What's in a Name? Part 2

So we're still looking for a label for me. We've presented Puritan and Lutheran for consideration. Let's look at another possibility today.

How about Calvinist. A name that can get you thrown out of many churches today. Should I proudly display a TULIP tattoo around my bulging deltoid like a warrior band that was so popular when I was in college. It's interesting how a brilliant theologian born 500 years ago, wrote volumes on his study of scripture including his Institutes of the Christian Religion, is known only by the five points in the acronym TULIP (used to refute the 5 points of the Arminian Remonstrance at the Synod of Dort in 1619) by many modern Calvinists. Opponents of Calvin like to portray him as a brutal murderer and violent to those who opposed him.

Can I be called a Calvinist. I believe in man's total inability, the absolute sovereignty of God, salvation by His grace alone, and "that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ." So I hold the 5 points of TULIP not only as true, but to discount even one (much less all) of the points is a crass and fatal demonstration of arrogance and self righteousness. God calls for us to humble ourselves.

Am I a Calvinist? Maybe. But let's keep looking. As I am early in my pilgrimmage, my study of Calvin is limied. The five points of TULIP I hold as undeniable. Calvin was a paedobaptist, as I said in a previous blog I believe to be a practice not laid out in scripture. I also do not condone any type of violence, torure or murder, against those who do not have eyes to see or ears to hear. Only God can change hearts. So if anyone wants to refute Calvinism by pointing to his violence, save your effort and repent for the Kingdom of God is at hand.

What's in a Name?

When entering into discussions on any subject regardless of the forum, I believe it is important for the speaker/writer to lay out his core beliefs at the outset. (Wouldn't it be great if we could get politicians to agree to this? It would radically change our political system.) This post will primarily be related to my thoughts on theology. So what are my basic beliefs?


Baptist, Lutheran, Calvinist, Arminian, Catholic.......What would I call myself? Many individuals have told me they don't want to have a label or name applied to them because they don't agree with everything associated with that label. But Jonathan Edwards expresses the utility of the assignment of names in his preface to Freedom of the Will: Individuals assign names "to improve the benefit of language, in the proper use and design of names, given to things which they have often occasion to speak of, or signify their minds about; which is to enable them to express their ideas with ease and expedition, without being encumbered with an obscure and difficult circumlocution." So a lot of information can be imparted by the assignment of a one word name.


So what name could be assigned to me? My first quote in this blog is from a Puritan-so maybe. But not so quick. The title Lutheran would fit in that most of what I have read by Martin Luther related to the Gospel, though admittedly a small sample, I believe is a wonderful lesson in God's Word. This quote from Bondage of the Will is one of my favorites and may summarize everything I hold as true: "God has surely promised His grace to the humbled: that is, to those who mourn over and despair of themselves. But a man cannot be thoroughly humbled till he realises that his salvation is utterly beyond his own powers, counsels, efforts, will and works, and depends absolutely on the will, counsel, pleasure and work of Another-God alone."



The only problem is, the name Lutheran has been taken by many individuals so wrapped up in their soft gospel, that they can in no way grasp this quote. Salvation can be earned with the washing away of their sin as a baby when baptized and "accepting Jesus into their heart" and being a good person. God only assists in their salvation. The rest is up to them. Lutheran also does not fit in that I differ greatly in his beliefs on paedobaptism (he's for it) and the Lord's Supper.


Lutheran isn't a perfect fit, but there is some Luther in my beliefs. And I'm part German. As a disclaimer, the above was not an indictment on the Lutheran Church in general or any particular synod. I'll wait to offend larger groups of people in future posts. For now we'll just try to find a label for me. Puritan? Lutheran? As I like to tell my wife, "We'll see."

What This World Needs...

...someobody else on the blogosphere spouting another opinion. The only other experience I have with maintaining a blog is updating friends and family when my daughter was in the hospital. That post actually received quite a number of hits. My goals for this blog are more self serving. The first is that it will serve as a personal journal of my ramblings on current events, items I have read, and random thoughts and observations. Number two is that over the years, some may stumble across the blog and post comments (defended by scripture) to correct errors I hold as truth. Third, though this blog will probably never be read by more than 4 people, some opinions will probably preclude me from running for public office(biblical truths are usually unpopular) should that crazy notion ever come over me.

The focus of this blog will be topics primarily related to the Gospel, theology, and the church as they relate to the world and our culture. That should leave an endless number of things to talk about. It will be helpful to know where I stand in my theology. My next post, I will give a brief overview of my beliefs. As it is early in my pilrimage, I believe this will be useful to look back on years from now. Now to contribute to the clutter in the blogosphere.