Calvinism, It's just not lining up with Scripture.

[Dave...]

I once considered myself a Calvinist. I'm not so sure any more. 

I still maintain that God is sovereign over man, and have no problem with that. My understanding in Scripture is not motivated by humanism.

I no longer support the idea of total depravity. Every proof verse used by Calvinism shows people who can still believe, or could believe unless they were otherwise judicially hardened. In my opinion, the whole system of Tulip falls with that.

But that's just the icing on the cake. So many of the proof texts used by Calvinism to claim God chose people for salvation from His eternal decree, in fact, those passages are speaking of true OT believers. Lydia, Cornelius, etc., all OT true believers. So "appointed to eternal life" etc. was not motivated by God's choice in eternity, but rather mans in time. "All that the Father gives me...."---OT believers, "Sheep..."---OT believers, "For whom He foreknew, He Predestined to be conformed to Christlikeness..."---OT believers.

OT believers were not indwelt, and thus could not yet be born again born, yet they believed (John 7:39). There's no getting around it. I tried. They were due the Promise of the Father, and those who already believed the Gospel received Him at Pentecost. Some still needed to hear the Gospel, then they received Him. While many others where already physically dead, having died not receiving the promises.

The missing element is the distinction in relationship between man and the Holy Spirit from OT to NT. Calvinism assumes it's the same. That's a big mistake and one of the main reasons that it's interpretation of many of these passages is in error. 

I'm finding that Calvinism's interpretation of many of it's proof texts are without context. They are mostly relying on the TULIP system for context, and not the Bible. It's assumed that TULIP is Biblical. It appears to me to be one assumption built on another. A house of cards, if you will.

Anyways, I just thought I would go on record.

Dave 

[Rella]

I once considered myself a Calvinist. I'm not so sure any more. 

I still maintain that God is sovereign over man, and have no problem with that. My understanding in Scripture is not motivated by humanism.

I no longer support the idea of total depravity. Every proof verse used by Calvinism shows people who can still believe, or could believe unless they were otherwise judicially hardened. In my opinion, the whole system of Tulip falls with that.

But that's just the icing on the cake. So many of the proof texts used by Calvinism to claim God chose people for salvation from His eternal decree, in fact, those passages are speaking of true OT believers. Lydia, Cornelius, etc., all OT true believers. So "appointed to eternal life" etc. was not motivated by God's choice in eternity, but rather mans in time. "All that the Father gives me...."---OT believers, "Sheep..."---OT believers, "For whom He foreknew, He Predestined to be conformed to Christlikeness..."---OT believers.

OT believers were not indwelt, and thus could not yet be born again born, yet they believed (John 7:39). There's no getting around it. I tried. They were due the Promise of the Father, and those who already believed the Gospel received Him at Pentecost. Some still needed to hear the Gospel, then they received Him. While many others where already physically dead, having died not receiving the promises.

The missing element is the distinction in relationship between man and the Holy Spirit from OT to NT. Calvinism assumes it's the same. That's a big mistake and one of the main reasons that it's interpretation of many of these passages is in error. 

I'm finding that Calvinism's interpretation of many of it's proof texts are without context. They are mostly relying on the TULIP system for context, and not the Bible. It's assumed that TULIP is Biblical. It appears to me to be one assumption built on another. A house of cards, if you will.

Anyways, I just thought I would go on record.

Dave