The Society of Evangelical Arminians (SEA) is an association of evangelical scholars and laymen who adhere to Arminian theology and are united in order to glorify God, edify his people, protect them from error, and foster the proper representation of our magnificent God to the world by…(2) refuting Calvinism and diminishing the number of its adherents, through the concerted, strategic effort of Arminians networked through the society for the accomplishment of these goals.
http://evangelicalarminians.org/about-us/
Let's assume, for the sake of argument, that Arminian theism is correct. (Of course, there are varieties of Arminianism, but I'll pass on that for now.) Let's say God is just like SEA's statement of faith.
Would God be pleased with SEA's priorities? Or do SEA's priorities dishonor the Arminian God?
If Arminian theism is correct, then refuting Calvinism and diminishing the number of Calvinists is a God-honoring exercise. Problem is, if Arminian theism is correct, why does refuting Calvinism and diminishing the number of Calvinists take precedence over refuting atheism and diminishing the number of atheists? Refuting Roman Catholicism and diminishing the number of Roman Catholics? Refuting Islam and diminishing the number of Muslims? Refuting Mormonism, Hinduism, or Buddhism, and diminishing the number of their adherents?
Refuting abortion or euthanasia, and diminishing the number of abortions or "mercy-killings"? Refuting homosexual marriage? Refuting attacks on the inerrancy of Scripture? Refuting attacks on the historicity of Adam?
Does the Arminian God think that refuting Calvinism and diminishing the number of Calvinists is more important than all these other issues? Why is that SEA's only target?
How will SEA members respond if, on the Day of Judgment, God asks them why they didn't make anything like the same "concerted, strategic effort" to refute these other egregious errors? Why was their concerted, strategic goal confined to refuting Calvinism and diminishing the number of Calvinists?
Ironically, if Arminian theism is true, I'd feel safer as a Calvinist than a member of SEA on the day of Judgment. I'd hate having to explain to the Almighty why I was so negligent in these other areas.
Frankly, I don't think the God of Arminianism is very real to SEA members. For if he were real to them, they'd realize that they dishonor the God they profess by their pinched agenda, to the exclusion of so many other targets, which–if Arminian theism is true–are at least as antithetical to the "proper representation" of God as Calvinism.
Maybe it's because they consciously self-identify as anti-Calvinist as opposed to anti-all-that-other-stuff. I think it's a bit odd to find self-identity in what one opposes.
ReplyDeleteIt's like Jews who self-identify as not Christian. That's about the only thing that defines them. To be Jewish is not Christian. A Jew can be anything else, but Christian is out of bounds.
ReplyDeleteLikewise, Arminian identity is reduced to not Calvinist.
Exactly.
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ReplyDeleteYou're getting to be a tiresome little troll who hedges his bets and plays both sides of the fence. This is your final warning. I'm responding to SEA on its own grounds. If the stated mission of SEA is to protect the faithful from error, defined by what's opposed to Arminian theology, then it's exceedingly provincial for SEA to single out Calvinism as the only target. If the God of Arminianism exists, then surely he's equally concerned about, say, 100 million deluded Catholics who put their faith in Mary's intercession.
DeleteFor that matter, SEA turns a blind eye to what's going on under their own roof. When was the last time SEA publicly criticized political or theological liberalism in Arminian circles? They don't and they won't because SEA is purely propagandistic.
Countercult ministries are generally broad-based. Those that only target one cult tend to be started by ex-members of a particular cult. Naturally, former cult members know that best.
No, the Founders Ministry is hardly the mirror-image of SEA. It's about a denomination. Don't waste any more of my time with your whiny Fifth Column complaints.
Although SEA puts "Not willing that any should perish" on its masthead, SEA is quite willing that ever so many should perish. It directs all its firepower at Calvinists. Are Calvinists perishing? Even if they are, what about all the perishing adherents of false belief-systems?
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