I first learned about this just after I got married and started visiting a Southern Baptist church 2 or 3 times a month in addition to my own SDA church. The Sunday school teacher came for visitation one day started to discuss the fact that he as a Baptist was Calvinist but I as an Adventist was Arminian.

I was not quite sure what he was talking about at the time. But since then I have discovered just how true he was in saying that Adventism is absolutely Arminian (Free will).

(Of course I also later learned that he was wrong about all Southern Baptists being Calvinist -- and I also learned that there are 3 basic flavors of Calvinism -- one that is very close to the Arminian view in fact).

The Arminian position is basically the CORE explanation for why God would ALLOW war in heaven, allow Adam to fall, Allow the earth to continue for 6000 years and allow the investigative jugment.

Our entire evangelistic method of outreach is based on the issue of CHOOSING Christ and our entire IJ doctrine is based on the idea that "the COURT SITS" (not simply God in a room by Himself making up His mind about something).

Having said all of that against the OSAS and Calvinist POV -- I do agree with them on their concept of total depravity as specified in Romans 3. It makes the need of the New Birth - very very clear.

Your thoughts?

Do you ever notice the curious case of some SDAs arguing for Calvinism as IF that were even possible in the Adventist framework for doctrine?

in Christ,

Bob

No, I haven't, but I know what you are talking about. Isn't that what the whole controversy about the book Questions on Doctrine was all about, the difference between the Calvinistic view and the Armenian?

What do those from Armenia think about this controversy over them?

I'm hoping for more information on this, too...

Gail. This is one topic that I am just not knowledgeable about. We will have to wait for the experts. Not only that ... but I have been doing the most talkin on this board long enough. We will just have to wait for someone else.

The controversy has nothing to do with those people in Armenia. It's Arminia and Arminianism that it's about, not the people who live in Turkey and Iraq.

See this link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arminianism

Thanks! This would make for interesting discussion, I think :)

Calvinist-Arminian differences were a major part in the debate of QOD (Adventism is Arminian), but the larger problems with QOD had to do with the nature of Christ's humanity and also the atonement.

See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Questions_on_Doctrine

Jacob Arminius was a key figure in post reformation thought - a much needed corrective to the excesses of Calvin & Beza.

The God of Calvin is A HYPOCRITE.

He says "Let whosoever will come and take of the water of life freely" while knowing full well that they can't.

gcw

If it hadn't been for John Calvin, it is probable that most of Protestantism would have accepted the non-immortality of the soul.

Calvin did a lot of good, but he also did a lot that wasn't so good, too. He was responsible for the martyrdom of one of his time's greatest scientist's simply because he said that he had been to Palestine and seen that it is a desert and not a land of milk and honey.

He was one very serious man. No humor.