...John Calvin John Calvin was born in 1509 and he died in 1564. He sought salvation through intense theological study, and at some point he experienced a sudden conversion and grasped Protestantism. He came up with the term predestination. According to John Calvin, predestination was the doctrine which attempts to describe justification as the decision and act of God alone--an act based upon no external determinants, but only on God's own, divine decision. John Calvin also defined his doctrine of predestination in opposition to differing views held by his contemporaries. First, Calvin took up the view that God predestines people according to his foreknowledge of their works. Second, Calvin took up the view that God elects some but condemns none. I would have to agree to John Calvin’s predestination theory....
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...lightning rod of controversy that helped to generate this movement. Arminius was a Calvinist of impeccable credentials. He had traveled to Geneva to study with Calvin’s successor, Theodore Beza. When he returned to Holland, he enjoyed a wide and favorable reputation. He was asked to refute the teaching of Dirck Koonhert, a Dutch Calvinist who had questioned Calvin’s view of election. After careful study of scripture and the writings of Koonhert, Arminius surprised everyone by declaring he thought Koonhert was right. Because Arminius was a professor at the University of Leiden, his opions were open to public debate. He did not reject predestination; instead he questioned its basis. Although he remained solidly Calvinist in nearly every other way, Arminius had come to the conclusion that predestination takes place on the basis of God’s foreknowledge of who will later have faith in Christ and who will not. This position seems to presume human beings have free will. Francis Gomarus, another professor at Leiden, led his opponents, claiming to be true Calvinists. Gomarus insisted God simply predestines all as an expression of his sovereign will. The controversy quickly assumed political overtones, as Arminius also believed that the state ought to have greater control over ecclesiastical matters than Calvin had allowed. Arminius died in 1609, and in 1610 his followers issued a document known as a Remonstrance outlining their position. For this reason they are often called...
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...immaterial realm of the Forms is the highest form of existence. The physical world is the lower kind of existence because it’s constantly changing unlike the immaterial world. Hence, bodily existence is less perfect than disembodied existence. Christianity also believes in an immortal soul and that death is a transition to disembodied existence, however it carries the idea that this disembodied state is temporary until the act of resurrection performed by God (he creates a new body for the soul). Thus Christians believe the human person is mortal and death is the extinction of consciousness, but at resurrection God re-creates the person, raising the person from the dead to continue its embodied state. Christianity holds the view of predestination, the idea of salvation where one receives everlasting life in heaven. Salvation is due to god; a human can do nothing to bring about their own salvation and is saved (goes to heaven and not hell) only if God saves them. It’s impossible to change your...
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...Predestination of Oedipus Sophocles’s classic greek myth Oedipus Rex tells the complicated story of Oedipus’s life, status, and destination. Unlike other plays, expected outcome is known to the audience before it happens in the play. Based on a prophecy, King of Thebes will be killed by his thrown away son, the protagonist, Oedipus. At the beginning of the play, not only Oedipus’s destination is exposed to the public, but also his father, King Laius and his mother, Queen Jocasta’s destination is also set by means of prophecy. Oedipus, son of Laius, born with destination preset to Corinth where he was delivered to King Polybus and Queen Merope by a messenger. Since Polybus and Queen couldn’t have any children, they gladly accepted Oedipus as their child. Growing up Oedipus later found out that Polybus and Merope are not his real parents. He has also learned from the Oracle that he will kill his father and marry his mother. Another example of predestination is set here by the author. After getting the news, Oedipus determined to find out his real father. Oedipus could not accept the foreknowledge set by the gods. He ran away from Corinth in search of his parents and on the way he kills his father without knowing his real identity. He tried to run away from his fate but ultimately he ran into it. In later scenes, when he moved to Thebes, he marries his mother, Queen Jocasta, without knowing her real identity. Throughout the scenes, Oedipus is only fulfilling his predestined fate...
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...GOLDEN GATE BAPTIST THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY NORTHERN CALIFORNIA CAMPUS DIVINE SOVEREIGNTY AND HUMAN FREE WILL IN REFORMED THEOLOGY, OPEN THEISM AND MOLINISM AN EXAMINATION OF THE VIEWS OF PAUL KJOSS HELSETH, GREGORY BOYD AND WILLIAM LANE CRAIG A RESEARCH PAPER PRESENTED TO PROFESSOR RODRICK K. DURST IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR CHRISTIAN THEOLOGY II, L-1212-11 BY ROBERT MCNAIR BOX # 685 MILL VALLEY, CALIFORNIA MAY 9, 2014 Contents Introduction 1 Paul Kjoss Helseth and the Reformed (Calvinist) Position 3 Gregory Boyd and the Open Theism Position 7 William Lane Craig and the Molinist Position 12 Conclusion 17 Bibliography 22 DIVINE SOVEREIGNTY AND HUMAN FREE WILL Introduction Scripture presents two seemingly irreconcilable concepts that are both expressly affirmed in the Bible as co-existent and true: divine sovereignty and human free will. That Scripture teaches the doctrine of divine providence cannot be denied. The very act of creation was the result of God’s providence, as the created order resulted solely from His will and power. Simply, the world did not have to be; it came to be as a matter of divine choice. As a result, our world is contingent; it has no independent existence, but exists “moment to moment only in and through and unto God (Neh. 9:6; Ps. 104:30; Rom. 11:36; Heb. 1:3; Rev. 4:11).”1 In other words, the world and everything in it is entirely dependent on God for its being as God actively “works all things according to the counsel...
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...ELECTION ______________________________ A Research Report Presented to Mr. Nathaniel J. Madden Mingo Valley Christian School ______________________________ In Partial Fulfillment for the Course Systematic Theology Junior Bible ______________________________ By Courtney Padgett Spring 2012 According to the Webster’s Dictionary, elect means “to select; to determine on a course of action; chosen; selected from a number” (Webster 122). The doctrine of election directly concerns salvation. Although many Christians many immediately associate the term “election” with the teachings of John Calvin, this doctrine began long before Calvin crafted Institutes of the Christian Religion. The topic of election is in Bible, and can be found in the Old and New Testaments. In the Old Testament, the book of Deuteronomy explains how Israel’s personal relationship with God began. For you are a holy people to the LORD your God; the LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for His own possession out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth. “The LORD did not set His love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any of the peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples, but because the LORD loved you and kept the oath which He swore to your forefathers, the LORD brought you out by a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt” (Deut. 7:6-8). This Hebrew...
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...Jean Leon Iragena Dr. MacMaster IDST 1128-02 Spring Project March 24, 2011 The Truth behind Free Will: Luther vs. Erasmus The notion of free will is one of the most complex notions to define and to understand; it is defined differently according to one’s interpretation of the scriptures, especially the Bible. Both Martin Luther and Desiderius Erasmus, influenced by their faith and beliefs, write respectively against and for free will. Both try to adequately answer the questions: Does man have free will? If yes, why and how? If not, how? Possible answers to these questions given by both authors and some scholars who write against or for each one of these opponents’ arguments highlight, especially, the differences in the conception of man’s free will. Luther and his supporters view free will as an imaginary or impossible and dangerous thing to have; Erasmus and his supporters defend that the existence of man’s free will is irrefutable for it is in human nature itself as the Bible says it. In spite of some of Luther’s good ideas that prove man’s absence of free will and Erasmus’ excellent interpretation of the Bible, neither of them fully responds to the human yearning of knowing the concept of free will. After a thorough and wise analysis of the defense and abnegation of man’s free will of these authors, I find it impossible to fully deny or prove the existence of man’s free will. It is important to take into...
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...How does God engage with the world? Terrance Tiessen in his book Providence & Prayer explores eleven theological models that discuss the relationship between God and humanity. Inevitably these models contain overlapping and interweaved concepts namely; creation, the nature of God, the powers and limitations of God, human will, freedom and predestination, the role of prayer and suffering. To answer the question ‘Hoe does God engage with the world?’ this essay will logically progress through these concepts highlighting particular models where relevant. The first point is that God is the creator and thus is not bound by the limitations experienced by creation. As creator He is outside and beyond our concept of time (Tiessen, 2000, p. 190). Boethius puts this nicely “as the complete and perfect possession at once of an endless life” (Tiessen, 2000, p. 190.) As creator, he established a set order of natural law in which the world operates (Jeremiah 31:35-36). As creator He is attributed ownership and lordship of His creation (Psalm 24:1-2). The Bible establishes a paradigm where God is distinct from creation in substance, knowledge, time and power. God’s nature outside of creation renders Him special knowledge. The various models differ in their descriptions and extent of this knowledge and link it inseparably to human freedom (Ariel, 2005). Process theology and the openness model would argue that God does not know with absolute certainly the future (Tiessen, 2000, pp...
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...Regarding salvation, this doctrine of predestination argues that God predetermined the eternal destiny of those He wants to be saved by grace and has conversely destined the rest of humanity to eternal condemnation for their sins, and also for the inherited Adamic sin. Clearly, this doctrine of predestination transcends Christianity and is more or less a key doctrine of faith in virtually all of the world’s religions. Its history goes back to immemorial times – centuries and millennia before John Calvin even though the theology seems now to be most closely associated with Calvin and Calvinists. Elements of the Calvinist theology could be gleaned from the Old Testament bible tradition such as when Job in the midst of his afflictions declared to his cynical wife who was urging him to curse God and die: “shall one receive good from God and not evil.” As far as Job was concerned, all the evil afflictions, disasters...
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...for centuries would be Calvinism and Arminianism. There has been opposing views by churches and other theologians that has caused much controversy over these two doctrines. Calvinism is based on the theological beliefs and teachings by John Calvin and Arminianism is based on the views of Jacobus Arminius. Arminius was once a strict Calvinist who studied under John Calvin and later studies led him to doubt and reject many of the Calvinistic doctrines. To label oneself as either a Calvinist or Arminianist would need to fully understand each of their doctrines. PART ONE Calvinism ”The theological system of John Calvin and his followers marked by strong emphasis on the sovereignty of God, the depravity of humankind, and the doctrine of predestination.” -Merriam-Webster Dictionary John Calvin was a great reformation theologian who lived from 1509-1564. “The system of Calvinism adheres to a very high view of scripture and seeks to derive its theological formulations based solely on God’s word. It focuses on God’s sovereignty, stating that God is able and willing by virtue of his omniscience, omnipresence, and omnipotence, to do whatever He desires with His creation. It also maintains that within the Bible are the following teachings: That God, by his sovereign grace predestines people into salvation; that Jesus died only for those predestined; that God regenerates the individual where he is then able and wants to choose God; and that it is impossible for those who are redeemed to...
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...When I say an existentialist world, this needs some explanation. It is meant as how Sartre describes how we find our self in the world. We are born without any essence (given by God) and we are only born as human being with existence at first. But without any essence, this means we are entirely free, free to act as we wishes, and free to make our own choices. This again means that we must take responsibility for our own actions, for our own choices in life. And this is where bad faith fits in. If you don’t take this responsibility, the responsibility of facing your own actions and yourself in life, you are living in bad faith Sartre is convinced that human responsibility makes sense only if there is no God; otherwise divine foreknowledge and predestination necessarily exclude alternative options and consequently responsibility. The example of bad faith that Sartre gives is the woman on the first date with a man. He said “Take the example of a woman who has consented to go out with a particular man for the first time. She knows very well the intentions which the man who is speaking to her cherishes regarding her.” … “If he says to her, ‘I find you so attractive!’ she disarms this...
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...However, Eve’s punishment is a result of actions, which are initiated through a dream when Satan tempts her. Satan tempting Eve through a dream and furthermore the Tree of Life portrays the uncontrollable curiosity that are created within the universe that God created and the human mind. This is possible as the story conveys that God made it so that in the universe He created, mankind is in control of personal own actions. This is shown through Milton’s text stating, “They therefore, as to right belonged, // So where created, nor can justly accuse // There Maker or their making, or their fate, // As if predestination overruled // There will disposed by absolute decree // Or high foreknowledge” (Book III, lines 111-116). Though the world that God created was initially pure and perfect, he did not make the world free of temptations to sin. Such freedom then allows Satan to tempt Eve in her sleep and initiate a curiosity to desire to transform her identity through the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge and become equal to her companion Adam, and their God. In doing this, Eve is able to seek knowledge through...
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...The Eternal Security of the Believer Whether or not a saved person can be lost again is a much discussed, a much disputed question. Certainly the devil hates for one to believe that a Christian is safe because this would give God all the glory. The doctrine of security gives no credit to the devil or to humans. God gets all the glory for saving and keeping. So it is the doctrine that the devil hates more than any other. Therefore if one dislikes this doctrine, you know whose side he is on. The words "eternal security" are not found in the Bible. But neither is the word substitute, or the word Trinity. Yet Christians have always believed that Christ was our substitute; that God is a Trinity. Though the exact word that we may use is not found in the Bible, the teaching is there! The terminology used by some when discussing the doctrine of the safety of the Believer may not be found exactly per say but the teaching is there, without doubt. The Bible says, "The name of the Lord is a strong tower. The righteous runeth into it and is safe." (Proverbs 18:10) "The fear of man bringeth a snare, but whoso putteth his trust in the Lord shall be safe." (Proverbs 29:25) The word "safe" used in both these verses, is an absolute term. You cannot be half safe. If you are only half safe then you are not safe. If you are safe then you are not in any danger. You are not safe until you are completely out of danger. The Bible says those who have trusted Christ are safe. The Bible is either right or...
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...A2 Religious Studies Revision Booklet To be used alongside the textbook and your classnotes. Contents G581: Philosophy of Religion Religious Language......................................................………p.1 Religious Experience........................................................…...p.7 Miracles..................................................................…………...p.12 Nature of God............................................................………...p.16 Life and Death.........................................................…………..p.20 G582: Religious Ethics Meta-ethics...........................…………………………………….p.25 Free Will and Determinism………………………………….……p.28 Conscience.......................…………………………………….…p.32 Virtue Ethics………………………………………………………..p.36 Sexual Ethics…………………………………………………...….p.40 Environment and Business Ethics……………………………….p.44 Religious Language Introduction The problems of religious language: • If we use language univocally about God, then we are limiting him / making him like a human • If we use language equivocally about God, we cannot be sure what the word means when applied to God • Are statements about God supposed to be cognitive – if so, what evidence proves / disproves them? • Are statements about God supposed to be non-cognitive – if so, do they have any meaning? The Verification...
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...I. The Scriptures (Bibliology) A. Inspiration - The Scriptures in the autographs are literally God-breathed (yeopneustov.) Holy men of God spoke and wrote as they were borne along (feromenoi) by the Spirit of God. 2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:21 B. Infallibility (Inerrancy) - The Scriptures, being inspired, are incapable of error. 2 Peter 1:21; Hebrews 6:18 C. Complete (Plenary) - The canon of the Scriptures (66 Books - the 39 of the Old Testament and 27 of the New Testament) was completed with the writing of the Book of the Revelation and there will be no further Scripture (written) revelation from God. Revelation 22:18 D. Preservation - God has promised to preserve His Word, and the Scriptures that we have today are the Words of God. Psalm 119:89; Matthew 24:35; 1 Peter 1:23 E. Authority - The Bible is the sole authority for faith and practice for the Believer. 2 Timothy 3:16; James 1:21-22; 1 Samuel 15:22 F. Translations - While not inspired, as are the autographs, a translation based upon, and accurate to the preserved copies of the autographs (those of the Hebrew Masoretic Text of the Old Testament and the Textus Receptus of the New Testament) is the Word of God and is, with consideration being given to typographical error, Infallible, Plenary, and Authoritative. II. The Godhead (Theology Proper) A. The Trinity - The Bible declares one God eternally existing in three persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. These three are co-equal in power and...
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