Today, I will present a short summation of the dominant schools of theological thought in the Church to help provide a cursory understanding of them.
"Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor? Or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid? For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.” (Romans 11:33-36 ESV)
CALVINISM
The most dominant school of thought in the Church today is Reformed Theology, also known as Calvinism, which adheres to the theological traditions and teachings of John Calvin and other preachers of the Reformation era who broke from the Roman Catholic Church in the 16th century.
Calvinism teaches that God limited atonement by ordaining every future event before creation and has selected only specific individuals for salvation based on nothing good or bad within the person. God then changes the hearts of pre-selected people to love Him because His saving grace is irresistible. It is taught that Jesus only died for the ones who had been pre-selected for salvation. In the fundamental teaching of Calvinism, it is believed that God actively causes people to sin or go to Hell.
The doctrine of salvation is defined using five points that are commonly explained utilizing the acrostic TULIP:
T - Total Depravity
U - Unconditional Election
L - Limited Atonement
I - Irresistible Grace
P - Perseverance of the Saints
Many in the church today define themselves as 5-point Calvinists. Moderate Calvinists often embrace three or four of these points, and marginal Calvinists hold to only one (eternal security).
T – Total Depravity
Adam and Eve sinned, and because of their sin, every human being is dead in their sinfulness and hates God. They are entirely unable to save themselves or accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior. They cannot do anything that is spiritually righteous because it is impossible for them to choose good over evil. God alone determines who will receive salvation, and cannot be offered to anyone because it is impossible.
(Mark 7:21-23; 1 Corinthians 1:18, 2:14; 2 Corinthians 4:4; Ephesians 2:1-3,15; Romans 3:10-12,23, 5:12,19, 7:18, 8:7 - Also Genesis 6:5, Psalm 143:2; Jonah 2:9; 2 Chronicles 6:36; Isaiah 53:6; Jeremiah 17:9)
U – Unconditional Election
God has chosen a particular group of people whom He calls His Bride and church. His choice was not based on looking down the portals of time – because God is all-knowing. Before any human being is born, God decides who goes to Heaven and who will not. God chooses to give some people eternal life without looking for anything good in them as a condition for loving and saving them. There was never a split second that God did not already know, based on His choice, who would be saved. God alone gives the faith necessary for a person to be saved, a gift of God's grace. **
(John 6:44,65,15:16; Acts 13:48; Romans 8:30,9:15-16; Ephesians 1:4-5,11; 2 Thessalonians 2:13; 2 Timothy 1:9,2:25; 1 Peter 1:2; Revelation 13:8 – See also Psalm 65:4; Proverbs 16:4)
**John Calvin wrote in INSTITUTES, Book III, chapter 23: "...Not all men are created with similar destiny but eternal life is foreordained for some, and eternal damnation for others. Every man, therefore, being created for one or the other of these ends, we say, he is predestined either to life or to death."
L – Limited Atonement
Jesus was the perfect, spotless lamb of God and the only one whose life could pay the penalty for humanity's rebellion against God. Jesus laid down His life for His sheep only, the Elect whom He planned and ordained to go to Heaven. The death of Jesus on the Cross was sufficient for the salvation of all humanity and secured everything necessary for salvation. Still, it is only effectual for those He chose and predestined before creation.
(Matthew 1:21,15:24,20:28,22:14, 26:28; John 6:37-39, 10:11,26, 17:9,19:30; Acts 20:28; Ephesians 5:25; Hebrews 7:26-27; Romans 8:28-30,33,9:11,13 - See also 1 Samuel 3:13-14)
I – Irresistible Grace
No human being can know when a person will answer the call of the Holy Spirit, which is why evangelism is essential. The Holy Spirit will, at some point in the life of the Elect, place a special irresistible inward call that will inevitably bring them to salvation. Human Beings can't turn this call away because God is not dependent upon their cooperation and makes them willing. His grace is invincible and will never fail to save whom He has set out to save.
(John 1:12-13, 3:3, 5:21,6:27,11:38-44; Acts 9:6,13:48, 16:14; 2 Corinthians 4:6, 15:10; 1 John 5:1 – See also Psalm 110:3)
P – Perseverance of the Saints
The Elect, those chosen by God, can never lose their salvation. They are kept safe by His omnipotent power. God preserves His people so they can never be lost.
(John 6:39,10:27-29, 17:2,11:12; Ephesians 4:30; Romans 8:37-39; Philippians 1:6; 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24; 2 Timothy 1:12, 4:18; 1 John 2:19; Jude 1:24-25)
Critics of Calvinism say it is a heretical system of fallen human philosophy as it denies that God was not sovereign over creation until He created it. The early Church taught none of the five points of Calvinism (TULIP). At least three of the five points (total depravity, unconditional election, and perseverance of the saints) did exist during the first 200 years of Christianity in a heretical movement called Gnosticism. Under Calvinism, people are not saved or unsaved. They are either elect or non-elect, and their elect status is assigned to them before birth. God's Sovereignty is not an eternal attribute that was compromised by the libertarian freedom He gave human beings but His right to have dominion over His creation. Calvinism denies God loves everyone in the truest sense because He already chose before the foundation of the world who would spend eternity suffering in the torment of damnation in Hell or eternity in Heaven with Him. Calvinism does away with free will. People don't make any choices because they are programmed before birth to think and act as they do in every facet of life. God is the author of all sin and pain and created satan to deceive people into sin. Because the Elect are guaranteed entrance into Heaven, God allows/authorizes/permits trials and tribulation, accidents, sickness, heartache, sorrow, pain, anguish, and tragedy to happen to teach/discipline/chastise/etc. Because God predestines people, there is nothing they can do or have done to change any of it. Some are doomed from the womb. There is no use in praying for friends or family because God allows only the predetermined Elect to be saved and everyone else to be eternally condemned.
ARMINIANISM
The second dominant school of thought in Christianity is Arminianism. In the seventeenth century, Jacob Arminius, a Dutch Reformed theologian, set forth a different understanding of salvation. It is sometimes explained using the acrostic FACTS:
F - Freed by grace to believe
A - Atonement for all
C - Conditional election
T - Total depravity
S - Security in Christ
Arminianism is an offshoot of Calvinism with roots in Pelagianism and Semi-Pelagianism. This school of thought teaches that God sees the future and knows who will respond to the Gospel and be saved. It is believed that God first enlightens the sinner and grants them the same freedom of choice that Adam had in the Garden. A person can freely choose to either accept or reject Jesus. Jesus died for all people, but it only applies to those who respond in faith. The simplified primary belief is that a person can 'lose' their salvation by acts of sin after a person becomes the dwelling place of God when they are Born-Again, which some say creates salvation by works and not by the unmerited grace and favor of God.
Critics say it is heretical because it is works-based and diminishes the grace of God and is actually inconsistent universalism that teaches the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are not sovereign enough and not powerful enough to save and keep those who become Born-Again even though God desires to save all and the death of Jesus atones for the sins of all (1 Timothy 2:4,6; John 1:20; James 5:19-20; 1 John 2:2).
PROVISIONISM
Within Arminianism, there is a rapidly growing school of thought known as Provisionism that agrees with the Arminian view of free will and salvation yet holds a positive belief in eternal security and agrees that the Gospel is the Word of God, which is sufficient in itself, through the power of the Holy Spirit, to enable a response in all who hear God's appeal to be reconciled to Him (John 6:63; Hebrews 4:12).
The Provisionist disagrees with the doctrines of total depravity, irresistible grace, and limited atonement and believes that all people are sinful and responsible for their sins and for answering God's universal call for a person to be saved because the Bible teaches that Jesus died for all people and He desires all of humanity to be saved which is why God promises to save any who come to Him in faith (Luke 5:32, 19:10; Romans 10:11–13; 1 John 2:2; 1 Timothy 2:4-6; Titus 2:11; Revelation 22:17).
Provisionism can be summarized with the acrostic PROVIDE.
P - People Sin
This separates all from fellowship with God; therefore, a divine provision became necessary. (Gen 3:15-24; Isa 59:2; Rom 5:12; Heb 9:22)
R - Responsible
Everyone is able to respond to God's appeals for reconciliation because a divine provision will be heard and understood. (Deut 30:11-19; Matt 23:37; Luke 8:12; Rom 2:4; Heb 3:7-8)
O - Open Door
Divine provision is offered impartially to all, for anyone to enter through faith, for whoever may come to the open arms of Jesus. (Isa 55:1-7; John 3:16; Rom 10:12, 1 Tim 2:3-4; 2 Peter 3:9)
V - Vicarious Atonement
This is the divine provision given of sufficient value for the sins of the whole world and provides a way for anyone to be saved based on the shed blood of Jesus. (Isa 53:1-12; John 12:32-33; 2 Cor 5:21; 1 Tim 2:5-6; 1 John 2:2)
I - Illuminating Grace
The Divine provision is offered sufficiently to all and provides clearly revealed truth so that people can know and respond in faith. (Job 33:12-30; John 1:9; Rom 1:16-2:10-12; Heb 10:39)
D - Destroyed
For unbelief and resisting the drawing of the Holy Spirit to God's mercy will be the divine provision for justice. (John 3:18,12:48; 2 Thess 1:6-9,2:10-12; Heb 10:39)
E - Eternal Security
Is the divine provision that everlasting life is for all who are Born-Again (John 3:3, 5:24; Romans 8:38-39; 2 Cor 1:20-22; Eph 1:13-14; 1 Peter 1:3-5)
Critics say that Provisionism is not Arminianism but is closer to Semi-Pelagianism because it denies original sin (guilt) and says that humans are not charged with sin until they actually start sinning and then are granted sufficient grace (prevenient grace) to be able to believe the Gospel. They deny a prior work of grace is needed, and God merely provided a way of salvation, so it is up to the person to choose salvation. The Provisionist cannot proclaim that God absolutely accomplishes all He desires and saves all He desires to save.
OPEN THEISM
Another less-known school of thought growing in popularity is called Open Theism, which teaches that the Creator of all things can't know the choices a person will make in advance. The term "open theism" was introduced in 1980 by theologian Richard Rice in his book entitled “The Openness of God.” It is believed that God knows everything that can be known, but He simply cannot know them in advance. The Open Theist would say that God tests people to see how they will respond and that when God prophesies, He steps in to actively cause those events to take place without looking to see the future.
Some partially agree with the above statements but ascribe to what is known as "Selective Open Theism," which teaches that God can choose to see any detail of the future that He desires. However, He selectively decides which things He wants to know about the future and which He does not.
Critics say it is heretical as it teaches that the omniscience of God is limited because He knows some future events, but not all of them, and will bring particular events to pass but leaves other events up to the individuals to whom He has bestowed the ability to choose. To accomplish His will, God has to override people's free will when necessary, which is a hopeless self-contradiction.
MOLINISM
Another rapidly growing school of thought is Molinism, named after the 16th-century Jesuit Luis de Molina, which teaches that because God is love, He gave human beings the free will to choose to accept or reject Him and to love or hate Him. Because God is absolutely sovereign and in control of all that happens, He can do anything He chooses, which is fully compatible with libertarian free will, yet He does not force humans to do anything.
Molinism distinguishes three different moments of knowledge: natural knowledge, middle knowledge (Scientia Media), and free knowledge. Because God is omniscient, He knows everything within the past, present, and future. He has absolute natural knowledge of all possible worlds and the outcome of any possible choice a person makes. He also knows logically all possible and necessary things and all possible combinations of every event and choice. He knows everything natural, free, and anything as true and absolute in any possible contingency of free will choice whether or not it has occurred in the present, future, or in between, before the foundations of the world (Isaiah 46:10-11). God knew that sin would enter the world, but He is not the author of sin. He knows the possibilities of every circumstance and every different choice a human might make, yet He willingly allows only one of those potential choices to occur.
God's knowledge is not dependent on the free actions of human beings because nothing is uncertain to Him. All things are under the power of His providence and decrees (Ezekiel 11:5; Psalm 147:5; Acts 15:18, 17:24-28; Hebrews 4:13; Colossians 1:17; Romans 11:33-34). He is singularly dependent on His eternal decrees, which are not contingent upon the free will acts of human beings, whether or not they are acted upon. Humans cannot save themselves. It is altogether natural for God to know the logical truths of the Cosmos, such as how many solar systems there are, as well as all potential events that might occur in different circumstances.
One of the arguments in Science before the discoveries of Quantum Physics was the theory of absolute determinism that specific properties of the universe imply that events occurring in reality are casually and not wholly determined, but rather a matter of probability and that things fundamentally cannot be measured with perfect precision.
Sir Isaac Newton presented the philosophical concept that all events in the universe are pre-determined or pre-destined in a mechanical clockwork-like linear precision and can be known and predicted.
The theology of Molinism includes the theory of 'determinism' that God, via His divine omniscience or advanced decrees, has a predetermined and unchangeable plan that all humans will do. This has caused many questions to arise about how free human "free will" is. It is suggested that there is no freedom of choice and that the universe is entirely determined by God, which makes it inconsistent with the non-deterministic Quantum mechanical world.
The 'Uncertainty Principle' of Quantum Physics infers that humans' spiritual and moral free will play a role in determining their future and eternal destiny. Humans are free moral agents who can decide what will happen in their lives by their choices. The non-predetermined physical reality is consistent with the spiritual and moral reality described in the Bible. It cannot be fully explained using deterministic equations. The future is pre-determined by God because He is omnipotent and omniscient. He knows what will happen before it will happen, which is why we cannot fathom that there is no beginning and end to God. God is infinity and simply is. Sovereignty and free will are represented in the Bible. Middle knowledge asserts and affirms God is entirely in control and humanity is completely free.
Critics contend that there are three primary objections to Molinism. 1) Libertarian Free Will (the ability to choose between competing alternatives) is considered indeterministic and incoherent. 2) Counterfactuals of Creaturely Freedom are called into question because of the doctrine of Middle Knowledge. 3) The Usefulness of Middle Knowledge for God's Creative Decision has caused some to question the possibility that counterfactuals of Creaturely Freedom can be true. Although some consider Molinism as heresy, it has never been declared heretical by the Catholic church or any Protestant tradition.
BIBLICISM
Biblicism is an approach to understanding and interpreting the Bible that has existed since the first century. Biblicism acknowledges God has spoken through His written Word, and people can understand what He has said (1 Corinthians 2:12–13). It is a method of literal Bible interpretation that holds to the doctrine of Sola Scriptura, which views the Bible as "breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness" (2 Timothy 3:16 NIV). Because the Bible is "God-breathed" it is authoritative, infallible, and internally consistent, and every word of it reveals true, reliable, and incontrovertible information about what God is like and what it means to follow Him faithfully. The Bible is its best commentary and must be trusted as absolutely true and consistent and allowed to have the final word on everything pertaining to faith and practice.
Biblicism emphasizes the literal meaning of Scripture using a hermeneutic approach and seeks to understand the intended meaning of a text as it was initially written, considering the meaning of words in their grammatical, historical, and cultural context. Any interpretation must agree with the context of the Bible as a whole.
Biblicism rejects the inclusion of external sources or traditions and insists on the autonomy and sufficiency of the Scriptures. The Bible is the final authority for Christian belief and practice and tends to reject the input of tradition or religious authorities that are not explicitly supported in the Bible.
Biblicism acknowledges that Nature and Scripture are mutually dependent on one another. Natural revelation is clear, authoritative, and sufficient because it is one of God's forms of self-revelation. It complements, supports, and presupposes special revelation. Scripture is the interpretive lens given to the image of God to interpret natural revelation rightly. Any natural theology that is a product of reason apart from revelation is unbiblical. Apart from faith, reason ceases to be a tool that enables humans to think God's thoughts after them and becomes a stumbling block of rationalism. God has unmistakably spoken in His revelation, and what He says is the basis for all reality.
Biblicists rely solely on the text of the Scriptures for guidance and teaching with a literal, fundamentalist interpretation and hold that God divinely inspired the Scriptures and are without error in their original writings and seek to reconcile any initial contradiction or inconsistency in Scripture through theological or contextual explanations with the understanding that human limitations and contextual factors can contribute to any 'discrepancies.' The Biblicist recognizes that the Bible does not tell us everything we want to know about everything or give explicit instructions for many of life's challenges.
Biblicists do not interpret Scripture apart from creeds, confessions, and church traditions. However, everything - tradition and historical teachings - must be tested against the final authority of the Bible. They listen to the whole canon of Scripture and do not ignore passages that present either contrasts or apparent contradictions.
Biblicists do not necessarily reject scientific findings or theories outright and may align their interpretation of scientific evidence with biblical teaching. In contrast, others may hold a more skeptical approach depending on their beliefs and convictions.
The Critics of Biblicism say it is a theological method that is unsystematic and unsuccessful in its goal, which can lead to a rigid and narrow interpretation of the Bible, potentially stifling critical thinking and openness to different perspectives and leading to legalistic interpretation. The Biblicist uses only the Bible as their authority and source of knowledge, mindlessly holding to the Bible to guide them through every situation and inform them on every issue. Biblicists are accused of bibliolatry or Bible worship and see no value in information derived outside of the Bible. They disregard general revelation and reject the ancient confessions and creeds of the church in favor of constructing a personal belief system that ignores the historical and cultural context of Scripture, leading people to an intellectually shallow, naïve view of life and misuse of Scripture.
CONCLUSION
No matter what human teaching a person follows, the underlying and all-encompassing fundamental truth is that we can love God most fully when we understand His all-powerful and wise sovereign character and nature, which is love that is supremely and infinitely good, wanting only the best for us, knowing everything about us and loving us anyway, desiring to save everyone. These truths lead us to a healthy, confident, ever-deepening love relationship with Him and experience the constant outpouring of His love into our hearts, exponentially increasing our trusting-faith in Him with each new breath we take.
“Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. Let all that you do be done in love.” (1 Corinthians 16:13-14 ESV)
