My Crazy Faith

Another long look into Calvinism from a former Calvinist.  But a very good one with lots of biblical points that throw Calvinism into doubt. Calvinism Critiqued By A Former Calvinist I really appreciate people taking the time to write out their stories.  We can learn a lot from them and find encouragement through them. I like this, but do not agree with the "II. Unconditional Election" point.  I do believe that God did indeed foreknow those who would choose Him, and He chose those whom He knew would choose Him.   It's similar to how God chose a remnant in  Romans 11:4-5  when He says that in the past He chose seven thousand people who did not bow the knee to Baal, and that He likewise chose a remnant at the present time.  The people made their choice about worshipping Baal or not, and then God chose those who did not turn to false gods.  He chose those who chose Him.  (But what did He choose the 7000 for?  If you go to  1 K...

Here is the original section I wrote for   my life story   over at my other blog: I am also a Licensed Professional Counselor with a Master’s degree in Counseling Psychology.  But that sounds more impressive than it really is, because I actually have very little counseling experience. And my first “attempt” at it wasn’t very impressive, either.  My very first counseling job was, of course, as an intern.  I was supposed to sit in with my supervisor as he counseled a reluctant teen boy.  And I was hugely pregnant with my first child. Before going into the counseling room, I was passing through the office when a bowl of butterscotch candies called out to me,  “Heather, you want one of us!  We look good, don’t we?  Go ahead, take one!  The baby wants butterscotch!”   A little voice in my head said,  “Don’t do it.”   But did I listen?  No!  I grabbed a piece and popped it in my mouth.  After all, I was just ...

[This "Things My Calvinist Pastor Said" series is a breakdown on this much longer post:  "We Left Our Church Because of Calvinism,"  which was written last year but updated July 2020.  All memes were created with  imgflip .   And these are not exact quotes, but they are summaries of what he said (exact quotes from his sermons can be found here ).] 8.   "Man is oblivious to his sin.... People have tried over the years to make up for their sins in their own way, giving sacrifices to gods, following laws, etc..... God is not pleased with our attempts to make up for our sins on our own. "             Question: If "unregenerated" men (as Calvinists define it) are so oblivious to their sin, how on earth could unsaved people try to make up for their sins on their own, when they are supposedly completely unaware of their sins to begin with?  (Calvinism is a self-defeating, contradictory theology!)     ...

I rediscovered this song a little while ago, a song I've always loved.  (I've always been a fan of gravelly voices like Joe Cocker's.) And I found this great video to go with it:  "Have a Little Faith in Me" We all have faith in something.  We are all betting our eternal souls on something. Where's your faith?  Who or what are you counting on to save you?

I saw this pop up in the news feed and I was curious, so I clicked on it.  I really didn't expect to be so touched by it.  What a great video!  A little bit of encouragement in these dark days.  (It premiered 16 hours ago and already has over 8 million views.)  "Holy" by Justin Bieber

This is a really good testimony.  When you first start listening, you don't think it's going to be that powerful.  But it is!  And such honesty!   Tiffaney - My Testimony: How I Became a Christian (25 minutes)

I don't like when people take Scripture and apply it to anything they want to, interpreting it however they want, to fit their own ideas.  But humor me here ... Doesn't Isaiah 26 make you think about life around the time of the rapture? "Open the gates that the righteous may enter, the nation that keeps faith.   You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you. "   (Like opening the gates of heaven to believers at the rapture, keeping them in peace while the world goes into turmoil during the tribulation.) "He humbles those who dwell on high, he lays the lofty city low; he levels it to the ground and casts it down into dust."   (Like how God will judge and trample His enemies during the tribulation, those who thought they were above Him, who didn't humble themselves before Him.) "The path of the righteous is level; O upright One, you make the way of the righteous smooth."   (The "path" to heaven an...