Calvinism in the SBC

Knightwolflord said:

Greetings to all my Baptist Christian brothers and sisters in Christ!

I was baptized into the Latin rite of the Catholic Church as a baby, but due to various circumstances I was raised a Southern Baptist. Now, I was a devout Southern Baptist for much of my young life, but I never really thought of myself in denominational terms (i.e. I saw my faith as equivalent to Christianity 101). After I returned to the Catholic Church, and the process of discerning that return (I pretty much had to become a catechumen, lol), I learned that my beliefs were Calvinist, or at least held many Calvinist ideas. I then noticed that many of my Evangelical friends and family members (I am the only practicing Catholic in my family, pretty much everybody else is Baptist) also held ideas that were Calvinist. The more I thought about my past and such, the more I realized how vibrant Calvinism is within the Southern Baptist Convention (reading Lifeway pamphlets is proof enough) and, from my vantage point, American Evangelicalism as a whole.

I wanted to get some thoughts from some of the Baptists here on this. Am I wrong in my perception? If not, why is Calvinism so prevalent?

In any case, I wish everyone here a most blessed Pascha/Easter!

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Knightwolflord said:

Greetings to all my Baptist Christian brothers and sisters in Christ!

I was baptized into the Latin rite of the Catholic Church as a baby, but due to various circumstances I was raised a Southern Baptist. Now, I was a devout Southern Baptist for much of my young life, but I never really thought of myself in denominational terms (i.e. I saw my faith as equivalent to Christianity 101). After I returned to the Catholic Church, and the process of discerning that return (I pretty much had to become a catechumen, lol), I learned that my beliefs were Calvinist, or at least held many Calvinist ideas. I then noticed that many of my Evangelical friends and family members (I am the only practicing Catholic in my family, pretty much everybody else is Baptist) also held ideas that were Calvinist. The more I thought about my past and such, the more I realized how vibrant Calvinism is within the Southern Baptist Convention (reading Lifeway pamphlets is proof enough) and, from my vantage point, American Evangelicalism as a whole.

I wanted to get some thoughts from some of the Baptists here on this. Am I wrong in my perception? If not, why is Calvinism so prevalent?

In any case, I wish everyone here a most blessed Pascha/Easter!

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Knightwolflord said:

Hmmmm....perhaps some clarification is needed.

What I meant by “Calvinistic” in Baptist Christianity, particularly as it was taught to me are things like:

· Total Depravity
· Eternal Security (“Once Saved, Always Saved”)
· Irresistible grace

There are no doubt other “Calvinistic” themes present, but I can’t think of any or their specific examples. The major one that stands out is the “Once Saved, Always Saved” thing and the idea of a one-time salvation event (as opposed to the idea of justification as an ongoing process). Both of these seem strong in American Evangelicalism and seem almost “dogmatic” for the SBC.

I understand well that Calvinism is an umbrella term. There is no “Calvinism” as such in the SBC since many pick a choose which parts of TULIP they are going to believe (hence the much disputed “Limited Atonement”, etc.).

What I mean is that there are Calvinist themes and ideas that are peculiar to Calvinist Protestantism present in the SBC and American Evangelicalism. This is evident to anyone familiar with Calvinism and its relation to/difference with other Christian theological systems.

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savedfromdistruction said:

It is true that many present themselves as Calvinists. However by that claim alone it is still impossible what they mean as Calvinism has taken on many levels of belief. Most likely even John Calvin did not hold what some of them say they believe. As to why they believe in Calvinism perhaps some people need someone to point to who agrees with their system of belief. Perhaps others just want to be in the mix and others like the sound of the word. Make them feel scholarly or something.
While on occasions I also am accused of being a Calvinist because of some doctrine I might explain I never claim to be one because I have never met the man, talked to him on the phone, or read any book he has wrote. All that I have is the bible and if this man read his bible and held some of views I do it is because we have the same Author.

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realtruth101 said:

I think the bible is pretty clear don't follow men and their personal theology, if you call yourself a calvinist just by your confession your already in error of biblical teaching, follow Christ, as for Calvinism I don't think Calvin was wrong per say, Its just taking a theology to its extreme side, and there by overlooking all of scripture that shows there is a missing element. I personally find there are two ditches on each side of the Christian road and each one is the extreme opposite of the other, where by both are correct yet both are lacking, I say the middle of the road is biblically balanced road just as the book of James makes faith without works a dead faith It becomes perfectly clear, there are many things working togather, grace, faith, works, just siding with one of these is an imbalance in biblical theology, but when they are all put togather, building on eachother, into one complete form, It is a more correct picture

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miamited said:

Hi again Knight,

Speaking as a born again believer, I can tell you that how I see the TULIP principle, it is seriously flawed. I agree with the understanding that most have understood Calvin's position on the 'T', but beyond that I'm not in agreement.

God bless you.
In Christ, Ted

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Knightwolflord said:

Hmmmm....perhaps some clarification is needed.

What I meant by “Calvinistic” in Baptist Christianity, particularly as it was taught to me are things like:

· Total Depravity
· Eternal Security (“Once Saved, Always Saved”)
· Irresistible grace

There are no doubt other “Calvinistic” themes present, but I can’t think of anymore or their specific examples right now. The major one that stands out is the “Once Saved, Always Saved” thing and the idea of a one-time salvation event (as opposed to the idea of justification as an ongoing process). Both of these seem strong in American Evangelicalism and seem almost “dogmatic” for the SBC.

I understand well that Calvinism is an umbrella term. There is no “Calvinism” as such in the SBC since many pick & choose which parts of TULIP they are going to believe (hence the much disputed “Limited Atonement”, etc.).

Thank you for sharing with us!

The doctrine of “once saved, always saved” is actually a fairly wide spectrum of doctrines that fall under a large umbrella, and the very large majority of Baptists today believe in some form of this doctrine. The earliest Baptists separated from the Church of England during a time when the Church of England was Arminian in its theology but these Baptists separated themselves over the issue of water baptism rather than Arminian theology and therefore remained Arminian in their beliefs.

However, the new and novel “TULIP” doctrines of Calvinism were at that time sweeping through continental Europe and these new and novel doctrines of Calvinism soon gained a very strong foothold in our very early Baptist churches—so much so that the late 17th century Baptist churches were, for the most part, Calvinistic. Since that time, our Baptist churches have been very gradually taking a stand against the errors of Calvinism, and today the very large majority of Baptist churches teach contrary to all five of the “TULIP” doctrines of Calvinism. Consequently, they reject the notion that all true believers will “persevere” (as Calvin taught), but teach that God will “preserve” all true believers.

None of the doctrines that fall under the umbrella of “once saved, always saved” are taught in the Bible, and therefore no one “found” any of them in the Bible until a very wrong understanding of the sovereignty of God in continental Europe resulted in the five new and novel “TULIP” doctrines of Calvinism. By the grace of God, the Roman Catholic Church has consistently rejected all of these incorrect teachings, as have also all of the Orthodox Churches.

Since the beginning of the Protestant Reformation, very many Protestant denominations have sprung up and many of them, including a few Baptist denominations, have also consistently rejected all five of the “TULIP” doctrines of Calvinism. Unfortunately, many other denominations have not rejected them.

The SBC was formed by Southerners in the United States who wrongly believed that the institution of slavery was not only fair and just, but ordained by God and endorsed in both the Old and the New Testaments. From their point of view, the “God-given right” to own slaves was much more important than the issue of Calvinism versus Arminianism and hence the denomination did not take a stand on the issue. In the early part of the next century, preventing women from getting the right to vote was to them more important than the issue of Calvinism versus Arminianism and hence the denomination still did not take a stand on the issue. By that time, the SBC was so staunchly diverse in its teaching on the issue of Calvinism versus Arminianism that it has continued to be diverse in its teaching on that issue. Nonetheless, the churches belonging to the SBC, with very few exceptions, teach the doctrine of “once saved, always saved” in one form or another.

If the Bible really teaches the doctrine of “once saved, always saved,” surely someone would have noticed that fact before the doctrine was “discovered” in the Bible by European Roman Catholic dissenters. This fact has been a thorn in the side of advocates of the doctrine of “once saved, always saved” ever since the doctrine was first conceived in the 16th century, and although many of the advocates have diligently searched through the many thousands of Christian documents composed prior to the 16th century hoping to find at least one that supports their theology, not a single one has been found. Most regrettably, however, some individuals have quoted some of these documents out of context to make it appear that they support their theology, and if you should encounter any of these quotes, I strongly urge you to read them in context to see for yourself what the documents really say.

My God bless you and your family!

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Jireh said:

There's no "middle road" Baptist theology. Theologically, one's "ism" is either Pelagianism, synergism or monergism. The Reformed/Calvinistic Baptist "ism" is monergism.

Soli deo gloria

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