The Voice Of One Crying Out In Suburbia

Arminianism is SOOO 1990’s….

There are two new blog entries that deal with the same basic issue, that is the renewed interest in Reformed theology in the church. One is from the Reformed Baptist Fellowship titled “I was a Calvinist when Calvinism wasn’t cool” and another from Mark Dever on the 9 Marks blog “Where did all these Calvinists come from?” . Both examine the underlying causes beneath the obvious rise of Calvinism all across the spectrum of churches.

Like many others I attribute the renewed interest to the ready availability of the writings of giants of Reformed theology. No longer are the works of Spurgeon or Edwards relegated to old personal libraries or seminaries but are right there at the click of a mouse to anyone who is interested (which is why I also believe that mormonism is slowly losing it’s grip in North America and growing overseas as the truth of mormonism is available outside of scandal mongers like Ed Decker of The Godmakers fame). Arminianism cannot stand the test of comparison when facing Reformed theology, either Biblically or logically, so the more lay members can examine the apologetics for themselves, the more obvious it becomes that Reformed theology wins the day. But for all that, for which God be praised, there are potential stumbling blocks that I see.

There are two dangers inherent in the renewed interest in Reformed theology…

One, that Reformed theology will become faddish, the latest “in” thing in Christianity, becoming a new form of legalism. Being able to pull out the “Calvinist” card will show that one is a "serious" Christian, and a lack of that credential will lead to disdain. Reformed theology MUST be driven by conviction from Scripture and not because our favorite authors or pastors are proponents of it.

Two that those of a “mature” standing Reformed theology will disdain as Johnnie-come-lately’s in the Reformed camp those newly minted Calvinists (some of this is already apparent in the relation between credo and paedo baptists, what some have called the pat on the head treatment Baptists receive frequently from those of the Presbyterian/Reformed camp). There is already too much "will the real Calvinists please stand up" on the blogosphere, "more Reformed than thou" attitudes that add to the Reformed doctrines other issues.

The church has a responsibility to make sure that along with the rise in Reformed theology that we retain the humility and perspective that should be a natural part of Calvinism, but too often is not...