><<Perhaps it is the rarity of Calvinism in evangelical Christianity these
>days that makes this TE/EC point of view so difficult to swallow to many on
>the lists.>>
>
>I hadn't thought as much about the Calvinistic influence on your POV. Being of
>an Arminian stripe, perhaps this explains MUCH about our disagreements! Yes,
>we can disagree about the evidence, but our theological lenses are probably
>thicker than I had previously appreciated. We don't want to get into the
>thicket of theoloy on this list too much, but there it is. Something I'll put
>into the mix from now on.
I'm glad Terry brought this point up. I am a Calvinist myself, however I
come from an Arminian past. My sense is that Calvinism deals more easily
with issues like evolution than do some of the other views of theology.
However, I wonder if the difference is not so much Calvinism/Arminianism as
Dispensational/nondispensational eschatology. The Dispensational view of
eschatology depends more on literal interpretation of Daniel and Revelation
than Calvinism does, and this habit may extend to Genesis as well. Now
please understand that I'm not trying to denigrate Dispensationalism or pin
the label of "Dispensationalist" on anyone who doesn't willingly accept it.
But there is a significant difference in thinking between Calvinists and
Dispensationalists which probably affects this discussion. Many Arminians,
while they emphatically deny that they are Dispensationalists, do use the
Dispensationalists' approach to eschatology, and so I wouldn't be surprised
to find them on the same side as the Dispensationalists in these
discussions, if the Dispensationalist view of eschatology is a factor.
As Terry did, I want to make it clear that I don't consider TE or EC the
only viable view for Calvinists. Quite a few Calvinists are creationists
of various stripes.
Bill Hamilton
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William E. Hamilton, Jr., Ph.D.
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