Monday, January 31, 2011

Thinking Back On Keller

I keep thinking back on this point that Keller made during one of his talks at the Anglican 1000. He said that if you believe in salvation by faith alone, you have to believe in predestination. Keller is a Calvinist. Obviously, there are different variances on the predestination discussion, but it is a sensitive topic for those who can't believe that an all loving God would predetermine that some people are going to hell.

The point Keller made was that if you take any credit, however slight, for believing the gospel message over someone who heard and did not believe, than you are giving yourself commendation for that...and as a result are invoking some sort of 'works based' theology into your faith.

I'm having trouble digesting this. I think it takes away from free will. The only good explanation I have for the existence of evil is that some people choose it. It doesn't make sense that God would preordain some people choosing it. Ugh...I've got to go back to the books it seems. 

I'm going to develop this further on my own and write a follow up tomorrow night. At the very least...I'm going to write a bit on Calvinism's five points and the different schools of thought within Calvinism like Arminianism

But for now, it's late, and I want to hang out with my wife before she collapses into a sleepy heap.

Much Love