Wasn't much of a reply really. Dr. Barrow said he was busy, but in stereotypically Calvinist fashion, pasted in a massive list of books that he thought I should read that would take a lifetime to wade through. He also left a few of the standard proof-texts, which were apparently supposed to somehow bother me, along with some quotes, most prominently one by none other than --you guessed it-- John Owen!
FOR WHO DID CHRIST DIE?
John Owen
The Father imposed His wrath due unto, and the Son underwent punishment for, either:
1. All the sins of all men.
2. All the sins of some men, or
3. Some of the sins of all men.
In which case it may be said:
1. That if the last be true, all men have some sins to answer for, and so, none are saved.
2. That if the second be true, then Christ, in their stead suffered for all the sins of all the elect in the whole world, and this is the truth.
3. But if the first be the case, why are not all men free from the punishment due unto their sins?
You answer, "Because of unbelief."
I ask, Is this unbelief a sin, or is it not? If it be, then Christ suffered the punishment due unto it, or He did not. If He did, why must that hinder them more than their other sins for which He died? If He did not, He did not die for all their sins!"
Oh wow, talk about your compelling arguments...I was shaking in my little Synergist booties. Feh. Burying Owen's erratic fallacies requires little more than a pulse. I replied,
Oh, that one's easy. Christ did die for all men, albeit conditionally; faith is the condition for forgiveness of sin, including the sin of unbelief. So, if one does believe, then his prior unbelief is forgiven, if one does not believe, then his unbelief is not atoned for. For Owen's syllogism to work, it would require one to accept the premise that atonement is not conditioned on faith.
Who knows, maybe somewhere in the 19 quadrillion books Calvinists are always telling you that you need to read to understand their position there's a tenable defense for the major warning passages of scripture, but I seriously doubt it.
Copyright © 2005-2007, InDeathorLife.org
The information on this page may not be reproduced or republished on another website, webpage or other printed media without express permission from the author of this site. Other material(s) referenced on this site are the property of their respective authors or copyright holders, and where applicable are used by permission.