You don't have to be a Christian for very long before you start bumping up against ideas like Calvinism and Arminianism. For a lot of folks, the issues involved either seem too complex to devote any time to, or else they seem irrelevant to anything. Both these ideas are wrong.
If you were not aware, Immanuel Baptist Church holds to the New Hampshire Baptist Confession of 1833. That means that we believe that document is an accurate summary of Bible teaching, and we require ministers to preach in accordance with it.
The New Hampshire Confession is a Calvinistic document. The Calvinism of our confession is very mildly stated: we're not out to argue with anybody about it; and we're not hoping to pick a fight about it, but we are willing to state it plainly and stand behind it.
If you are new to some of these issues, here is a short book review that presents an overview of the issues involved.
In addition, here is a link to a conference presentation by one of the best Bible scholars of our day, Dr. Sinclair Ferguson, in which he provides a helpful background and overview for beginning to think about these things.
Hey Gordan! Good to see you blogging again bro.
ReplyDeleteHi, Joshua, my decidedly non-Calvinistic brother in Christ. I'm glad to see you here, too.
ReplyDeleteI don't post all that often, as you can see, but trying to get something new on the front page fairly consistently.