Jacobus Arminius And John Calvin: A Comparative Analysis

In a time of chaos, the words, “God is in control,” can bring peace to believers and non-believers alike. This phrase has found its way to bumper stickers, Hallmark cards, and Facebook post, and in many ways it has become a junk drawer phrase – one that we pull out when we need a comforting cliché. When pandemonium breaks loose and we seem to have lost all control, then it is convenient for God to be in “control.” But what about when things are not? What if things are relatively normal.

God, being an omniscient being, simply looks ahead at the choice we will make and elects those who would choose him freely. All he calls us to do is to respond the grace that he has given us “by exercising our God-restored human freedom as a condition of

i) The doctrines of Calvinism said that the elect were the people who were going to heaven

Baptists are believers with profound beliefs in the authority of the Old and New Testaments. In order to teach and defend the faith, Baptist churches and associations adopted doctrinal commitments and core beliefs through the Baptist Faith and Message (BF&M). The Statement were derived from the New Hampshire Confession of Faith of 1883, but was revised to meet the needs of Baptists. The BF&M statements were considered merely a confession of the Baptists’ beliefs and not meant to be a creed.

1 Timothy 4:16 tells us to take heed of our doctrine. It is a very important

2012. p. 306). When people attend church, they have their fellow church members; they can talk with about their problems. The church members can support each other through whatever trauma they may be experiencing.

Robert Charles Sproul, American Calvinist theologian, is co-pastor of Saint Andrew’s Chapel in Sanford Florida, founder and chairman of Ligonier Ministries and author of more than one hundred books. Hence, discovering his written opinion on the subject of predestination should not be a surprise. This author claims to “love the doctrine of predestination because it comforts and underlines the extent to which God has gone in our behalf. It is a theology that begins and ends with grace”. Hence, Sproul demonstrates a discernment of predestination which readers to experience John Calvin’s opinions through a modern lens. Along the way, the evaluation may reveal unknown or overlooked characteristics. Resultantly, this review will conduct a short summary of Chosen by God’s content and survey its major strengths and weaknesses, providing researchers information by which the work can be evaluated.

The biblical creed and doctrine in which my core religious beliefs are founded upon originates from the message of the Gospel of the good news of Jesus Christ, which is rooted in the significance of the life of Jesus Christ. In Scripture, doctrine refers to the entire body of essential theological truths that define and describe the message of our soon coming King's core beliefs. For instance, the word of God declares, “Those who accept Jesus Christ will live for eternity with him after they die”(John 11:25, 26; 2 Corinthians 5:6). Further clarification of the word states, "Christians will be raised from the dead when Jesus returns" (1 Thessalonians 4:14-17), and lastly, "God will create a new heaven and a new earth" (2Peter 3:13). Specifically,

humans and angels to enjoy the world the way that he created it to be.

In John Calvin's Institutes of the Christian Religion he spends a great deal of time expounding his doctrine of God's Divine providence in all of creation. He explains not only how God continually governs the laws of nature, but also how God governs man's actions and intentions to bring about His own Divine Will. Calvin believes that God's providence is so encompassing in creation that even a man's own actions, in many ways, are decreed by God. Because of this belief there arises the question, "Does Calvin leave room for the free will of man?"

By the early fourth century, the Roman Empire already had severe economic, political, and social problems. While Rome declined decades into the fifth centuries, Christianity flourished. It continued to grow and expand in influence, and would eventually become the religion of those who destroyed the empire in the West. During that period, in far different places, two writers would live who saw the decline of the West: Augustine (354-420) in Roman North Africa and Boethius in the city of Ravenna. Their writings were to have an enormous impact on the culture of Europe. Augustine was one of the four important Latin fathers of the church, who were also philosophers and theologians and known as doctors of the church.

Throughout my life I have been to three Churches. My family has found a Church that made us feel at home and we have been going there since I was eight. Now that I am at Indiana Wesleyan I have had to find another church to attend. My home Church which is named New Beginnings, are the teachings that I have shaped my faith into what it is today. The River, which I go to at school, has added to some of my beliefs. Our Church has a strong focus on the core doctrines of Christianity and the members of our congregation are encouraged to practice and live out these doctrines on a daily basis. New Beginnings is committed to the truths of the Nicene Creed and we are in full agreement with this doctrine.

“The Devil and Tom Walker” (1824) by Washington Irving is a faustian tale about a man named Tom Walker who develops a relationship and strikes a life altering deal with the devil. The short story takes place in the time period of 1727 near Boston, Massachusetts when Puritans were very prevalent and the ideas of Calvinism were contemplated by many. A main aspect of Calvinism Washington Irving disagrees with is called predestination. This belief is when one does not have control of their afterlife because it is already chosen by God. I’ll be exploring Calvinist and Puritan beliefs along with the concept of the faustian deal to show why Irving had Tom Walker agree to such a lopsided pact with the devil. To further understand Tom Walker’s personality and how it contradicted Calvinism, I will also be exploring what was the perception of death for Bostonian Puritans around 1727? Understanding the Puritan perception of death is central to understanding why Tom easily sold his soul to the devil. Through the encounter with the devil at the Native American stronghold, Tom’s wife dying and the faustian deal, Washington Irving shows he is against the Calvinist belief of predestination brought to the Massachusetts Bay colonies.

The conference call started with a word of payer led by Maentta Jackson. The following points were presented and discussed: Orthodoxy versus Heresy, the five central core beliefs of Christian Orthodoxy and scriptures relating to each central core belief; and lastly, a discussion regarding on how to explain the doctrine of the Trinity to heretical cults who deviate from the five central core beliefs.

John Calvin’s doctrine of predestination is arguably one of the most important results of the Protestant reformation. Predestination is the belief that “salvation[entrance into heaven] is given to only those whom god has chosen”. The chosen people were called the elect. John Calvin wrote this important belief during the era of the Protestant Reformation. People often formed negative opinions on predestination or let it rule their lives. Some people who did not think like Calvin loathed predestination because they believed that