As a Baptist refugee in a PCA church, I'll be following your forthcoming posts with no small amount of interest.
Kurt Nordstrom | Homepage | 05.03.04 - 11:55 am | #

Why couldn't the Arminian say that God foresaw that many would be brought to faith and revealed this to the Prophet?
Josh S | Homepage | 05.03.04 - 2:32 pm | #

An Arminian could/would say that. However, it does not rescue them from their diminished view of God's sovereignty. The best they can say is instead of continuously having His fingers crossed hoping someone will accep Him, God has looked down the corridors of time, still at the mercy of mankind, and saw, to His relief, that at least a few would assent to the gospel, which then freed Him to implement His plan of redemption.
David Heddle | Homepage | 05.03.04 - 3:46 pm | #

The answer, of course, is grace. But grace that is applied in a beautiful, personal, and humane manner. Humane because you are transformed so as to come willingly, in a way that does not violate your humanity ...

... We are not saved by works, but we are saved through them ...

... there is effectual grace, through which we are sanctified and with which we cooperate ...

Who are you? And what have you done with the real Dr David Heddle?

With this statement you have tiptoed up to (and perhaps even stepped across) the line between Calvinism and the orthodox teaching on grace. But then you have to go and say

We are passive in our regeneration and we cannot resist

and then I know it's the real Dr Heddle. It is of course true that we are passive, in the sense that conversion is something that we experience, not something that we accomplish. But it is not true that we cannot resist.

If you really believe the synergistic things I quoted above, it would seem that if you saw that the Bible teaches that regeneration occurs through Baptism (the laver of regeneration), you would understand that Calvinism is heterodox.
Christopher Jones | Homepage | 05.04.04 - 5:55 pm | #

Lydia was already regenerate. I think you can use the analogy, however, to support your point.
mark | Homepage | 05.06.04 - 2:49 pm | #