46 God's Sovereignty and Human Responsibility

My husband missed a board meeting Monday night so he could attend our class at church. The topic was predestination. Pastor Dave first announced that there is no unity on this topic in Christendom. The class was spellbound as Pastor Dave would shift from the left side of the room to the right side to illustrate the "landscape," gesturing as he explained the positions of Pelagius (God would not command what we are not able to do) and Augustine (Command what you will, but grant what you command) in the early centuries of the church. Then he jumped ahead 1000+ years to Jacob Arminius, 1560-1609 (humans are free and the offer is for all) and John Calvin, 1509-1564 (God pre-determined and chose those who believe) during the Reformation. Then with a big smile he placed himself in the center of the room and said we Lutherans live in the tension between God's sovereignty and our free will to believe. He provided us with a long list of scripture using the words chosen, elect and predestine.

After the class I was looking at a website called Reformation Ink, and found a link to an Arminian creed (based on Jacob Arminius' belief and followed by many Christian denominations). It is a parody, probably not considered funny by many, but I think it does illustrate the Arminian view of the human's choice and decision in faith, with a few pokes at the rapture and "miracles aren't for today" crowd:

“I believe in God who once was Almighty, but sovereignly chose not to be sovereign; and in Jesus, my personal Lord and Saviour, Who loves me and has a wonderful plan for my life, Who came into my heart when I asked him to, and is now seated at the right ventricle of my belief in Him, Who walks with me and talks with me along life’s narrow way, and tells me I am His own, Who shall come again with secrecy to rapture us out of here, Whose Kingdom shall last one thousand years; And in the Holy Ghost, who did some weird stuff at Pentecost, but doesn’t do much more anymore except speak secretly to the hearts of individual believers. And I believe in this local, independent, and powerless church, insofar as it is in line with my personal interpretation of the Bible and does stuff I like; in one believer’s baptism for the public proof of my decision for Christ; and in giving my personal testimony for soul winning. And I look for the identity of the Antichrist, and know that the Last Days are now upon us. Ay-men.”

Lewis Loflin of TN has a website that says otherwise--he loves Pelagius and Arminius and hates Luther and Calvin, and he writes about TN and VA as third world Banana Republics. It's worth taking a look.