I
recall in your correspondence to our email that you said you were a
predestinationalist and I had some questions...
-- Yes, that is correct. Of course, anyone who accepts the truth of
Scripture must be a "predestinationlist" in some sense.
As alluded to above, every Christian has some doctrine of predestination,
because the Bible clearly teaches it (and in both senses that the word is used,
as described above). The differences
arise on such things as the nature and the extent of predestination.
In terms of the theological labels regarding these issues, I would be
identified as a 5-point Calvinist. As
for the term "Calvinist," it is important to understand that none of
these doctrines are unique to John Calvin, or were invented by him.
Where Luther was the prophetic voice, so to speak, of the Reformation,
Calvin was the great systematizer (and theologian) of the Reformation.
It was Calvin who presented to the world the most comprehensive and
systematic expression of what the Protestant Reformers all believed.
I know this may seem a bit drawn out in terms of going over the history,
etc., but, having at least some exposure regarding the history will aide in
coming to a understanding of the issues. Couple
of notes here:
1. The Reformers did disagree
with each other on various matters, most significantly the Lord's Supper.
However, in terms of the understanding of God's sovereignty and predestination,
election, grace, the nature of man and his bondage to sin, and doctrine of
justification by faith alone, the Reformers spoke with one unified and
passionate voice. Sadly today,
those that claim the name "Protestant" and "Evangelical"
have drifted far from their theological heritage and roots.
2. Though Calvin's name has been the one that has become most associated
with the doctrines of predestination and election, it should be noted, again,
that Calvin taught nothing new with reference to things, and, as a matter of
fact, Martin Luther actually taught more about it and more forcefully about it.
See for example Luther's monumental work The Bondage of the Will.
It should also be noted that after the Bible, the primary source that all
of the Reformers drew upon for their doctrine of Predestination and the human
will was
St. Augustine
. Augustine lived in the 4th
century AD (354 – 430 AD).
Augustine was, by all accounts, a titan in the fields of philosophy and
theology, and is considered by most objective observers to be the greatest
theologian in the church for the first 1,000 years of church history.
Anyway, if you read any church history or theological writings, you will
discover that the position that the Reformers taught was called
"Augustinianism" because they basically articulated Augustine's
doctrine of Predestination, grace, the human will, etc.
The Reformation itself was then an "Augustinian" Reformation,
where Augustine's doctrine of salvation was championed over and against the
man-centered, humanistic doctrine of salvation known as Semi-Pelagianism that
had permeated the church up to that point (this is a great overview of
Semi-Pelagianism, Pelagianism, and Augustinianism here:
http://www.monergism.com/thethreshold/articles/onsite/semi-pelagian.html;
see also http://www.theopedia.com/Semi-Pelagianism).
As for Luther's book, it has been described as the "Protestant Manifesto," and Luther himself considered it the greatest thing he ever wrote,
and claimed that all of his other writings could be cast to the flames save that one book, and the catechism he wrote. In that book, Luther is
responding to the Roman Catholic scholar Desiderius Erasmus. Erasmus challenged the Reformers on the nature of God's grace and the human will.
Erasmus set forward the "free will" view, and Luther answered Erasmus' arguments by pointing to God's absolute sovereignty, predestination, election, and the deadness of man in sin. The overwhelming consensus is that Luther absolutely destroys Erasmus in this debate, and Luther's arguments and interaction with the free will position still stands utterly unanswerable (in my opinion) for those that take the Bible seriously.
To get a sense of the immense importance of this whole issue of the will of man, predestination, and election, J.I. Packer, the great
modern theologian who translated The Bondage of the Will into English, says some key things concerning Luther’s The Bondage of the Will that
many Christians, particularly those that would claim the name “Protestant” seem to be completely unaware of. Packer writes (note: statements
that are in brackets […] are mine, and items of particular importance I put in bold print and italics):
“The Bondage of the Will is the greatest piece of theological writing that ever came from Luther’s pen.
This was his own opinion.” (p. 40). “The Bondage of the Will…is a major treatment of what Luther saw as
the very heart of the gospel. It was not mere pot-boiler [something produced quickly and without much thought];
Luther welcomed the opportunity which the appearance of the Diatribe afforded for a full written discussion of
those parts of his teaching which to his mind really mattered, and [Luther] plunged into his subject with zest.”
How important was the issue of free will to the Reformation? Luther tells Erasmus, “You alone
have attacked the real thing, that is, the essential issue. You have not worried me with those extraneous
issues about the Papacy, purgatory, indulgences and such like—trifles, rather than issues—in respect of which
almost all to date have sought my blood…you alone, have seen the hinge in which all turns, and aimed for
the vital spot. For that I heartily thank you; for it is more gratifying for me to deal with this issue.” (p. 41)
Packer again states the importance of the issue:
“Free will was no academic question to Luther; the whole Gospel of the grace of God, he held,
was bound up with it, and stood or fell according to the way one decided it…It is not the part of a
true theologian, Luther holds, to be unconcerned, or to pretend to be unconcerned, when the gospel is in
danger…the gospel of God is in jeopardy; the springs of Luther’s religion are touched; the man is moved; the
volcano erupts; argument pours out him white-hot. Nowhere does Luther come closer, either in spirit or in
substance, to the Paul of Romans and Galatians than in The Bondage of the Will.” (p. 42) “Such
a bored detachment from the issue of free will, such a muddled and wrong-headed approach to it, were to
[Luther’s] mind fundamentally irreligious and in a theologian irresponsible, and could only mean one thing:
that Erasmus…was a stranger to grace himself.” (p. 45). “This, then, is the Luther whom we meet
in The Bondage of the Will: a great-hearted Christian warrior; a thorough exegete (he wins the battle of
the texts hands down); a profound systematic theologian; and above all, an unflinching defender of the grace
of a sovereign God.” (p. 47).
Anyway,
I highly recommend that work to you. It
is a difficult read though, and you may want to read some other things first to
sort of prepare you for it. I will
recommend a full list of resources at the end of this.
And, as you can see, these issues are indeed vitally important.
3. The term
"Calvinist" was coined in the years following the Reformation (1517)
and in the aftermath of the Remonstrance (Arminian) doctrinal objections leveled
against the Protestant Church in the Netherlands (which was known as the Dutch
Reformed Church) in 1618 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synod_of_Dordt).
Another term that is frequently used to described the theological
position of those that are said to be Calvinists is "Reformed," which
calls attention to the Reformation itself and is probably a bit more preferable,
because the term "Calvinist" can be confusing and misleading, making
it sound as though people are following John Calvin (as a matter of fact, some
in their zeal and lack of knowledge actually make this false charge).
"Reformed" on the other hand calls attention to the fact that
these truths, which had always been taught throughout the entirety of Scripture
(we believe) and have always been with the church, were brought to the fore
during the Reformation of the 1500's in an effort to clearly highlight, if not
completely restore the Gospel to the church, which had been buried under the
bushel of false doctrine. Personally,
I have no problem saying I am a Calvinist, and I call myself that frequently
just for ease of communication. However,
again, Reformed is probably a little more precise because Calvin himself was not
the originator of Reformed doctrine, and he himself learned it subscribed to it
(not to mention the fact that Calvin, whose humility was well known, would not
want people to refer to themselves as "Calvinists").
4. For ease of communication,
from this point on I will use the theological labels of "Calvinism"
and "Arminianism" to describe the two most common different positions
regarding these doctrines and still be considered "Christian."
There are other positions that try to blend those two positions; however,
at the end of the day one can only consistently be an
Arminian or a Calvinist regarding these things.
Note: Broadly speaking, to go
back to the discussion above about Semi-Pelagianism and Augustinianism, there
are really only three categories that one can fit in:
Augustinian (Calvinism), Semi-Pelagian (Arminian) or Pelagian (Liberal).
Again I say broadly speaking because some try to adopt various points
from each to form a kind of hybrid position (which is essence is what
Semi-Pelagianism is), and there are subtle distinctions within each category
that some might have with others. However,
again as noted, the hybrid positions are internally inconsistent and really not
option. The third option,
Pelagianism, is considered to be heretical and puts one outside of the Christian
faith. The other two (Augustinianism
and Semi-Pelagianism, i.e., Calvinism and Arminianism) are considered viable
options for Christians. One can hold
to either view and still be considered a Christian. Also please note that some
see a distinction even between Semi-Pelagianism and Arminianism, and many who
hold to historic Arminianism would not want to be identified as Semi-Pelagian. However,
I personally do not see a substantial difference (this blog article is an
excellent overview: http://teampyro.blogspot.com/2006/11/arminianism-semi-pelagianism.html).
One might be able to say that historic Arminianism is a more
biblical form of Semi-Pelagianism, however, it is still Semi-Pelagian.
Please note as well that I am referencing here the standard disputed
points of the sin nature of man, election, the extent/power of Christ's
atonement, the nature of grace, and the matter of eternal security/perseverance.
In the debate between the Arminians and the Calvinists in the early
1600's, the Arminians leveled objections concerning each of the areas of
doctrine I just listed. The
Reformed/Calvinistic church responded to each of those 5 areas, and repudiated
the Arminian teaching regarding those things.
Their response came to be known as the "5 Points of Calvinism,"
which again can be misleading, because it gives the impression that the Reformed
church merely made up those five points, and that those 5 points are the only
matters of doctrine that Calvinists concern themselves with.
I will not be dealing with all of the 5 points in this response (but
again will refer you to other materials). However,
another important side note is to realize that the Calvinists/the Reformed
church were not the ones that came up with the 5 points in an effort to cause
division. As a matter of fact, it
was the Arminians (the followers of the teachings of James Arminius) who first
presented the 5 points in protest to the teachings of the Reformed Church.
As for the Reformed church, it must also be kept in mind that the
"Reformed Church," which was begun by Calvin and Zwingli in
Switzerland and then spread throughout Europe, was what every Protestant church
in Europe was outside of Germany for the most part, which was Lutheran. Hence,
the Reformed and the Lutherans were the two great Protestant
"entities" during this period, with the Lutherans being situated in
Germany, and the Reformed being situated in Switzerland (Geneva and Zurich
respectively), and then spreading throughout Europe.
Though the Reformers, whether Luther, Calvin, or Zwingli, and their
followers were all united in the Gospel and on the various points of doctrine I
mentioned earlier in opposition to
Rome
, nevertheless the two sides (the Swiss Reformers and the German Reformers)
remained distinct from one another. Efforts
were made on various occasions for them to unite as one movement, but, those
efforts fell short for various reasons.
As noted above, the primary sticking point between those 2 sides
(Reformed and Lutheran) was on the matter of the Lord's Supper, though as time
went on, Lutheranism began to modify its views with regard to the will of man
and predestination, mostly due to the influence of Luther's right hand man
Philip Melanchthon, who was a peace loving and gentle man who wanted to build
bridges with Rome. Hence,
one of the more unusual ironies of church history is that the church that bears
Luther's name came to the point where it took a modified position than the one
put forward by Luther himself in his own self-proclaimed most important work, The
Bondage of the Will.
So, whereas Luther was, as church historian Dr. John Gerstner stated,
"a Calvinist," his followers took a modified position.
By the way, the fact the Gerstner said that Luther was a Calvinist is
stated a bit tongue-in-cheek, because Luther preceded Calvin in
terms of age and ministry, and in terms of the fact that Calvin would be
considered a second generation Reformer (Luther and Zwingli being first
generation, with Calvin following closely behind).
Calvin himself was only about 8 years old when Luther nailed his 95
Thesis to the church door at
Wittenberg
in 1517. In other words, Luther
began the Reformation in
Germany
(with the nailing of the 95 Thesis), which spread into
Switzerland
at the leadership of Zwingli. Then
after about 15 years, in 1532, Calvin converted from Roman Catholicism and
embraced the doctrines of the Reformation which had spread to various parts of
Europe by that time, to include Calvin's homeland of
France
.
Calvin, being the great systematizer, wrote prolifically, and as
mentioned, more than anyone else offered to the world a systematic presentation
of the doctrines of the Reformers when he wrote his classic Institutes of the
Christian Religion. Though
this was written almost 500 years ago, it is still one of the greatest writings
and expressions of biblical Christianity that one can find.
Not only that, it is quite readable, even easier to read than Luther's Bondage
of the Will.
Essentially, if one wanted to know and understand why there was a
Reformation, and what the central theological issues were that led to the
Reformation, one would have to read Calvin's Institutes of the Christian
Religion, along with Luther's The Bondage of the Will.
It is not an overstatement to say that historic Protestant/Evangelical
theology found its clearest expression up to that point in those two documents.
I say up to that point because other statements were made in the form of
creeds/confessions, such as the Westminster Confession of Faith (WCF) and the
1689 London Baptist Confession (LBC) which both serve as clear, concise, albeit
not as exhaustive statements of historic Protestant/Evangelical theology (note:
the primary difference between the WCF and the LBC is on the issue of
baptism. The WCF teaches infant baptism, while the LBC teaches believers only
baptism. Also please note with
reference to infant baptism, the WCF does not teach that baptism
saves the child; rather, baptism serves as the sign and seal that is placed on
the children of believers to indicate their entrance into the covenant
community, which carries with it their need to openly profess Christ as Lord and
Savior).
Going back to Calvin, not only did he write the "Institutes,"
which is considered one of the greatest pieces of theological literature ever
written even by those that oppose him, but, he wrote commentaries on almost
every book of the Bible, and preached and taught almost every day of his life.
The sheer volume of output by Calvin is simply incredible and still
astonishes scholars today, especially given the fact that Calvin was a very
frail man who was frequently ill.
Anyway, if you've never read anything by Calvin or Luther, I highly
recommend you purchase a copy of the Institutes (get the one edited by John T.
McNeil), and of course The Bondage of the Will.
The insights of Calvin and Luther are simply priceless (and many other
writers from that era and afterward, to include the Puritans.
The Puritans have gotten a bad rap, especially in this country due to the
political and moral/social Liberal onslaught in this country.
However, if you read the Puritans, one thing is certain: you will come
away knowing that they drank deeply from the well of the Spirit, and their
insights are some of the most profound in the history of the church.
Let me commend to you the series known as the Puritan Paperbacks, and
especially the works by John Owen. Here is a link where you can browse and
purchase any of interest to you: http://www.wtsbooks.com/category-exec/category_id/30/nm/Puritan_20Paperbacks/parent_id/17
So, that was a very long answer to your comment about being one that
holds to "Predestination." J
But, hopefully as you can see, there is a lot of water that is under
bridge, and I would be remiss if I did not provide you with some of the
history/background. The reason
I belabor all of that history, especially the Reformation, is because the
Reformation really was one of the most significant events in church history—it
was a watershed event, and lying at the heart of it was the very issues that you
have questions about.
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