Glad that you already saw this post by Kevin DeYoung about why he’s a Calvinist.

For an 18-year old college student…, I’m quite impressed with your spiritual maturity!!

Godspeed and God bless you on your journey!!!

I salute you. And I applaud you. 1689 London Confession is biblically based and biblically sound. May your tribe increase in the UK and be Salt and Light for both the secularists in the UK and most of the nominal Anglicans in the UK.

Keep reading Spurgeon next to reading the Bible.

Pax.

In response to your question, it’s bad people who make theology bad. Allow me to present an example. Fred Phelps and Westboro Baptist Church profess to be Calvinistic – but listen to their message and compare with John Piper, for instance. As anyone knows, the Westboro people are some of the most vile, disgusting and loveless people on the face of the earth, yet John Piper, who is also a Calvinist, would recoil at what they’re doing and would call them to repent – yet supposedly they share a common theological bent. Clearly it’s not their theology which is at fault – it is the people abusing the theology.

Bart Ehrman, who you seem fond of quoting, is another example. Anyone who likes textual criticism – which is Ehrman’s field – would know that the material he presents at damning…has been common knowledge in the world of textual criticism for a long time. Dr. James White, who has debated Bart Ehrman, has noted it succinctly as “right facts, wrong conclusions”. Again, the facts are 100% correct, but Ehrman is twisting those facts to ruin people’s faith. Who will God judge? He will judge Ehrman – not the information that Ehrman presented.

You said you are against pursuits that lead people away from truth, but as yet, you have still to demonstrate how the use of hermeneutics and theological materials will lead people away from truth. What of the housewife gets a book on the Trinity and her heart is lifted in praise to her amazing and sovereign God? What about the teenager who learns how we got our Bible and takes it more seriously than ever, knowing that the Scripture he holds in his hands came on the back of many martyrs? What of the pastor in Africa who has never owned a commentary and when he gets one, learns more of the Word to proclaim to those under his care?

It would seem to me that such people are being led closer to the truth, thanks to a knowledge of theology, exegesis and hermeneutics.

I am a Pentecostal. I don’t feel that I need to apologize for that. I had asked a philosophical question that I also posed to my Conservative Jewish friend. I asked about theology…do bad people make theology bad, or does bad theology make people bad?

That was the original question that we as Christians have to answer before a world of critics. The unsaved do not care if we call ourselves elect or not, they can only judge us by our works and our words. Many people on here daily take me to task for what I say.

I am not against intellectual pursuits Douglas. I am against pursuits that lead a person away from truth. The truth is found in the Bible. It’s not in popular books, movies or music. And this Bert Ehrman is an example of that because think of it this way…suppose only one person believed him, who will God judge more? Without assuming I am attacking you, which I am not, can you answer philosophically?

The question is, does a bad person make theology bad, or does bad theology make a person bad?

The Bible says judgment begins at the house of God, meaning with us who claim it. mbaker is gracious enough to remind me that I am not here to attack. For that sake I will apologize to you and to mbaker and all readers.

I am Pentecostal. I will not apologize for that.

Actually my Dad made me go back to his church after I left to join a Reformed Baptist church for over six months and I chose not to fight him on it. A Pentecostal church is still a church, even if I disagree with their theology and some of their practices. To be honest, I don’t go because I want to, but because I have to. But at the end of the day, he still sees me as a believer – a deceived one, but a believer nonetheless – and I am still his eldest son. And yes, Papa and I discussed this many times, even in the early hours of the morning. His church members are aware of my views – I have been forthright with as many as have asked, and I am hurt you would make assumptions about whether I have been truthful to them. I am not a liar, neither have I acted duplicitously.

I think then you should begin to be honest first of all with yourself why you really are choosing to be Reformed. And you need to be fully honest with your parents.

So in other words, you actually think I am lying to my parents. And you know this how? A word of knowledge? Like I said, Papa and I have broken it down and discussed it and though we still disagree, he didn’t condemn me to hell, neither did he throw me out of his home. In fact, he and my Mama are paying for my undergraduate degree in Journalism. I am not a liar neither am I a sneak, especially towards my parents.

Do you realize that without honesty with the people in your church is going to cause damage in the long run. There are people who do have faith in your parents leadership. It is being dishonest to worship with them and be friends with them while disagreeing to the point of wanting to leave.

Again, you assume they don’t know my views, and again I assert that I have been one hundred percent honest with them and they have still accepted me as their own. Further I have made my views clear to them and they still welcomed me into the congregation even after 6 months at a Reformed Baptist congregation.

I would encourage you not to cast aspersions where you have no authority to do so, and let us stay on topic if this conversation must continue, since you know nothing of my private life to make such baseless assertions.

Of course, were you to have read my blog for the last two years like most people who know me online, you’d have known all these facts since my blog serves as a sort of diary for me.

Please do not take this personally, anyone, I am simply asking: what is the real priority here? I can argue my own views till the cows come home, and make a good case, and so can you, but does how does that really advance the kingdom of God?

We are so far off the topic of this post, it is certainly not honoring proper biblical hermeneutics, either way, or CMP’s original intent in writing it.

When you stated you almost had a nervous breakdown over their legalistic views that you felt like every moment you were losing your salvation.