I love the theological systems that people create to explain how they understand God's plan. Yet, most if not all theological systems start with their explanation of how God will carry out His plan without ever taking into consideration the character of God or the Christo-centricity of the Bible.
You can see how men went to one extreme (Augustiniaism, Calvinism) and then reacted with opposite extremes of (Pelagianism, Arminiaism). In one extreme they talk about the sovereign determinism of God where man is an automaton, robot, puppet and has been rendered completely passive with no responsibility or choice in his interactions with God's sovereign determinism. Yet, in the other extreme man is in full control, engaged in his own performance and works apart from intimate relationship with God. God is basically irrelevant in both extremes and man is just executing the procedures and behavioral concepts of his pet religious system. Both extremes lead to false, cultish belief systems.
In either case, I would not want to dwell with that kind of God, in eternity. Absolutely NOT!!
Have you ever noticed that no one wants to take any personal responsibility in their "carefully thought out" theological systems. Though man seeks to systematize the Bible and create individual belief systems, the Bible is not a theological system. Men who see the Centrality of Christ throughout the Bible do not see a system of theology or a belief-system. Doctrines and belief-systems will always focus on religion but not Christ. Christ is Christianity and Christianity is Christ. Christianity is not Calvinism, Arminiaism, Pelagianism, Augustiniaism, or any other "ism".
Jesus' teaching was about HIMSELF. He is the essence of Christian thought and teaching.
TRUTH is a PERSON and not a belief-system of doctrinal theology by which orthodoxy is logically and rationally arrived at.
Jesus Christ is LIFE. He is Life, EXCLUSIVELY. There is life in nothing and no one else, especially men's belief-systems.
John 14:6 I am the way, the truth and the life.
Christianity is not an "ism". All isms do, is reduce the spiritual reality of Christianity by trying to formulate Christianity as an ideological belief-system of procedures and behavior that never can contain the supernatural activity of the Living God.
God will never be confined to man's little box or bottle and YES, you do have a responsibility towards Him. You are not a robot, puppet or automaton and neither is God a myth or figure-head leaving the whole "operation" of Christianity to you.
Axehead
You can see how men went to one extreme (Augustiniaism, Calvinism) and then reacted with opposite extremes of (Pelagianism, Arminiaism). In one extreme they talk about the sovereign determinism of God where man is an automaton, robot, puppet and has been rendered completely passive with no responsibility or choice in his interactions with God's sovereign determinism. Yet, in the other extreme man is in full control, engaged in his own performance and works apart from intimate relationship with God. God is basically irrelevant in both extremes and man is just executing the procedures and behavioral concepts of his pet religious system. Both extremes lead to false, cultish belief systems.
In either case, I would not want to dwell with that kind of God, in eternity. Absolutely NOT!!
Have you ever noticed that no one wants to take any personal responsibility in their "carefully thought out" theological systems. Though man seeks to systematize the Bible and create individual belief systems, the Bible is not a theological system. Men who see the Centrality of Christ throughout the Bible do not see a system of theology or a belief-system. Doctrines and belief-systems will always focus on religion but not Christ. Christ is Christianity and Christianity is Christ. Christianity is not Calvinism, Arminiaism, Pelagianism, Augustiniaism, or any other "ism".
Jesus' teaching was about HIMSELF. He is the essence of Christian thought and teaching.
TRUTH is a PERSON and not a belief-system of doctrinal theology by which orthodoxy is logically and rationally arrived at.
Jesus Christ is LIFE. He is Life, EXCLUSIVELY. There is life in nothing and no one else, especially men's belief-systems.
John 14:6 I am the way, the truth and the life.
Christianity is not an "ism". All isms do, is reduce the spiritual reality of Christianity by trying to formulate Christianity as an ideological belief-system of procedures and behavior that never can contain the supernatural activity of the Living God.
God will never be confined to man's little box or bottle and YES, you do have a responsibility towards Him. You are not a robot, puppet or automaton and neither is God a myth or figure-head leaving the whole "operation" of Christianity to you.
Axehead