Although I'd have problems with Arminianism, the basic notion: man's will energizes or brings about the tipping over into salvation, is one I agree with.
Calvinism has a couple of problems from my perspective.
1) Unconditional election. tUlip
In order to say election is unconditional (on man's input), you need to a) know what all the possible conditions open to man's input might be and b) demonstrate, biblically, man not in a position to satisfy any of them.
The bible appears to exclude some conditions (e.g. the work of man as contributing to mans salvation) but that's not to say it excludes all conditions possible. A mighty task that: to define the totality of man such as to identify all possible areas of man pertaining to his activating his salvation. And then show all possible conditions unfulfillable by man. Identifying some doesn't mean you've identified all possible.
2) Predestination. tuliP
There are relatively few passage dealing directly with this and the few that there are speak about a category of people who are predestined to this, that and the other. Take this, from Ephesians 1:
"3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed US in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. 4 For he chose US IN HIM before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love 5 he predestined US for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given US in the One he loves"
You can (with a bit of difficulty) read this as meaning God predestined certain people to be holy and blameless, to be adopted. To be saved - in other words. No mention of the criteria involved in his choosing - he just predestined certain folk to be saved (and inevitably, others to be not saved). Calvinists assign the finger of God to His "Sovereign Will (a.k.a. God can do what he likes without reference to notions of justice, logic we might be labouring under).
(Which to me, diminishes God. Not because he'd owes us anything - other than, perhaps, acting according to the very highest form of the spirit of justice that we try to imbue our own lives with - in the imperfect and impoverished way we do. Image and likeness and all that.)
You can look at it otherwise.
Paul is writing to fellow Christians. The saved. So whenever he says "Us" or "Us in him (Christ)" it must be remembered that he is referring to Christians/the saved. Which means that what has been predestined to occur has been predestined to occur to the saved. The saved shall be adopted, the saved shall be made holy and blameless in his sight (the process of sanctification). Clearly not that the saved shall be .. er... saved.
Considering vs 4 (and smoothing over the translation):
Before the creation of the world, God chose that all who would come to occupy (by a means not here revealed) a folder called "Us in him" would be made holy and blameless in his sight. That this folder didn't contain any individuals at the time God ordained this is what would happen it subsequent contents isn't the issue. He preordained/destined this is what would occur to and and all who would subsequently be saved. The criteria for salvation isn't mentioned here, nor need it be. All that is being described is the process that the saved (the 'us' Paul is addressing) shall undergo. A process put in place "before the creation of the world"
Although rivetting, in that it constitutes a handbook of explanation for someone who finds themselves saves and is eager to know more of what that entails, it isn't myterious
Edited by iano, : No reason given.
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