We usually do not get into much serious theology here.  More than a few blogs exist for that purpose.  Southern Baptists have quite a number of such sites that take on all issues of biblical debate.  My little blog is mostly about life.  Simplicity does have its advantages.  But we will talk tonight about doctrinal stuff.  Our denomination is again having discussion about an old idea that is becoming new again.  Our tradition speaks of our holding to the idea of salvation being an offer of God's grace which requires a faith response.  Very few ever depart from that path.  But what does happen is we begin debating what that one idea really means.  


There is a train of thought we usually refer to as "Calvinism."  I am not sure this blog is a safe method of dealing with it yet we will try.  You also need to know that this theology began in one of the most significant times of church history.  John Calvin began the Reformation with the idea that we are saved by grace through faith.  Here is where we as Baptists begin to take shape as people wrestled with this concept.  You also need to know we eventually broke away from the churches which began at that time.  Our approach to baptism got us into a ton of trouble from those denominations.  You begin to see how theology is not as simple as it appears.  One idea leads to various applications where good people disagree.  We do owe an enormous debt to Calvin for his courage in taking the scripture literally.  I do think he would wonder over all of the fuss made on his theology.


The approach of Calvinism is about systematic theology.  This refers to how we view scripture in any particular area of doctrine.  Salvation is the theme of this concept.  Let's try to lay out the basics this evening.  We can return to it this week to flesh it out.  First is the idea of what is called total depravity.  A simple definition says that every person is born into sin so an act of God's grace is required to save us.  We would probably agree with that but just know there are applications that might surprise us.  Another aspect is the idea of unconditional election.  God can choose who He wishes to be saved.  Some see this as prejudice but if all are sinners then any gift of salvation calls for such a choice.  One who agrees with this would say that God does not choose people to be lost since that is their basic nature from the start.  A third part of this theology says Jesus died only for those who are saved by grace.  Here is where many Baptists would stop to think.  Does the death of Jesus count for the whole world or only for the elect?  A fourth thought is that God's grace is irresistible.  Since it is His choice then we cannot say no to that offer.  Here again we may stop to ponder.  The last idea is those who are elect and saved do persevere until the end of time.  We like this part in Baptist circles.  Few who are in our camp would disagree with that approach.  It is a huge part of who we are.  


That is a lot of information to digest for one evening.  I just put into a paragraph what some theologians take volumes to discuss.  There are more than a few books in my library that go into great detail on Calvinism.  Some are pro while others are con.  The point of all of this is that our denomination is again working to define itself by this theology.  I don't know if this is a good thing or not.  We could pay a price for going down this path.  Do we need to come to grips with our doctrine of salvation?  We do.  But we should not let it be just an academic discussion without emphasis on what we do with it.  We will try to talk more about this over the next few days.  My agenda is not to look for agreement but to allow us to think and pray over who we are and what we believe.


Bro. Trey