If I was going to try and explain what Evangelical Calvinism is, and I was trying to do this in a discussion about such things after Sunday church service with some brothers, I would probably try to do it like this:
Me: I am an advocate for what we have calledΒ Evangelical Calvinism.
Brother[s]: Oh, so you’re an evangelical who is a Calvinist? So you believe in the 5 Points and the Doctrines of Grace?
Me: Well, yes, I am an ‘evangelical,’ but no, Evangelical Calvinism is not simply a matter of Evangelical + Calvinism; actually Evangelical is a modifier of Calvinist by identifying a material reality and methodological entry point towards what being “Calvinist” or “Reformed” is for the Evangelical Calvinist. In other words, to be anΒ evangelical CalvinistΒ materially means that the view of God we take is deeply Trinitarian; meaning that we start with this reality about God as central towards our understanding of who God isΒ β namely, thatΒ God is love.Β So because of this, because we start there, with God as love, our subsequent thinking about how God relates to us is oriented in a way that makes our ‘Calvinism’ much different than what is on offer by the anecdotal version of it known popularly as 5 point Calvinism.
Brother[s]: Well don’t all Calvinists affirm that GodΒ isΒ love? And how does this make your Calvinism different from the 5 point kind?
Me: Yes, all Calvinists do affirm that God is love, no doubt. The difference, though, is that classical Calvinism (and Arminianism) start with a certain philosophical conception of God (Aristotle), which leads them to emphasize that God is all powerful Creator, and to further emphasize that God is one. And so classical Calvinism brings with it, all of this kind of baggage before they ever really encounter God as revealed in Jesus Christ; before they ever really allow the emphases of the Incarnation of God in Christ itself to set the categories and emphases that He Himself brings in His own inner life revealed for us in Jesus Christ. And so classical Calvinism, even if ever so subtly, at points, gives us a God who relates to us through impersonal decrees, and more importantly decrees that are distinct but determinative toward how He must act in the Incarnation (but I am moving too quickly). As you can see though, there is more to this, than one might think at first blush.
The way God as love makes our kind of Calvinism different, is that it provides a framework for genuinely understanding why God created; and what defines his power; and how grace then undergirds all of creational reality. We don’t start with a conception of God prior to His Self-revelation in Jesus Christ (Jn 1.18). And even the Old Testament understanding of God, then, must be read through the lens of God’s Self revelation in Jesus Christ; especially since the OT was simply prefiguring this coming reality in Christ in the first place.
Me: Oh, you guys have to head out for lunch?
Brother[s]: Yeah, much to think about.
Me: Okay, until next Sunday then :-).
This is a helpful piece and I imagine a good exercise for you to refine your ability to speak about EC to those not necessarily steeped in the literature or the mode of thinking which you are steeped in.
“methodological entry point” is a helpful phrase as I think your average church goer might think about things theological without considering how their underlying assumptions etc shape their conclusions further down the line. Challenging classical theology at its roots rather than by pruning branches here and there is something people might not imagine possible!
So too “allow[ing] the emphases of God as revealed in Jesus Christ to set the agenda…”
Good stuff π
After trying to explain to someone how Evangelical Calvinism is different from 5pt Calvinism a friend said: “so you’re a Calvinist but you’re not a Calvinist! That’s crazy!” 0.o
I’ll try to do a better job explaining next time.
Main problem is people really think they know what Calvinism is.
They don’t know it is not monolithic.
Moe posts like this would be very helpful. Thanks!
AWESOME Bobby!! This I get, this I can swallow – this is just what I need, can’t wait until you explain our being elect because Christ is elect in this format. π BTW landed in Indianapolis and waiting patiently on the Lord (Ps 40:1)
and…. why didn’t they invite you to have lunch with them??
@Mark, Juan, Steve,
Thanks, thanks for confirming that this kind of communication is at a good accessible level; I am never totally sure, unless you all tell me. So thank you π
@Steve,
Because they needed time to think about the new heresy they just heard by themselves before our next contact ;-).
Steven,
Your comment is way too quick, and thus highly presumptuous. Read this post: http://growrag.wordpress.com/2013/11/07/what-is-an-evangelical-calvinist-getting-passed-the-shallow-end/
To say that something is covenantal almost means nothing. The fact is, is that the first covenantlists like Olievanus, Bullinger et al were rooted in the late medieval scholasticism of the day (see Heiko Oberman’s “Harvest”). I’m sorry, you are simply wrong. I have massive amount of posts and documentation that substantiates my assertions here; and then we have a book (if you hadn’t noticed in the sidebar).
Evangelical Calvinism, as we use the language, comes from Scottish Theology. And for Myk Habets and myself it is mediated through motifs provided by the theologies of Karl Barth, Thomas Torrance and John Calvin respectively. This obviously has nothing to do with dispensationalism. You commented way too quick.
And Steven,
What bothers me a little more about your comment, on further reflection; is that in this post itself I dispel the vary things about how I am using the language of Evangelical Calvinism that you are ostensibly attributing to it. What’s with that?!
This was a very interesting article. I appreciated your explanation of the different entry points of Classical Calvinists and Evangelical Calvinists. However, I’m still unclear as to how this difference works itself out doctrinally and practically. What does it look like compared to the 5-point Calvinist position?
Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts!!
Hi Mikah,
I will have to do a post to respond to your good question. It is possible to reframe the 5 points in a Christ conditioned way. When I have more time, I will tease that out through a post for you. I have done that once before, but can’t find it. Until then, here is another post on the subject that vaguely touches upon your question: http://evangelicalcalvinist.blogspot.com/2012/05/following-calvin-and-five-points.html
This post is taken from my old blogger blog.