the Five Solas

five solasThe rallying cry of the Reformation centers around five solas (or in proper Latin, the five solae): Sola Gratia, Sola Fide, Solus Christus, Sola Scriptura, and Soli Deo Gloria.

Though not actually stated in quite this fashion until the 20th century, these five statements summarize what the Reformation was about. The Reformation was about authority, tradition, and justification, and the leaders of the Reformation believed and taught that everything we have from God, is Sola Gratia, Sola Fide, Solus Christus, Sola Scriptura, and Soli Deo Gloria.

In English we might say that what we have from God is โ€œby grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, according to the authority of Scripture alone, for the glory of God alone.โ€

I affirm all five statements. I consider myself to be a child of the Reformation.

I am Neither Calvinist nor Arminian

Yet I do not identify with either of the two main groups that came out of the Reformation; I am neither a Calvinist nor an Arminian. (I am not Lutheran either, for those Lutherans who see themselves as a group apart.)

Certainly, there are many things I appreciate about John Calvin, Jacobus Arminius, Martin Luther, and the other Reformers, but I have too many differences with the main theological arguments of each man to be comfortable identifying myself with the theological systems that bear their names.

Ironically, my main area of disagreement with Calvinism and Arminianism is that they do not take the five solas far enough.

That is, the Reformers and their followers stopped short of fully reforming their theology around the five solas. Having begun with the revolutionary truths of the five solas, they failed to follow through on the full theological ramifications of these five statements. As a result, the Reformation sputtered to a halt andโ€”in my opinionโ€”ultimately failed.

How can I say this?

The Failure of the Reformation

If you were to compare the typical writings of the average Calvinist, Arminian, Lutheran, and Catholic theologians, you would discover that when it comes to the issues of faith, grace, the accomplished work of Jesus Christ, the authority of tradition over Scripture, and the goal of glorifying God in all of life, there is very little distinguishable difference (See the journal article I wrote on this several years ago).

It is not just me saying this. There have been talks in recent decades between prominent leaders of these various groups to all reunite into one group. The primary sticking points, it seems, have nothing to do with the five solas, but center instead on issues like Mariology, the veneration of the Saints, and papal authority.

I believe that if the Reformers and their followers had resolutely held to the five solas, the spiritual landscape of the world today would be much different. The Reformation would have continued to do its work, so that grace, faith, love, and freedom would flow out of the church today in ways that have not been seen since the church began nearly 2000 years ago.

Of course, one cannot blame Luther, Calvin, Arminius, or any of the other Reformers for not fully following through on the ramifications of their own theological insights. Theological development is a multi-generational endeavor.

We can, however, challenge both the contemporary and historical followers of the Reformers to advance upon the teachings of their forebears. No Reformer, I believe, ever thought that his beliefs were perfect and that nobody could ever improve upon his teachings or take his ideas further.

The Reformers would agree, I think, with what some people say about the Reformation: โ€œAlways reforming; never reformed.โ€ The reformation of church and theology is never over.

Just as the Reformers sought to reform the church of their day, so also, they would want those who came after them to continue the reforms โ€œtill we all come to the unity of the faithโ€ (Ephesians 4:13).

five solas and faith alone

Let the Reforming Continue!

That is the purpose of this series on Calvinism. I hope that the information contained within these posts will build upon the reformations that began during the Reformation and will lead to further reformation in the future. Specifically, I want to provide Calvinists and non-Calvinists with a perspective on certain passages of Scripture which will hopefully allow people to see that there are viable alternatives to Calvinism and itโ€™s theological opposite, Arminianism.

There is a balanced middle ground between Calvinism and Arminianism.

Though there are numerous avenues that one might take in seeking to provide a non-Calvinistic perspective on Scripture, the route I have chosen is to emphasize the biblical teaching on โ€œfaith aloneโ€ and contrast it with what is often taught in Calvinism. I want to show how Calvinism, though it claims to defend sola fide, actually undermines it with every point of its theological system.

Related to this, the book will also contain a heavy emphasis on radical, outrageous, shocking, scandalous grace. Of course, I cannot write about faith or grace without mentioning Jesus Christ. All of this discussion will revolve around what the Scripture says, rather than on human or religious tradition, and ultimately, the entire discussion is for the glory of God as I seek to help others see the radiating grace of God in the face of Jesus Christ as He died on the cross for the sins of the whole world.

Hopefully, as these posts progress, you can proclaim the five solas aloud with me: Sola Gratia! Sola Fide! Solus Christus! Sola Scriptura! Soli Deo Gloria!

If you want to read more about Calvinism, check out other posts in this blog series: Words of Calvinism and the Word of God.

God is Redeeming Theology Bible & Theology Topics: Arminianism, Books by Jeremy Myers, Calvinism, five solas, Jacobus Arminius, John Calvin, Martin Luther, reformation, sola fide, sola gratia, Theology of Salvation

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Last Day to Download My Newest Book

By Jeremy Myers
5 Comments

Last Day to Download My Newest Book

Church is More than Bodies Bucks and BricksIn case you missed it earlier this week, my newest book has been released, and you can download it for free from Amazon through today (June 7, 2014).

The book is called Church is More than Bodies, Bucks, and Bricks, and is about how church has nothing to do with how many church members we have, how big our building is, or how large the church budget.

People who are subscribers to my email newsletter already received a free PDF copy of the book earlier this week, so if you are a subscriber, check your email! Otherwise, you can  download a copy from Amazon

Want a Free Paperback Copy?

I am also trying something new with this book. Lots of people prefer paperback copies of books (I know I do), and so I am making those available for free as well. I just ask that you cover the cost of printing and shipping the book ($6.95).

So if you want to get a free paperback copy of this book, you can go get them at Redeeming Press.

And hey, would you mind doing me a favor? Could you use the sharing buttons below to tell others about this free ebook? Let them know on Twitter, Facebook, Google+, or wherever else you hang out online. Thank you! I really appreciate it.

God is Uncategorized Bible & Theology Topics: Books by Jeremy Myers, church is more than bodies bucks and bricks, Close Your Church for Good, free books, free ebooks

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Getting Up to Speed on my book, “When God Pled Guilty”

By Jeremy Myers
14 Comments

Getting Up to Speed on my book, “When God Pled Guilty”

book writingIf you have been reading this blog for the past eighteen months or so, you will know that I have been trying to write a book called When God Pled Guilty. The writing process of the book has been of twists and turns, stops and starts, but I finally feel that I am getting back on track, and so decided to write a post which kind of gets everyone up to speed and provides a bit of the back story. This is that post.

It all Began 15 Years Ago in Seminary

Though I did not initially set out to write a book on this subject, the idea for the book began about 15 years ago when I wrote a paper in Seminary about the origin of violence and evil. My proposal then was the same thing I am proposing now, that although God is not guilty for the sin and violence of the whole world, He takes the blame for it, that is, He bears responsibility for the sins of the world, because God knows that as the creator of all that is, the buck stops with Him! He is, in some sense, responsible! The primary place we see God taking responsibility in this way is in Jesus’ death on the cross.

That is what I argued 15 years ago, and have been trying to flesh out ever since. Much of this is seen in various sermons, books, articles, and writings from those fifteen years. Some of this is online; most of it is not.

A Commentary on Jonah

Two years ago I started writing a commentary on Jonah. I stalled out in chapter 1, however, because of the storm which God sent upon the sailors, and for which, there life was put in danger because of the disobedience of Jonah.

I wondered then, as many others have, “Did God really send this storm? If Jonah had not gotten thrown overboard, would God have seriously drowned these innocent sailors because of Jonah’s rebellion?” I decided then that I could not finish my life’s goal of writing commentary on the entire Bible (which seems impossible now) without fleshing out to a greater degree the proposal from 12 years earlier. 

So I set the commentary aside to research and write a full-fledged explanation of how to understand the violence of God in Scripture in light of the crucifixion of Jesus.

When God Pled Guilty

As part of my research and writing for this book, I read well over 100 books, many of which were quite helpful. Somewhere along the way, someone Tweeted to me that Greg Boyd was writing something similar, and so I checked out some of his recent sermons online and found that he does indeed seem to have a similar idea, though I still am not sure that he is arguing the same thing I am. We will have to wait and see when his book comes out.

I will fully admit though, that some of the main points of my “Chaos Theory” were gleaned from Greg Boyd’s sermons and writings. His insights into the “whirlwind” of what is going on around us in the natural and spiritual realms were really helpful in explaining some of the violence we see in the world today.

I was making what I thought was pretty good progress. I had developed my theory to my satisfaction, and then turned to Scripture to try to see if my proposed way of reading Scripture could actually make sense of the biblical text.

I started with the Flood in Genesis 6-8. That’s when I hit the wall. My theory drowned in the flood. I did the dog paddle for a while, trying to find some drift wood of the wreckage of my theory on which to float, but pretty soon, I sunk too. I wrote a lot about the flood, but I couldn’t finish my study of these chapters because it seemed I was missing some pieces to my proposal.

I had written 100,000 words for my book, and ended up with nothing but words.

book writing

I gave up for several months. I talked with some people. I read some books. Actually, I read LOTS of books.

I Read, Thought, Talked, and Wrote

read a lot of booksDuring this break, not only did I read a lot of books, but I thought a lot about the proposal, I talked with some people about it, and I wrote and wrote and wrote (Writing is how I learn and how I think).

I made some tweaks to the proposal and wording, and decided to try again. You have been seeing some of the recent developments in various posts over the past month.

By the way, even though I deleted quite a bit of my original 100,000 words, the manuscript now sits at 140,000 words. And I am only half done. Sigh. A normal book is about 50,000 words, so I don’t know what I am going to do…

Anyway, I am ready to go back and get beat over the head with the Bible. I am about to continue my wrestling match with Scripture.

Tomorrow, I am going to pick back up with the flood account and try to finish my explanation of what happened in that horrific event.

Here’s the thing though … What I write will probably make no sense to you unless you are somewhat familiar with the basic idea of my proposal, and have also read some of the background posts to the flood. So I invite you to go check some of them out. They are all listed on the When God Pled Guilty contents page.

After the flood, we will begin to work our way through some of the violent texts in Scripture, until we eventually arrive at the Book of Revelation, and then conclude with a study on Hell.

So … see you tomorrow in the flood! Hopefully I can finish the book this year!

God is Uncategorized Bible & Theology Topics: books, Books by Jeremy Myers, When God Pled Guilty

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Jesus as the Divine Scapegoat

By Jeremy Myers
25 Comments

Jesus as the Divine Scapegoat

Yesterday we looked at the idea of God as a divine scapegoat. We pick up with this idea today, showing how Jesus also was a divine scapegoat. He not only revealed to us what God had been doing all along, but also unmasked the scapegoat mechanism for all to see. Through Jesus, we see the truth of violence, that it comes from us, and not from God.

Jesus as scapegoat

The way many Christians have come to understand and explain the crucifixion of Jesus, it almost seems as if God Himself was to blame for this violent act as well.

Did God Need an Innocent Victim To Suffer for the Sins of the World?

A large swath of Christian theology teaches that God sent Jesus to die on the cross, that it was God Himself who wanted an innocent victim to die for the sins of the whole world. Many forms of traditional Christianity even state that the only reason the death of Jesus could atone for the sins of the whole world is because He was an innocent victim.

In other words, one prominent and popular explanation for the crucifixion of Jesus was that God needed an innocent victim to pay for the sins of the world, and since the innocent victims of bulls and goats could not perfectly accomplish what God desired, God instead had to send the ultimate innocent victim, His only Son Jesus Christ, to pay for the sins of the whole world.

scapegoatThis interpretation of the cross makes God once again the violent perpetrator of this most violent of crimes. According to this view, God ordained the death of His Son because God demands the blood sacrifice of an innocent victim to appease His anger toward sin.

The Scriptures, however, paint a quite different picture.

We Killed Jesus as a Scapegoat for our own Sin and Shame

Jesus came to occupy an all-too-humanly constituted place of shame, violence, and death, and not hold it against us. There is an angry deity in this equation, and it is us, in whose midst God, quite without violence, manifests the depth of his forgiving love by plumbing the depths of, and thus defanging, our violence (Alison, We didnโ€™t invent sacrifice).

Instead of God demanding a blood sacrifice to satisfy His wrath toward sinful humanity, Scripture indicates that it was mankind who put Jesus to death on the cross.

It was we who continued our age-old crime of scapegoating an innocent victim to appease our own guilty conscience.

We were the violent ones, and Jesus submitted Himself to our violence to both expose it and neutralize it once and for all.

Jesus went willingly to the cross, not because a blood sacrifice was necessary to pay the penalty for sin, but because going to the cross unmasked the scapegoat mechanism, revealed the violence inherent within the heart of men, exposed the myth of redemptive violence, and brought an end to the war that men had waged on God for centuries.

Unveiling the Power of Sin

Jesus on the crossOn the cross, Jesus removed the veil from the power of sin.

On the cross, Jesus laid bare for all to see the lie that violence toward an innocent victim helps alleviate the curse of sin and constant spiral of violence.

On the cross, Jesus showed us once and for all that God is not violent, but, quite to the contrary, has been taking upon Himself the violence of the whole world.

In Jesus, โ€œGod is revealed as the โ€˜arch-scapegoat,โ€™ the completely innocent one who dies in order to give life. And his way of giving life is to overthrow the religion of scapegoating and sacrifice” (McDonald, Violence & The Lamb Slain).

God of the Old Testament and JesusHow can a God who says "Love your enemies" (Matthew 5:44) be the same God who instructs His people in the Old Testament to kill their enemies?

These are the sorts of questions we discuss and (try to) answer in my online discipleship group. Members of the group can also take ALL of my online courses (Valued at over $1000) at no charge. Learn more here: Join the RedeemingGod.com Discipleship Group I can't wait to hear what you have to say, and how we can help you better understand God and learn to live like Him in this world!

God is Uncategorized Bible & Theology Topics: Books by Jeremy Myers, crucifixion, Jesus, scapegoat, Theology of God, Theology of Jesus, Theology of Sin, violence, violence of God, When God Pled Guilty

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