Okay in all seriousness, I jest because I'm sure we've all heard it before.
Arminians don't look at Romans and Calvinists don't look at 2 Peter.
But Honestly, its 2014 and there are no more Arminians or Calvinists. Arminian is just a term that Calvinist use to describe non-Calvinists. Calvinist is just a term people use to describe a particular understanding of Theological determinism.
But Its not a Binary Either/Or situation that we are talking about.
Its more like a Spectrum.
On the free will side you have the Open Theists, then the Wesleyans, then the Molinists, then the Reformed/Calvinists/Determinists.
Most people don't know why they believe what they believe, because frankly the Bible is designed to Inspire Obedience not a fullness of knowledge as a prerequisite to righteousness.
Open Theists believe in the Living Breathing relationship that God has with His people 24/7. That prayers are effective in relationship to God, that When the Bible says that God did something or felt something or wanted something it was literally as it was written, without any tacked on Narrative. So when God says that he regretted making man before the Flood, that is honestly and sincerely what He meant. Theirs is a God that responds to prayers, genuinely negotiates with His people and seeks their general well being through the pursuit of his Righteousness. They can screw up their future or they can establish it with God, as they see people From King Saul to Jonah to Elijah, have all been called by God and responded differently, as such we are capable of negotiating with God. However, foreknowledge and divine providence are instantiated by God, in accordance to His promises, rather than being fixed in accordance with his foreknowledge.
Wesleyans Believe in the believe in the pursuit of Righteousness and Holiness, in accordance with the gospel of Jesus Christ. That much like John the Baptists call to repentance, we are all called, each and every one of us, to be followers of Christ. Not to the same degree as Open Theists but, Wesleyans believe that each man is accountable for his own life and choices and that God will judge every man according to his deeds. Wesleyans believe that Salvation is a free Gift to anyone who would call upon the name of the Lord. They also believe that through the Holy Spirit and the abstinence of sin, men are capable of living a Righteous life, as the Bible commands. However they believe that God knows who is written in the Lambs book of Life, but that does not affect the relationship He has with His people, insofar as it prevents anyone from seeking Him.
Molinists believe that God and Man are not necessarily co-authors but Co-actualizers in the world that exists. They believe that God has a plan that has taken into account the choices of man, and that He has made a way to save as many people as will accept Him. His foreknowledge is purposed to sort of select the most appropriate timeline in which the Gospel will have the Maximum effect on the world. BUT you still have Libertarian free will to accept or reject God, and this and every choice you make changes the world we live in, but not so much that it is beyond the plan of Salvation that God has foreknown. Sin, Consequences, the War against God and Salvation are interpreted through scripture to reveal the most plausible explanation for the world as we can comprehend.
Calvinists (theological Determinists) believe in the foreknowledge of God as the Prime Narrative device with which to view the Bible. That God has cursed the world to eventual destruction but, much like in the Days of Noah foresaw the plight of His creation and decided to spare a few, who would follow His commands and carry out His sovereign will on earth as it is in Heaven. These elect individuals are instruments of God's masterwork, and their election is evidenced by their response to the call of repentance and righteousness which they are foreordained to be complicit with. Just as Satan and Pharaoh are ordained to be vessels of evil, designated for destruction, the divine plan ensures the Elect are to be spared Judgement for their role in the Narrative.
Hyper Calvinists (Theological Fatalists) believe that salvation is an involuntary action, to which they are incapable of responding to or resisting. They believe that people are merely tools of God in a fixed Narrative, where Good and Evil play out to the eventual destruction of Satan, in accordance with God's plan. That God "Allows" sin, much like in the Story of Job. But in Theological Fatalism, there is only one agency in the universe capable of free will and that is God whose sovereignty is like a trump card to be pulled out according to the Narrative as it plays out. To them time is like a tape and we are merely fixtures pre recorded into a particular song, to be played out, so that when all is said and done, Eternity will ring out with how wonderful God is cause He has done all of this.
Arminians don't look at Romans and Calvinists don't look at 2 Peter.
But Honestly, its 2014 and there are no more Arminians or Calvinists. Arminian is just a term that Calvinist use to describe non-Calvinists. Calvinist is just a term people use to describe a particular understanding of Theological determinism.
But Its not a Binary Either/Or situation that we are talking about.
Its more like a Spectrum.
On the free will side you have the Open Theists, then the Wesleyans, then the Molinists, then the Reformed/Calvinists/Determinists.
Most people don't know why they believe what they believe, because frankly the Bible is designed to Inspire Obedience not a fullness of knowledge as a prerequisite to righteousness.
Open Theists believe in the Living Breathing relationship that God has with His people 24/7. That prayers are effective in relationship to God, that When the Bible says that God did something or felt something or wanted something it was literally as it was written, without any tacked on Narrative. So when God says that he regretted making man before the Flood, that is honestly and sincerely what He meant. Theirs is a God that responds to prayers, genuinely negotiates with His people and seeks their general well being through the pursuit of his Righteousness. They can screw up their future or they can establish it with God, as they see people From King Saul to Jonah to Elijah, have all been called by God and responded differently, as such we are capable of negotiating with God. However, foreknowledge and divine providence are instantiated by God, in accordance to His promises, rather than being fixed in accordance with his foreknowledge.
Wesleyans Believe in the believe in the pursuit of Righteousness and Holiness, in accordance with the gospel of Jesus Christ. That much like John the Baptists call to repentance, we are all called, each and every one of us, to be followers of Christ. Not to the same degree as Open Theists but, Wesleyans believe that each man is accountable for his own life and choices and that God will judge every man according to his deeds. Wesleyans believe that Salvation is a free Gift to anyone who would call upon the name of the Lord. They also believe that through the Holy Spirit and the abstinence of sin, men are capable of living a Righteous life, as the Bible commands. However they believe that God knows who is written in the Lambs book of Life, but that does not affect the relationship He has with His people, insofar as it prevents anyone from seeking Him.
Molinists believe that God and Man are not necessarily co-authors but Co-actualizers in the world that exists. They believe that God has a plan that has taken into account the choices of man, and that He has made a way to save as many people as will accept Him. His foreknowledge is purposed to sort of select the most appropriate timeline in which the Gospel will have the Maximum effect on the world. BUT you still have Libertarian free will to accept or reject God, and this and every choice you make changes the world we live in, but not so much that it is beyond the plan of Salvation that God has foreknown. Sin, Consequences, the War against God and Salvation are interpreted through scripture to reveal the most plausible explanation for the world as we can comprehend.
Calvinists (theological Determinists) believe in the foreknowledge of God as the Prime Narrative device with which to view the Bible. That God has cursed the world to eventual destruction but, much like in the Days of Noah foresaw the plight of His creation and decided to spare a few, who would follow His commands and carry out His sovereign will on earth as it is in Heaven. These elect individuals are instruments of God's masterwork, and their election is evidenced by their response to the call of repentance and righteousness which they are foreordained to be complicit with. Just as Satan and Pharaoh are ordained to be vessels of evil, designated for destruction, the divine plan ensures the Elect are to be spared Judgement for their role in the Narrative.
Hyper Calvinists (Theological Fatalists) believe that salvation is an involuntary action, to which they are incapable of responding to or resisting. They believe that people are merely tools of God in a fixed Narrative, where Good and Evil play out to the eventual destruction of Satan, in accordance with God's plan. That God "Allows" sin, much like in the Story of Job. But in Theological Fatalism, there is only one agency in the universe capable of free will and that is God whose sovereignty is like a trump card to be pulled out according to the Narrative as it plays out. To them time is like a tape and we are merely fixtures pre recorded into a particular song, to be played out, so that when all is said and done, Eternity will ring out with how wonderful God is cause He has done all of this.
