Portrait of a Calvinist

For non-Calvinists. How far do the descriptions here contained agree with your own personal contact with Calvinists?

 

I'm a calvinist! I can't vote in the poll! So, how can I veiw the results. I want to know what other people think of me.

 

The truth is Calvinists are pretty much the same as Arminians EXCEPT for one area. Calvinists have to live with a lot of contradictions in scripture so they continually resort to "you have not studied enough to really really know Calvinism and that is why the Bible appears to contradict it" . In fact they play a "shell game" where Calvinism changes with every day a person is posting and they often want to dissavow much of what has already been explicitly stated by themselves about Calvinism. (As if they think we won't remember that they are now contradicting themselves when compared with their previous positions).

They are forced into an ever-twisting changing ducking-dodging kind of defense as it gets into tight spots under close review.

Those are arguments you never see on the Arminian side.

Beyond that -- the two groups are pretty much the same in my opinion.

IN Christ,

Bob

 

That's kind of been my impression of Calvinist based on my experience with them as well. (Wow...another thing BobRyan and I can agree on. :eek: )

 

I disagree. In my experience most Calvinists I have known adopted calvinism in college, or shortly afterwards. They are above average in iq, and obviously have a high view of their own intelligence, but sadly it is an overblown view (I would guess an iq range of only 115-125). They usually got in calvinism because they liked the intellectual appeal and usually as they were reacting against something else (usually charismania). Sadly once they fall for it, they fall hook line and sinker, and are unable to think outside the box. In this sense calvinism becomes an intellectual crutch that actually saves them from the need to think whilst they can pride themselves on being able to think in that they became calvinists! what a subtle enemy who loves to lure people from the straight path. I have noticed very little real spiritual experience amongst calvinists, though there are always exceptions to these generalisations.

 

Here is a statement of a Calvinist turned to be Arminian on another thread of this message board --
http://www.baptistboard.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php/topic/35/1471/2.html#000020

I thought that last statement was a riot!!

Bob

 

The question is, was Calvin a 5 Point Calvinist? Did he like Tulips?

 

I think he was a "Calvinist". Books by Geisler and Kendall suggest that perhaps Calvin's view on limited atonement was "full atonement but LIMITED INTERCESSION" - thus making him not a true "Calvinist". Kendall (I think) asserts that Theodore Beza was responsible for framing the more strict belief system which would be called "Calvinism" after the Synod of Dort.

Most do not agree with Kendall and Geisler on this point.

 

Is this portrait an accurate description of most Calvinists throughout church history? What about the well-known Calvinists Bible translators and
preachers such as the translators of the 1560 Geneva Bible, many of the translators of the 1611 KJV, etc.?