Calvinism and Its Predestination Theory vs.
When one hears the term Calvinism, he or she might be puzzled as to what this term means. After finding out what Calvinism means, he or she might also begin to ask themselves "Where did the word Calvinist come from? Where does Calvinism fit into church history? And finally what is the problem with Calvinism?" In the following paragraphs these questions will be answered and briefly discussed.
The term Calvinism came from Holland in 1610. Calvinism started due to the Arminians (James Arminius" followers) introduced five doctrinal concerns by protest to the Dutch Parliament. These five points were rejected by the Dutch Parliament but sparked the Dutch Parliament to make their own five doctrinal points in relation to what was just looked over. The Dutch Parliament's five points were called "Five Points of Calvinism" These were named after a French theologian who was one of the most important leaders of the Protestant Reformation. His name was John Calvin. He lived from 1509-1564 and throughout these years he did as much as he could to teach and pass on the doctrines. The doctrines were then brought into churches. For example, Augustine 354 to 430 a.d. was an important theologian among the early church fathers. Pelagius taught a Calvinistic principle and believed that people are born sinless and can remain sinless if and only if they are willing to do so. What Pelagius taught and meant wa.
s that salvation could easily be the achievement of strong will. This viewpoint of salvation was picked up and taken very seriously throughout the world including Scotland, England, and South Africa.
After knowing now what Calvinists believe (that is nothing happens to one in life that God has not predestined to happen) one can now start seeing the problems in Calvinism. From a Christian viewpoint we believe that the only way to have salvation is to ask God for your forgiveness of your sins and to truly trust in Jesus Christ for your salvation.
