Some thoughts

Some thoughts from yesterday (Sunday, 31 May):

1. For those who attended service, you might recall that the speaker in one of his teaching points used Arminianism and Calvinism as an example of doctrines that Christians argue over, which in his opinion may not be a major issue at all when it comes to our salvation in the end. He painted this mental image of an Arminian and a Calvinist who both meet in heaven (because both believe in Christ).

"How did you get here," says an astonished Calvinist.

"By exercising my free will," responds the Arminian. "And you?"

"Because I've been predestined!" declares the Calvinist.

(I have not reproduced the speaker's words verbatim due to my shock and also because I didn't write them down. However, I believe I've captured the essence of his point. Correct me if I am wrong, please)

Let me say that I wholeheartedly disagree. I believe the doctrines of Arminianism (which includes not only free will, but also conditional election, unlimited atonement to name a couple) seriously undermine the gospel of grace. Taking the speaker's point, if man has "free-will" to choose his salvation, what are we to make of God's grace which becomes "resistable" if man so wills it? On the other hand, if man has a part to play in his salvation, namely the "choosing," doesn't this mean that the work of salvation is partially, if not entirely dependent on man too?

You either try and get into heaven by your own means or "choosing," or you can trust solely in the finished work of Christ. It's one or the other. In fact, if you study the first doctrine of "Total Depravity" (or "Radical Depravity"), you'll soon realise that man is so utterly depraved that he can't even make this choice with his fallen will.

And what with phrases such as "partnering God" being used in our circles with very ambiguous meanings, I think it's time we study TULIP again (the last time we did so was about 6 years ago I think).

What do you all think?

2. James, Mia and Melissa had an interesting conversation in the cryroom before the lesson started. Can Christians read books that contain fantasy / supernatural elements such as magic, spells, vampires etc? Take for example the Harry Potter and Twilight series. Incidentally, I haven't read both so I can't comment on the content.

But let's extrapolate this beyond books. What about hack-and-slash films? R21 films? Twilight/Harry Potter films? How about music?

One core argument against the consumption of such media is the apparent "satanic," or "worldly" content they have. Fair enough, but doesn't this mean we all have to live ascetic lives to escape such influences, since they are so prevalent in our society? We probably have to renounce all our friendships with non-Christians and disown our non-believer family members as well, but I'm probably stretching this abit too far.

I don't want to type too much, as I am sometimes given to. Let's hear from you. What do you think?