[Linux4christians] Baptists (was Re: Ex-Muslim's college, speech disrupted by arson.)

[Timothy Butler]

On Dec 12, 2009, at 2:02 PM, Pastor David wrote:

> Who told you that?
>
> Where is it documented?
>
> Which seminaries are teaching this new view of religious
> history?

I've never heard anyone (other than you) claim a universalist  
perspective on Arminius, so I'd say the burden of documentation falls  
to you (seriously -- I don't mean that as an attack).

I can say I've read plenty of books on the subject and NEVER has ANY  
of them claimed Arminius was a universalist. I hold a degree in  
Religious Studies and never heard that claim, and why would a secular  
program distort Arminius to make him sound "worse" -- it'd make more  
sense to argue he was a pluralist... Likewise, I attend a Reformed  
seminary and it NEVER claims Arminius is universalist. Universalism is  
actually contrary to the point of Arminianism and its emphasis on free  
will.

Are you sure you are not confusing the Arminian understanding of  
prevenient grace with saving grace?

Feel free to respond to my questions on how you alternately handle  
things to avoid the alleged false philosophies most Christians hold. I  
mean this with all due respect, but I don't think it is fair to attack  
the majority of believers as holding heretical doctrines and not even  
really bother to provide a substantiated claim or Biblical alternative.

A good starting point for a better dialogue, I think, would be to  
start on sola Scriptura. I see no evidence the Reformers felt this  
meant that nothing outside of Scripture was useful. Nor, do I see any  
Biblical support for that. If my assumption here is true, then the  
first attack on Calvin (and, for that matter, Arminius) would likewise  
be untrue.

Surely we can disagree without broad brush painting pf large portions  
of Christianity as heretical, can't we?

	-Tim