You are all more scholarly with regard to this subject than I ever could be, so I hesitate to post the following. Perhaps it will be of some value in the discussion. I simply feel moved to contribute because of my own background.
For years my husband and I were in churches that followed arminianism … meaning that we believed we had a free will to choose God or not to choose God. They were more works oriented, but some did not believe that you were save by works (although they may have worked as though they did). It is the Southern Baptist philosophy … it is the philosophy of most mainstream churches … or at least the jumping off point that has led to such a spiral away from Truth. Then we moved to an area where we were drawn to a reformed or Calvinistic church. We were not Calvinists … but the reformed teaching made much more sense, yet it took a few years before we crossed that line.
Predestination was a term that troubled me as an Arminian, because it meant I had no choice in the matter of salvation (neither did anyone else) … and, yet, there it was in the Bible. It was because of a Sunday School class I personally crossed that line, and became reformed in my thinking. We were studying a book called
Chosen By God. One of the things that was of concern to me was that humanism and arminianism are so closely related … and I was in the fight opposing humanism. I learned that I am not in the place of God … that we are God’s creation … and the Potter can do what He likes with vessels. I learned that there were vessels made for destruction. (I learned that the foregoing was all in the Bible … because one cannot read a book and know Truth without knowing what Scripture says.)
It was while in the reformed church that I grew to understand terminology such as sovereignty … predestination … etc. There is much within sectors of reformed teaching that builds one’s faith in a Holy God … that He is working all things out from beginning to end. He has a plan, and nobody on this earth (seen or unseen) can thwart Him. He calls whom He will. Teachings along this line fall right in line with CI. The difference is in who truly are the called. But there are many of the old writers whom I have learned from … whom I still learn from. I read a post this evening about the books we read … and how we are able to find the truth even when we disagree with authors in one way or another. That is how I read books from a reformed perspective now. (That is how I listen to sermons or read articles, although there are times I simply have to shut off the noise and toss the articles, because they are so bad.)
There are segments of Reformed churches that have written extensively against the Catholic Church … and continue to do so, especially with the upcoming visit to our country by the Pope. There are teachers and writers who are not afraid to label him an antichrist … a false prophet. There are those who are staunch supporters of keeping and bearing arms … and, then, there is Junius Brutus who wrote
A Defense of Liberty Against Tyrants. Here is a quote from the book.
That if lawful governors become tyrants, or govern otherwise than by the laws of God and man [as] they ought to do,they forfeit the right they had unto their government.But most importantly, the reformed churches have taught about a Holy, Sovereign God who is the blessed controller of all things. I have learned about the sinfulness of sin. I have learned about true repentance. I have learned to walk according to the laws of God … Old Testament included. There is much to be gleaned from a Matthew Henry … or an A.W. Pink … or Jeremiah Burroughs … and on and on the list could go.
I say this, and, yet, I understand the shortcomings … the differences between CI and Reformed teaching. I feel like there are those who should know better, because they are scholarly, and yet, they are blinded by whom they believe is a Jew and who is not (meaning we are not … we are the gentiles (so-called). They are falling more and more into lock step with miscegenation. They are the last among the mainstream churches to fall … because they are well read … they are those who still learn Latin and Greek. This means that other "races" were not attracted to Reformed churches. However, they are still the blind leading the blind in key areas. There are so many things we can talk about together … but there are limits to those conversations. In my way of thinking, these are people who may be more easily swayed to our view of who is whom over other segments of Judeo-Christianity.
I say all this, not to defend whatever is false in their understanding … but Yahweh God was able to use the reformed church as a stepping stone into CI. I have read that some of the older ministers … and J. C. Ryle may have been one of them ... who seemed to have a tendency towards belief in God’s chosen people
not being that little country now occupied by Jews. Pehaps some of them did not speak to intermarriage because it was a non-issue ... and only whites attended their churches.
Because of Christogenea I have a clearer view of history than ever before. Over the years, although Bill has always been consistent with his teaching, to me … he is better today than he was a number of years ago. He is a Bible and history student … and he passes on to us what he has learned, although I am sure his studies are even more voluminous than he is able to pass on. His teaching gives incites that are not available in any mainstream church. My views of both World Wars have changed … and I understand the Bolshevik Revolution as I have never understood it ... and so much more. He could out-scholar the scholars of Reformed Theology.
I don’t know about John Calvin … whether he was a Jew or not. (I rather hope he is not.) I have heard the good, the bad, and the ugly about him. I understand that his earlier writings were flawed (even coming from Reformed circles) … more than his later ones. That is a sign of growth. I came to the conclusion that what has happened to Reformed circles is that many set the Reformers up on a pedestal without seeing their many flaws. Instead of continuing in the vein of the Reformers who were studying and learning as they made their way out of and away from the Catholic Church, some of today's ministers sort of got stuck there … idolizing the writings of all reformers … and not seeking Truth with their whole hearts.
The mainstream churches began to teach what their peers taught about the Scriptures … and forgot about thus saith the Lord. They began forgetting the word of God. They began forgetting God, and have created a god of their own making to follow. As I read the Scriptures a a younger believer, I began having questions that arminianism could not answer … but a certain segment of Reformed churches could. Yet, there were things the Reformed churches could not answer … and I found those answers within CI. (My oldest son says that I have always been a rebel … not meaning it in a kind way … but because we disagreed over what the Scripture says about whom we should befriend. I am a rebel. Had I not been, I would never have accepted the teachings of CI … much less Reformed Theology. I would be floating out there in some feel-good church … slowly dying on the vine and not knowing it. Putting it into more proper teaching … God opened my eyes so that I could see … me … someone who falls so very short so often. I will never stop marveling that He continues to open my understanding when I pick up the Word to read. I am so very grateful for what He has done.)
I do not know if this gives further insight into Reformed churches or not, but I wanted to add to the conversation. If I am not as clear as I ought to be, chalk it up to my cloudy head and sleepy eyes. I think one thing we can all agree on … the Reformation was a good thing. These were men who had to take a stand … a dangerous stand … against the power of the Catholic Church. They were warriors of a sort … fighting for the freedom to put the Word of God into the hands of the common folk … and struggling to understand the Word of God in a way that had never before been open to them. They carried one torch … and it was passed down to the next generation … to continue with their work … not stopping there, but seeking God with their whole heart to lead a people out of darkness into a great light. To me, that torch is now being carried by CI ... and although we are not great in number ... God is never daunted by a people few in number!
Elle