How do Calvinists explain Satan? The illusion of free choice

Recently we've been reconsidering many of the things we thought we understood regarding doctrine and faith. We have begun to question certain beliefs, church structures, and practices of the western church. Too often we have discovered unbiblical doctrines and activities. This causes us concern. We have deemed this our “Rethink.”

Our questions include, how did we arrive at our doctrines? Does the Bible really teach what we think it teaches? Why do churches do what they do? What is the biblical basis of church leadership structure? Why do certain traditions get entrenched?

It's easy to be spoon fed the conventional wisdom, but it's an entirely separate thing to search these things out for one's self. In the past we have read the Bible with these unexamined understandings and interpreted what we read through those lenses. We were lazy about our Bible study, assuming that pastors and theologians were telling us the truth, but we rarely checked it out for ourselves.

Therefore, these Rethinks are our attempt to remedy the situation.

We should note that we are not Bible scholars, but we believe that one doesn't need to be in order to understand the Word of God.

Woman “Pastor” Claims That Names in the Bible Have Been Changed to Hide All the Female Apostles - by Publisher

Found here. Our comments in bold.

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The unnamed "Publisher" cannot be bothered to quote or reference the Bible. He hyperventilates about some woman making various claims, but cannot seem to tell us exactly where in the Bible she goes wrong.

This is par for the course for "Publisher." No Bible verses and no biblical exposition or logical refutation.

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Hell to Pay: What Truly Happened to Jesus on the Cross? - By Nick Batzig

Found here. Our comments in bold.

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We don't intend to disrespect the author, but his article is a contender for a top ten position as the worst Bible teaching we have ever read. It has all the indicators:

• Lengthy quotes from theologians
• Lengthy quotes from pastors
• Lengthy quotes from statements of faith
• A quote from a hymn
• No Bible quotes
• No Bible verses referenced
• Cherry-picked opposition position

How is it possible to teach on a doctrine without quoting or even referencing the Bible? This is astonishing. But this is what the author routinely does. He rarely, if ever, quotes Scripture.

We think that the reason the author avoids the Bible is because none of his statements can be backed up with the Bible. Jesus wasn't forsaken, the Father did not punish Him for our sins, and He didn't experience hell on the cross. We will explain below.

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Was Jesus in the Grave for Three Days? - by Gabriel N.E. Fluhrer

Found here. Our comments in bold.

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The Church has traditionally taught that Jesus was crucified on Friday and rose on Sunday morning. This teaching creates a time problem. 

The author is going to supply us with the conventional apologetic for the problem of how long Jesus was actually in the grave by counting partial days. However, this explanation does not account for required three nights. 

Our full solution to this problem appears at the bottom.

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For every player who credits God for the win, a player from the opposing team can logically blame God for the loss

A Faceborg friend posted this:

The text:

For every player who credits God for the win, a player from the opposing team can logically blame God for the loss. Neil deGrasse Tyson

We have a few comments, assuming of course that Dr. Tyson actually said this.

The first thing we want to mention is that when we have questions about astrophysics, we will want to know what Dr. Tyson thinks. When it comes to religion, we will ask someone who believes in God and has some expertise in religion. 

How to Read the Pastoral Epistles - by William Barcley

Found here. Our comments in bold.

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The author has a mistaken view of the epistles to Timothy and Titus, yet for some reason he still manages to hit all the right notes. 

Timothy and Titus were not pastors, so these three letters cannot be pastoral epistles. Both Timothy and Titus were on assignment from Paul (1Ti. 1:3, Tit. 1:5) to set things in order until Paul could arrive (1Ti. 4:13) or until these men could return to him (2Ti. 4:9, Tit. 3:12). They went on other assignments as well (Ac. 19:22, 1Co. 4:17, Ph. 2:19, 1Th. 3:2, 2Co. 7:6).

They weren't pastors because they were sent to establish the leadership of these churches, not be the leadership (1Ti. chapter 3, Titus chapter 1). They weren't pastors because they ordinarily traveled with Paul (Ac. 17:14, Ro. 16:21, He. 13:23, 2Co. 7:6, Ga. 2:1). They weren't pastors because these men were charged with correcting doctrine, dealing with false teachers, and modeling and teaching holy behavior.

They were not pastors.

We mentioned the author otherwise hit all the right notes. Had he omitted the word "pastoral" he would have been right on.

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Can Baptists believe in infant regeneration? Of course! But what is the state of infants? - by Steve Kneale

Found here. Our comments in bold.

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Interpreting doctrines through Calvinism creates many complicating factors that need to be explained, accounted for, worked around, and speculated upon. 

The author's below article is an example. He intends to explain his topic via the Calvinistic doctrine of Election. However, he doesn't even bother to quote Scripture. Nothing. He does mention the word "Bible" twice and the word "Scripture" once, but the Bible itself is completely absent.

Astonishing. How does one explain a doctrine without using the Bible?

Election is the idea that God has already chosen those who will be saved. The Elect are pre-selected, which means the lost and the saved are already determined and irrevocably destined for hell and heaven, respectively. 

The author suggests that infants can be part of the Elect (using the truly cumbersome and unenlightening word "regeneration"), but Scripture is completely silent on the eternal fate of infants, as well as  pets, aborted babies, and the mentally disabled. It is therefore improper to speculate based on the silence of the Bible. Yet the author does speculate, not from the Bible, but on how Spurgeon's Calvinism comes to bear on the problem.

After going around and around with Calvinistic doctrines like Unconditional Election, Irresistible Grace, and Total Depravity, he finally concludes that he can only rely on the fact that God always does the right thing. This is quite sensible, but it also means his entire presentation is moot. 

When God does not speak to an issue in the Bible, we can only stand firm on His justice and mercy.

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Sad Pastor vs. Joyful Pastor - By Elizabeth Prata

Found here. Our comments in bold.

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Ms. Prata quotes a social media post written by discouraged pastor and another pastor's response. She then has some closing remarks. 

But none of what is written below is biblical. This is a textbook example of why pastors fail, stumble, get divorced, have affairs, or just give up. These pastors are doing a laundry list of duties that has nothing to do with being a true pastor.

A biblical pastor has no other duty than to care for the flock. He isn't the singular CEO leader, he isn't the administrator, he not the teacher, he doesn't shovel snow off the sidewalks. 

He cares for the flock.

The Bible teaches that local churches are run by a plurality of elders:

1Pe. 5:1-2 To the elders among you, I appeal as a fellow-elder, a witness of Christ’s sufferings and one who also will share in the glory to be revealed: 2 Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, serving as overseers — not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not greedy for money, but eager to serve...

Peter was exhorting this group of elders to be the pastors and overseers. In other words, these elders needed to step up and care for the flock and take care of the business of the church. 

The elders function in these roles. The elders do the pastoring. Pastors do not preside over the elders, the elders pastor.

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The most troubling aspect of today’s Supreme Court decision - by Robert Reich

Found here. Our comments in bold.

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Dr. Reich never ceases to amaze us with his astounding ability to agree or disagree with the issues of the day based only on his leftist perspective. The thing he opposes when they go against his politics are the same things he favors when they favor of his politics. 

He always is supportive of court rulings that conform to his politics. So if, say, Florida had ruled that Biden could not appear on its ballot, Dr. Reich would be arguing the opposite of what is found below. 

Dr. Reich is semi-adept at the rhetorical wigglings that are necessary to make it sound like he's being thoughtful and reasonable.

But he is an apparatchik spewing leftist talking points, nothing else.

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Does God impute righteousness to us?

Recently we've been reconsidering many of the things we thought we understood regarding doctrine and faith. We have begun to question certain beliefs, church structures, and practices of the western church. Too often we have discovered unbiblical doctrines and activities. This causes us concern. We have deemed this our “Rethink.”

Our questions include, how did we arrive at our doctrines? Does the Bible really teach what we think it teaches? Why do churches do what they do? What is the biblical basis of church leadership structure? Why do certain traditions get entrenched?

It's easy to be spoon fed the conventional wisdom, but it's an entirely separate thing to search these things out for one's self. In the past we have read the Bible with these unexamined understandings and interpreted what we read through those lenses. We were lazy about our Bible study, assuming that pastors and theologians were telling us the truth, but we rarely checked it out for ourselves.

Therefore, these Rethinks are our attempt to remedy the situation.

We should note that we are not Bible scholars, but we believe that one doesn't need to be in order to understand the Word of God.

THE GREAT MYTHS 14: “THE INQUISITION” – MYTHS AND HISTORY - by Tim O'Neill

Found here. An important article.

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Along with “the Witch Craze” and “the Crusades”, the violence and oppression of “the Inquisition” is part of a triumvirate of historical atrocities that is usually invoked by anti-theists as proof of the wickedness of Christianity in particular and religion in general. “Everyone knows” these things were evil, even though what most people know about each of these things is largely wrong. This is perhaps most the case with “the Inquisition”; given that there was never a single institution by that name and most people’s conception of inquisitions are cartoonish clichés based on popular media which are in turn based on centuries of deliberate distortion and propaganda. By modern standards, the various historical inquisitions were certainly oppressive, often deadly, and their aims and many of their methods are, to us, repugnant. But anti-religious polemicists tend to be largely uninterested in the facts of this complex historical subject, relying entirely on their own inadequate conception of “the Inquisition” and basing arguments on these erroneous ideas.

Does the Doctrine of Limited Atonement Undermine Evangelism? - by R.C. Sproul

Found here. Our comments in bold.

It is refreshing that a Bible teacher actually quotes some Scripture. But if Dr. Sproul quoted them to prove his doctrine, these Scriptures do not do that.

And, the question to answer from the title is about how the doctrine might come to bear on evangelism, not if the doctrine is true.
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The Doctrine of Imputation - AN ESSAY BY J. V. Fesko

Found here. Our comments in bold.

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We think the author complicates and confuses simple concepts. Jesus' death on the cross was sacrificial, not something akin to a financial or legal transaction. There was no exchange, there was spilled blood, the agent of forgiven sin: 

He. 9:22 ...without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness. 

Jesus' sacrificial death overcame sin (1Co. 15:56-57), and His victorious resurrection overcame death (Ro. 6:9). We needed both.

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1967 Pontiac Lemans budget build - episode fourteen, panel prep and block and prime - final update, 4/8/24

Lemans #2 Episodes start here.

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Episode one, introduction.

Episode two, trunk panel install part one.

Episode three, trunk panel install part two.

Episode four, door rust repair.

Episode five, tail light panel and rear crossmember.

Episode six, passenger quarter panel.

Episode seven, driver's quarter panel.

Episode eight, floor pan and rockers, part one.

Episode nine, floor pan and rockers, part two.

Episode ten, frame repair and prep, body drop.

Episode eleven, radiator core support and miscellaneous rust repair.

Episode twelve, trunk repair and more miscellaneous rust repair.

Episode thirteen, fender and inner fender repair.

Episode fourteen, panel prep and block and prime.

This is our last official episode, having achieved our one year goal of fixing the rust, doing the bodywork, and priming the car. The car was listed on Faceborg marketplace on April 1st, and the new owner picked it up this morning, April 8th.

This last episode will cover the panel prep for block and prime. This is another big task, where all the gaps need to be checked and aligned, the door jambs, trunk jambs, the cowls and other untouched surfaces need to be sanded to accept primer, and the surface rust and degraded original paint must be sanded out.

But before I get to all this it's time for a pre-primer review of where we came from.

Did Tongues Cease or Not? - by Phil Johnson

Found here. Our comments in bold.

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This frustrating article is just short of 4000 words, yet the author manages to quote only three actual full Bible verses, none of which bolster any of the author's central claims.

But he has a lot to say about what people historically believed, or what the Bible does not say, or what contemporary Christians do or don't do. These are logical fallacies which have nothing to do with the biblical case. We will identify each of these fallacies as they come up by identifying them with the phrase "an Appeal To...." or "an Argument From..." There will be an astounding 38 of them. 

We will also highlight in red the author's text that employs these techniques. The reader will see that precious little remains.

Further, the author never actually discusses the answer to the question contained in the title.

Lastly, the author continually presumes his premises via the terminology he employs. For example, "apostolic gifts." The matter to be demonstrated is whether or not the gifts were indeed apostolic. Of course, the author never does explain or document these presumptions.

We must deem this Bad Bible Teaching.

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Bad worship songs - Beautiful Exchange - Hillsong Worship

From time to to we examine the lyrics of worship songs. Our desire is not to mock or humiliate, but rather to honestly examine content with a view to calling forth a better worship expression.

With the great volume and variety of worship music available, none of us should have to settle for bad worship songs. We should be able to select hundreds or even thousands of top notch songs very easily.

We should note that our title is about worship songs. A bad worship song can be a good song. What makes a song a good worship song? Is it enough to contain words like God or holy? How about vaguely spiritual sounding phrases? Should Jesus be mentioned? We think an excellent worship song should contain as many as possible of the following elements:

• A direct expression of adoration (God, you are...)
• A progression of ideas that culminates in a coherent story
• A focus on God, not us
• A certain amount of profundity
• A singable, interesting melody

Scripture quotes or coherent allusions to Scripture

• Doctrinal soundness
• Further, a worship song should not:
• contain lyrics that create uncertainty or cause confusion
• be excessively metaphorical
• be excessively repetitive
• imply that Jesus is your boyfriend

It's worth noting the most worship songs contain at least something good. That is, there might be a musical idea or a lyric that has merit. Such is the case with today's song, Beautiful Exchange:

Video link.

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Francis Chan Says God Wants Roman Catholics, Protestants, and Orthodox All at the Same Communion Table - by Publisher

Found here. Our comments in bold.

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The doctrinal Police are at it again. The unnamed "Publisher" has an opinion about a statement made by Francis Chan about communion. Now, we don't wish to defend the unbiblical doctrines of various sects, nor do we intend to defend Mr. Chan, but we also don't want to dismiss millions of professing Christians (it's not within anyone's ability to know the eternal status of anyone) as far as who is eligible to receive communion. 

In addition, correct doctrine is not a determiner of salvation. Correct doctrine is certainly a desirable pursuit, but regarding the Holy Spirit's action in the human soul, well, that is a matter of divine knowledge and not related to correct doctrine.

But more to the point, eligibility to partake of communion as a sacrament is really a matter of individual church or denominational practice. But this is not described in the Bible. 

Nor is it the solemn ceremony practiced by most churches.

The Bible describes communion as a meal where the saints come together to fellowship. The early church gathered frequently to eat together: 

Ac. 2:46 Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts...

Paul told the Corinthian church that their divisions were a big problem:

1Co. 11:18 In the first place, I hear that when you come together as a church, there are divisions among you, and to some extent I believe it.

According to Paul, this was spilling over into their communal meals (1Co. 11:20). They were dishonoring the Body by getting drunk and excluding people, who ended up going hungry (1Co. 11:21). That's why Paul charged them to examine themselves to see if they were properly remembering the Body in the midst of their fellowship together (1Co. 11:28).

Notice that Paul made no requirement regarding the salvation status of anyone. We might presume that all were Christians, but Paul doesn't say. The problem was one of division and exclusion, not of the salvation or doctrine of the attendees.

So let's bring this to today. Biblically speaking, communion ought to be the regular gathering of the saints to eat and to remember Jesus' sacrifice. Though an assembly of the saints, it should be open to all comers. Those who are lost and those who might belong to a deviant church should come and see how much the brethren love one another. 

It might save some of them.

It seems ironic that "Publisher" would want to exclude certain people when that is exactly what Paul's complaint was about. We would therefore hope that attitudes about communion would change to conform to biblical teaching.

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The Emerging Republican Theocracy - White Christian nationalism is the creed of red America - by ROBERT REICH

Found here. Our comments in bold.

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The most striking thing about this screed, aside from its irredeemable irrationality, is its irony. Everything Dr. Reich complains about is implemented or about to be implemented by the Left. Dr. Reich goes on and on about the possibility of dangerous authoritarianism of "Christian nationalists" while right now we have the authoritarianism of the Left in operation. He wants freedom of religion while the Left is simultaneously silencing Christians for putting their faith into practice.

Can anyone remember "Christian nationalism" being a thing prior to maybe a few years ago? The idea appeared out of nowhere, doubtless a talking point from the deep state. It's truly astounding how fast these bumper sticker slogans gain traction. 

So, Dr. Reich thinks these "Christian nationalists" are dangerous. They are going discriminate, force people to believe in God, and march people off to the gulag. This nonsense is designed to ramp up outrage against an imagined enemy so as to mobilize the troops. The objective, of course, is to suppress Christianity. 

But the upshot is, even if every "danger" described by Dr. Reich is true, we would still prefer that society over the one envisioned by Leftists. 

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WHAT DO WE DO WITH DREAMS AND VISIONS? - by Lovesickscribe

Found here. Our comments in bold.

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Finally we have someone who will be discussing the cessationist view of Joel's prophecy, the pouring out of the Spirit on all people. Astonishingly, the author will completely avoid the plain statements of the passage. Basically, the author will say, "well, it can't mean what it says, so it must mean something else."

In addition, the author will never quote any Bible verse other than the one verse from Joel, so her article will generally be presented without the Bible. And, she never answers the question asked in the title.

Lastly, the author will not quote Peter's restatement of the prophecy:

Ac. 2:16-21 No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: 17 “In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. 18 Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy. 19 I will show wonders in the heaven above and signs on the earth below, blood and fire and billows of smoke. 20 The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord. 21 And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." [Joel 2:28-32]

We must deem this Bad Bible Teaching.

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Joyce Meyer Says Christians Should Never Feel Guilt for Sinning - by Staff Writer

Excerpted from here. Our comments in bold.
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Now, we have no intention of defending Joyce Meyer, but we shall examine the claim made by "staff writer" in light of what the Bible says. It's but a single sentence of commentary regarding this supposedly egregious explanation made by Ms. Meyer. 

We begin our excerpt at the point in the article where "staff writer" actually turns to address the subject matter.

We shall comment at the end.

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