The Arminian vs. Calvinism Debate

Yesterday I was able to take my sons to their homeshoole co-op and sat in on one of their classes, an opportunity that I enjoyed and that gave me a glimpse of young people engaged in theological debate! The class in question was on debating and the topic was the ever popular "arminianism vs. calvinism," a topic guaranteed to raise emotions in any setting. :)

Truly though, it was a joy to see these young people enter into the discussion with passion and armed with the Word of God. Whether I agreed or disagreed with any side was irrelevant, the awesome thing was to see them engaged in seeking out Truth. Whatever camp they end up in, I pray that every one of them will seek His word first! I should say that I thought these young people handled themselves well and in a mostly respectful manner, the one exception being one young lady who insisted her opponents were not taking God at His word and were making Him a liar by not embracing her view of things.

One of the best parts of witnessing the debate was to hear the arguments made. These kids are on the right track as far as debating goes so it is exciting to imagine what they will be like when they are older and able to use the Word better. Which is not to say they did not handle it well, only that as I heard certain arguments I could imagine what I would say were I in their position!

There were about 11 teens in the class and four adults (including myself, two other parents, and the teacher). The other parents' comments proved them to be Arminian, whereas the teacher did not know much about the topic and said she did not know what she believed but leaned towards the Arminian position. Then there was me...what some might call a five point Calvinist but what I prefer to call a Biblicist! :) In any case, the parents were allowed to make comments and I willingly and excitedly joined in the fun, primarily because one other parent in particular seemed to enjoy engaging the teens in heated debate, whereas I thought we should help them and not be annoyed by them. So, of course, I decided to engage him!

Anyone interested in what occurred can ask me, the only thing I wanted to say in detail here was that towards the end I explained to everybody that debate was good so long as we did not make the mistake of becoming angry at one another. That regardless of our belief, it would neither get us into heaven, nor prevent us from getting there! Unfortunately I felt the teacher took my comments to mean that this debate was of little benefit, which I don't agree with. We should want to know what the Bible teaches and we should not avoid doctrines just because they make us uncomfortable. Whether one is Arminian or Calvinist, nobody can deny that the topic of election is quite prevalent in the Word of God, therefore we must take it into account.

But why is it important? What possible impact can it have on our daily life? Well there is one very critical way that I want to mention: the manner in which we spread the gospel.

You see, the "seeker-friendly" mentality sets in because of the Arminian influence on our churches. When we think we must save somebody we will use any tools, any tactics, to get them to the point where they make that ever important "decision" for Christ. We'll use God dishonoring tactics, avoid the Word of God, avoid mention of hell, of a need for holy living, because these things are offensive to people! We'll even tolerate sin in our midst so long as the sinner is popular! 20 minute sermons will be the norm rather than the exception, and even these will appear to be too long!

When one knows for sure that salvation is in the hands of God, then one depends on the Word of God far more often! As Hebrews 4:12 says, "...the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword...and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart." You see, the Holy Spirit will the do the work of salvation, we must be about the business of preaching and teaching the Word in our churches, with our family, our friends, and our neighbors! The assurance that God's elect will be gathered to Him leads to churches where expository preaching is the rule, where the Word is not compromised, where His Truths are preached freely!

I know that my Arminian brethren will disagree with this, but all I can say is look to your churches....churches where services are geared towards the lost rather than towards the edification and teaching of the flock. Churches where people are enouraged to bring their lost friends and family in to hear the salvation message, instead of preparing the people of God to take that message to the world around them!

Well, obviously I could go on and on, but I must get ready to go to work! If you think about it, pray for those young people that were at the debate, that they will be led to His Word and that they will grow in their faith day by day! How exciting to see that the next generation does not mind engaging in exciting theological debate!

Amen?