The more fossils there are for a particular species at a particular time, the more likely that species became extinct in that are at that time. Consequent to the more fossils of a particular time, place and species, in the geological record the less likely there is any evidence for the evolution of that species. For if the fossils represent an extinction event, there is no evolution of the species. If the fossils represent a large loss of life, there are fewer genes in the gene pool to modify for the subsequent populations. And fewer genes infer less opportunity for modification and new speciation. The more fossils in the geological record at a particular time and place, the less likely there is any evolution of that species.
The fewer fossils there are for a particular species at a particular time, the less likely that causes are known and the less knowledge of heredity to trace any evolution of the species. The fewer the fossils, the less evidence there is for evolution.
Conclusion - if there is a great, or small number of fossils of a species, the existence of evolution is remote or knowledge of the causes of evolution are most uncertain. The fossil record is difficult to apply in support of evolutionary theory.
Evolution is false anyway as the false principle of more from less. So even if the above problems are answered, the fossils can never be used as evidence for a false principle.
Friday, September 21, 2018
Wednesday, September 19, 2018
A Response to a Presbyterian Ministers Presentation on the Subject of "Sola Gratia" by "Grace Alone"
The following is a response to some Calvinist statements made in a presentation on the subject of Saved "Sola Gratia" by "Grace Alone".
Patrick's understanding of man's lack of free will is in error, because he thinks those who are dead in sin must always unfreely sin. And yet when a man is dead in sin, he does not love God with a supernatural love, above creatures. God then acts to regenerate the sinner to cause the regenerate man to love God above creatures. In both cases of the sinner and the regenerate man, the man is -
1) Unfree about loving the ultimate end the most and having all of his loves ordered towards his chosen ultimate end. For the ultimate end is the ultimate bond of the will of man, which subordinates all other actions to that ultimate end.
2) Free about elective means subordinate to the ultimate end. The man is free to choose what good he seeks as an intermediate end to that of the fixed ultimate end.
When a man is dead in sin, he loves himself above that of God, as the false ultimate end in an unlawful manner. The love of self is the false ultimate end from which the sinner cannot turn away from through any power within his own will. The false love of self above all things is a disorder in the will from which the sinner makes all judgements concerning acts of love.
And then when God acts to regenerate the sinner, the man loves God above himself in a lawful manner. The love of God is the true ultimate end from which the regenerate man tends to make all judgements concerning love of other goods. And yet the regenerate man has free will and can chose to sin and thereby fall away from the love of God as the ultimate end and then return to the state of an unregenerate sinner. For example, a regenerate man loves God above all things and then chooses to break the commandments, such as not keeping the Sabbath. That sin is a mortal sin which causes the regenerate man to become unregenerated.
In summary -
Man is unfree about his ultimate end when the ultimate end is a creature. Man cannot change his love from a creature to God for the love of the creature above that of God is a disorder in the will. Man is unfree about the act of regeneration of the will whereby God removes the disorder in the will and re-orders the will to love God above creatures. But man is free to return to the disorder of a sinful love of self above that of God once the man is regenerated. For man cannot cure himself of sin, but he can cause himself to die again through sin.
Because man is both unfree and free in different ways, there is biblical evidence for man being both unfree and free. And yet the biblical evidence that shows man can fall from grace and be lost is enough evidence to show the Calvinist doctrines concerning man's bondage of the will is at least in part, false.
For the Calvinist, election is an unconditional grace to bring the man to final glory. And yet because the Calvinist has at least the following problems as shown below, Calvinist election is false.
1) Man does have free will and does not always sin prior to regeneration. The Calvinist is unaware of the distinction between natural virtue and supernatural virtue. Human nature is not completely corrupted, but can act from nature to perform good natural acts such as natural justice and natural love. Such acts are not of themselves sinful but natural goods.
2) Limited atonement is a fiction invented by Calvin which the New Testament does not provide any evidence for.
3) Perseverance of the Saints - is a Calvinist doctrine that teaches those who are regenerated then persevere to glory. Yet is much evidence in the New Testament that Christians can fall away from grace and be lost.
4) Faith as an instrument of justification is an error in which the virtue of faith, which is in reality an act and a habit is taught by the Calvinists to be an instrument.
5) Justification by faith alone - is an invented, false doctrine based upon an eisegesis of a handful of texts in St Pauls letters.
The entire Calvinist system is a series of false doctrines mixed in with many truths.
Response - God elects men unto salvation, repentance and holiness.
JM - Even so, because men do not have free will, the pursuit of holiness is only an act of God's grace without any human co-operation. The Calvinist answer seems to be reasonable, but is in fact sophistic, for man can only pursue an end if the man has free will which co-operates with grace to seek for God. And yet Patrick denies free will and co-operation with grace.
A root problem with Calvinists is they cannot believe in free will and human co-operation, for if they did, their guarantee of salvation is removed. Calvinists buy into Calvinism in part because of the offer of eternal security, which is seeming lost if one agrees to free will and human co-operation with grace. For the Calvinist, faith is the instrument of justification and if that instrument is no longer an instrument, the guarantee of salvation is lost. For the Calvinist, the loss of one part of the Calvinist system is a loss of the guarantee of salvation.
And yet, because much of Calvinism is false, there is only ever a sophistic guarantee of salvation which can only ever be realised if the Calvinist drops the Calvinist doctrines and enters into the Roman Catholic sacramental economy. Only then does a believer have a moral certitude of salvation, for such a certitude is derived from the grace caused by the sacraments that act with men who have free will and can thereby merit or demerit in accordance with free choices made.
Saved "Sola Gratia" by "Grace Alone" from the Reformation "Solas" Conference
PM - For grace to be grace it must be entirely unconditional and freely given by God to individuals by name who are elected from all eternity to receive that grace. By grace alone necessitates unconditional election. Without unconditional election, the new testament word for grace has no meaning . . .
Romans 11:5-6 So too, at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace. 6 And if by grace, then it cannot be based on works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace.
Without unconditional election, salvation is not solely by grace.
Election is always according to God’s purpose (Rom 8:28).
JM - Patrick's contention that the gospel of grace concludes to unconditional election is only a Calvinist conclusion that assumes the Calvinist understanding of irresistible grace and no free will as a consequence of original sin. But irresistible grace also assumes man cannot resist grace (as the human will is not free) and fall from grace through sin and thereby be damned.
Patrick's understanding of man's lack of free will is in error, because he thinks those who are dead in sin must always unfreely sin. And yet when a man is dead in sin, he does not love God with a supernatural love, above creatures. God then acts to regenerate the sinner to cause the regenerate man to love God above creatures. In both cases of the sinner and the regenerate man, the man is -
1) Unfree about loving the ultimate end the most and having all of his loves ordered towards his chosen ultimate end. For the ultimate end is the ultimate bond of the will of man, which subordinates all other actions to that ultimate end.
2) Free about elective means subordinate to the ultimate end. The man is free to choose what good he seeks as an intermediate end to that of the fixed ultimate end.
When a man is dead in sin, he loves himself above that of God, as the false ultimate end in an unlawful manner. The love of self is the false ultimate end from which the sinner cannot turn away from through any power within his own will. The false love of self above all things is a disorder in the will from which the sinner makes all judgements concerning acts of love.
And then when God acts to regenerate the sinner, the man loves God above himself in a lawful manner. The love of God is the true ultimate end from which the regenerate man tends to make all judgements concerning love of other goods. And yet the regenerate man has free will and can chose to sin and thereby fall away from the love of God as the ultimate end and then return to the state of an unregenerate sinner. For example, a regenerate man loves God above all things and then chooses to break the commandments, such as not keeping the Sabbath. That sin is a mortal sin which causes the regenerate man to become unregenerated.
In summary -
Man is unfree about his ultimate end when the ultimate end is a creature. Man cannot change his love from a creature to God for the love of the creature above that of God is a disorder in the will. Man is unfree about the act of regeneration of the will whereby God removes the disorder in the will and re-orders the will to love God above creatures. But man is free to return to the disorder of a sinful love of self above that of God once the man is regenerated. For man cannot cure himself of sin, but he can cause himself to die again through sin.
Because man is both unfree and free in different ways, there is biblical evidence for man being both unfree and free. And yet the biblical evidence that shows man can fall from grace and be lost is enough evidence to show the Calvinist doctrines concerning man's bondage of the will is at least in part, false.
There are several passages that teach Christians can fall from grace and be damned, such as -
Romans 11: 22 Consider therefore the kindness and sternness of God: sternness to those who fell, but kindness to you, provided that you continue in his kindness. Otherwise, you also will be cut off.
2 Peter 2:20 If they have escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and are again entangled in it and are overcome, they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning. 21 It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than to have known it and then to turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them. 22 Of them the proverbs are true: “A dog returns to its vomit,” and, “A sow that is washed returns to her wallowing in the mud.”
1 Cor 9:27 - But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.
Other passages teach the Christian must keep the law -
Matt 19:17 - “Why do you ask me about what is good?” Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, keep the commandments.”
Romans 2:12 All who sin apart from the law will also perish apart from the law, and all who sin under the law will be judged by the law. 13 For it is not those who hear the law who are righteous in God’s sight, but it is those who obey the law who will be declared righteous.
So there are at least two conditions to election and final glorification 1) Do not fall back into sin, and 2) keep the commandments of God. Calvinism's doctrine of unconditional election is false, along with all of its other peculiar teachings on irresistible grace, double predestination, total depravity and perseverance of the saints.
PM - Objections to the doctrine of election
Objection – Election is unfair to those who are not elected.
Response – election is gracious to those elected and perfectly fair to those not elected. The unregenerate person has not desire to repent and do the will of God. It is fair if the entire race of men goes to hell.
JM - Patrick does not know if anyone is not elected. Patrick thinks the bible is Calvinistic and sees all doctrines through the Calvinist lense. The Calvinist doctrine of election is wrapped up in the other Calvinist doctrines of man's total depravity and lack of free will, due to original sin, irresistible grace, unconditional election and limited atonement. Every one of these Calvinist doctrines has been hotly contested and shown to be false by opponents of Calvinism.
For the Calvinist, election is an unconditional grace to bring the man to final glory. And yet because the Calvinist has at least the following problems as shown below, Calvinist election is false.
1) Man does have free will and does not always sin prior to regeneration. The Calvinist is unaware of the distinction between natural virtue and supernatural virtue. Human nature is not completely corrupted, but can act from nature to perform good natural acts such as natural justice and natural love. Such acts are not of themselves sinful but natural goods.
2) Limited atonement is a fiction invented by Calvin which the New Testament does not provide any evidence for.
3) Perseverance of the Saints - is a Calvinist doctrine that teaches those who are regenerated then persevere to glory. Yet is much evidence in the New Testament that Christians can fall away from grace and be lost.
4) Faith as an instrument of justification is an error in which the virtue of faith, which is in reality an act and a habit is taught by the Calvinists to be an instrument.
5) Justification by faith alone - is an invented, false doctrine based upon an eisegesis of a handful of texts in St Pauls letters.
The entire Calvinist system is a series of false doctrines mixed in with many truths.
PM Objection – election is God forcing people to believe against their will.
Response – At no point does God force anyone do to anything against their will. All men have their wills and act freely according to their nature . . . Gods act of regenerate is a resurrection.
JM - Patrick has previously denied any co-operation of the will with grace and yet his comments above imply 1) the human will is acted within by God's grace, and 2) men always are free. For 1) and 2) to be both true, God must act within the human will and the will remain free when regeneration occurs to bring men from a state of spiritual death to spiritual life. At every moment of regeneration, the human will must act with grace, otherwise the human will prior to regeneration is set upon the flesh is its ultimate love and cannot change the object of its love from a creature to God as the greatest love after the act of regeneration. The act of regeneration is an act of the grace of God, which is itself a grace of co-operation.
PM Objection - Election means pursuing holiness is meaningless.
Response - God elects men unto salvation, repentance and holiness.
JM - Even so, because men do not have free will, the pursuit of holiness is only an act of God's grace without any human co-operation. The Calvinist answer seems to be reasonable, but is in fact sophistic, for man can only pursue an end if the man has free will which co-operates with grace to seek for God. And yet Patrick denies free will and co-operation with grace.
A root problem with Calvinists is they cannot believe in free will and human co-operation, for if they did, their guarantee of salvation is removed. Calvinists buy into Calvinism in part because of the offer of eternal security, which is seeming lost if one agrees to free will and human co-operation with grace. For the Calvinist, faith is the instrument of justification and if that instrument is no longer an instrument, the guarantee of salvation is lost. For the Calvinist, the loss of one part of the Calvinist system is a loss of the guarantee of salvation.
And yet, because much of Calvinism is false, there is only ever a sophistic guarantee of salvation which can only ever be realised if the Calvinist drops the Calvinist doctrines and enters into the Roman Catholic sacramental economy. Only then does a believer have a moral certitude of salvation, for such a certitude is derived from the grace caused by the sacraments that act with men who have free will and can thereby merit or demerit in accordance with free choices made.
On the Sophistry of Evolutionism in Relation to the Fossil Record.
Evolutionists appeal to the fossil record to promote the theory of evolution. They frequently link fossils together that are several million years apart and claim the younger fossil is an ancestor of the older fossil. And yet the fossil record includes the following notions that all mitigate against the evolutionist's claims -
1) Evolution - is claimed but is impossible as a process of more from less. Any claims by the evolutionists for fossil evidence for evolution are always the only claim that is always false.
2) Devolution - Each fossil may have its heredity traced back to a prior and more developed population. Every fossil may be only an indication of universal devolution from the first created populations.
3) Stasis - any group of fossils may have their origin in a population that has not changed very much since the creation event.
4) Extinction - a large number of fossils of one population may indicate that population is extinct and subsequent fossils are derived from another cause.
5) Creation - the fossil record assumes an initial creation event.
6) Agnostic - there are too many causes that are unknown and the interpretation of the fossil record is impossible with any certitude, due to the contingency of many causes.
Option 1 is used by the evolutionists and is the only option that is impossible. Options 2-6 are other, viable alternative explanations for the fossil record. When evolutionists use the fossil record as evidence for the theory, they are being sophistic.
1) Evolution - is claimed but is impossible as a process of more from less. Any claims by the evolutionists for fossil evidence for evolution are always the only claim that is always false.
2) Devolution - Each fossil may have its heredity traced back to a prior and more developed population. Every fossil may be only an indication of universal devolution from the first created populations.
3) Stasis - any group of fossils may have their origin in a population that has not changed very much since the creation event.
4) Extinction - a large number of fossils of one population may indicate that population is extinct and subsequent fossils are derived from another cause.
5) Creation - the fossil record assumes an initial creation event.
6) Agnostic - there are too many causes that are unknown and the interpretation of the fossil record is impossible with any certitude, due to the contingency of many causes.
Option 1 is used by the evolutionists and is the only option that is impossible. Options 2-6 are other, viable alternative explanations for the fossil record. When evolutionists use the fossil record as evidence for the theory, they are being sophistic.
Tuesday, September 18, 2018
The Calvinist Doctrine of Justification by Faith Alone as an Unnatural and Inhuman Doctrine.
The Calvinist doctrine of justification by faith alone in Christ alone, by grace alone, is a doctrine which implies that justification is a grace and thereby a gift from God. And as justification is a gift from God, the gift infers the good will of God towards the elect. And good will implies a God who loves man and acts for the good of man. In short, the Calvinist doctrine of grace alone implies a God of love, who acts graciously towards man to justify the sinner as through an act of regeneration.
And yet Calvinism also teaches justification is by faith alone and not by faith and love, and not by love alone. Consequently, justification involves the justified sinner making an act of faith in Christ, whereby only faith justifies and love does not count towards justification. The Calvinist God acts from love to cause faith within the man, and the man need not respond with love, but only with an act of knowledge (called the instrument of faith) whereby Christ is known as the saviour by the justified man.
The Calvinist version of justification is false, for God's act of love towards man, to save man as a grace from God excludes an act of love from man, even though God's grace of regeneration causes love in man (Rom. 5:5). The grace that justifies as caused by God's love is naturally ordered towards man loving God above creatures as through the act of God regenerating man to restore man's will from a love of sin to love of the good. The supernatural ordering of grace of man to love God above all things is removed through the Calvinist doctrine of justification by faith alone.
In short, God acts from love to cause men to love God above all creatures. But man's supernatural love of God above creatures is not required for the man to be justified. The Calvinist version of justification is an act of God's love, but only an act of human knowledge, even though human knowledge has a natural ordering towards love.
Conclusion - the Calvinist doctrine of justification by faith alone is a doctrine that cuts off the natural ordering of God's act of love to cause union with men through the mutual love of God and man. By excluding the human response of love from justification, the Calvinist doctrine of justification by faith alone reduces justification to a disordered and inhuman act of knowledge without the co-natural human act of love towards God. As Calvinism's doctrine of justification by faith alone is unnatural, the doctrine is false.
And yet Calvinism also teaches justification is by faith alone and not by faith and love, and not by love alone. Consequently, justification involves the justified sinner making an act of faith in Christ, whereby only faith justifies and love does not count towards justification. The Calvinist God acts from love to cause faith within the man, and the man need not respond with love, but only with an act of knowledge (called the instrument of faith) whereby Christ is known as the saviour by the justified man.
The Calvinist version of justification is false, for God's act of love towards man, to save man as a grace from God excludes an act of love from man, even though God's grace of regeneration causes love in man (Rom. 5:5). The grace that justifies as caused by God's love is naturally ordered towards man loving God above creatures as through the act of God regenerating man to restore man's will from a love of sin to love of the good. The supernatural ordering of grace of man to love God above all things is removed through the Calvinist doctrine of justification by faith alone.
In short, God acts from love to cause men to love God above all creatures. But man's supernatural love of God above creatures is not required for the man to be justified. The Calvinist version of justification is an act of God's love, but only an act of human knowledge, even though human knowledge has a natural ordering towards love.
Conclusion - the Calvinist doctrine of justification by faith alone is a doctrine that cuts off the natural ordering of God's act of love to cause union with men through the mutual love of God and man. By excluding the human response of love from justification, the Calvinist doctrine of justification by faith alone reduces justification to a disordered and inhuman act of knowledge without the co-natural human act of love towards God. As Calvinism's doctrine of justification by faith alone is unnatural, the doctrine is false.
The Calvinist Doctrine of Faith Alone Reduces the Christian God of Love to the Pagan Gnostic God Who Always acts From a Secret Knowledge.
The Calvinist doctrine of justification by faith alone in Christ alone, by grace alone, is a doctrine tied into the Calvinist doctrine that all of creation is for the glory of God. God created and everything that occurs within salvation history, whether for the glorification of the elect, or for the damnation of the non-elect, all occurs for the glory of God. For all men now suffer under the consequences of original sin, which includes the bondage of the will to always sin, apart from any act of grace to bring the sinner to repentance, regeneration and final glorification.
According to Calvinism, God has chosen to only regenerate the elect and abandon the non-elect to the consequences of Adam's original sin and man's actual sins. God has done so in accordance with His predestined plan for creation to bring about the glory of God. God could have elected all men and thereby obtained glory, or He could have abandoned all men and also obtained glory. Alternatively, God can abandon some and save others and also obtain glory. The multiple choices available to God allow God to have a secret reason to chose one plan of salvation and damnation over against any other plan. As the secret knowledge God has to carry out one plan, rather than any other plan, is never revealed to men, even within divine revelation itself.
Therefore the Calvinist God always acts to create and predestined all things in accord with His own secret divine knowledge. The Calvinist God is therefore equivalent to the god of the Gnostics, who have a secret knowledge required for salvation. The Calvinist god of secrets is really another version of the pagan, gnostic god of secrets, who acts to reveal, only to reveal there are secrets that are never to be revealed.
Conclusion - The Calvinist doctrines of justification by faith alone for the glory of God alone reduces God down to the pagan god of Gnosticism. Both the Calvinist and Gnostic gods are false gods.
According to Calvinism, God has chosen to only regenerate the elect and abandon the non-elect to the consequences of Adam's original sin and man's actual sins. God has done so in accordance with His predestined plan for creation to bring about the glory of God. God could have elected all men and thereby obtained glory, or He could have abandoned all men and also obtained glory. Alternatively, God can abandon some and save others and also obtain glory. The multiple choices available to God allow God to have a secret reason to chose one plan of salvation and damnation over against any other plan. As the secret knowledge God has to carry out one plan, rather than any other plan, is never revealed to men, even within divine revelation itself.
Therefore the Calvinist God always acts to create and predestined all things in accord with His own secret divine knowledge. The Calvinist God is therefore equivalent to the god of the Gnostics, who have a secret knowledge required for salvation. The Calvinist god of secrets is really another version of the pagan, gnostic god of secrets, who acts to reveal, only to reveal there are secrets that are never to be revealed.
Conclusion - The Calvinist doctrines of justification by faith alone for the glory of God alone reduces God down to the pagan god of Gnosticism. Both the Calvinist and Gnostic gods are false gods.
The Quasi-Sacramental Nature of the Calvinist Doctrine of Unconditional Election which Requires that Faith act as an Instrumental Cause of Grace in the Place of the Roman Catholic Sacramental Economy.
The real reason Calvinism requires the doctrine of unconditional election is Calvinism is an artificial theological construct invented by John Calvin and a group of men who opposed the Roman Catholic church with her sacramental economy. For the Roman Catholic sacramental economy, comprised of the seven sacraments of baptism, confirmation, confession, marriage, Eucharist, ordination, and extreme unction are the instrumental causes of grace. As several of these instruments of grace are denied by Calvinism, such as sacramental confession and the associated sacrament of priestly ordination, Calvinism must overcome the loss of sacraments instrumental causes of grace required to restore Christians back to grace after mortal sin with another system of grace. That Calvinist invented system includes the novel doctrine of unconditional election of those whom God has chosen to have faith.
Unconditional election is easily refuted by noting the many warning passages in Hebrews concerning the loss of salvation, St Pauls letter to Galatians (Gal 5:1-5) concerning those Christians who get circumcised fall away from the gospel, and many other passages that speak of the loss of salvation. For example -
Matt: 6:15 - but if you do not forgive others their offenses, your heavenly Father will not forgive yours.
Matt: 19:21-35 - "Yes. I tell you that it will be very hard for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. 24 Furthermore, I tell you that it is easier for a camel to pass through a needle's eye than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God."
Matt: 10:32-33 "Whoever acknowledges me in the presence of others I will also acknowledge in the presence of my Father in heaven. 33 But whoever disowns me before others I will disown before my Father in heaven.
And several other passages - Luke 12:41-46, 1 Cor. 15:1-2, Colossians 1:22-23, Hebrews 3:6, 14, Rev. 2:10, 25-36, 3:1-5, 2 Peter 2:20-22
An even easier way to debunk unconditional election is to note if Calvinism's doctrine of unconditional election is true, the Christian virtue of hope is destroyed. For hope is not required if damnation is impossible for one who has faith. And yet hope is required to bring the Christian to the promised heavenly beatitude as an act of the power of God to attain a vision beyond the power of man to naturally attain.
Calvinism must substitute the Roman Catholic sacraments as instrumental causes with faith as the ongoing instrumental cause of grace. When the Calvinist Christian believes, the Calvinist act of faith itself acting as an instrument causes grace which justifies in an ongoing manner. The act of faith is then the ongoing, Calvinist quasi-sacrament that acts in the place of the Roman Catholic sacramental economy.
Conclusion - Unconditional election of Calvinism is required within Calvinism in association with faith as an instrumental cause of grace to provide an instrumental substitute for the Roman Catholic sacramental economy that is denied within Calvinism. Once the Roman Catholic sacramental system is either denied, or reduced, or modified as happens in Calvinism, an instrumental substitute for the sacraments is required to cause grace within the life of the Christian. That instrumental cause of grace within Calvinism is faith, as a quasi sacrament acting in the place of the sacraments of ordination and confession.
Faith is not an instrument, but an act and a habit that is caused by grace. As faith is not an instrumental cause of grace, Calvinism's teaching on justification by faith alone, and the accompanying doctrine of unconditional election are also false.
Unconditional election is easily refuted by noting the many warning passages in Hebrews concerning the loss of salvation, St Pauls letter to Galatians (Gal 5:1-5) concerning those Christians who get circumcised fall away from the gospel, and many other passages that speak of the loss of salvation. For example -
And also -
Christians can "fall from grace" (Gal. 5:1-5), be "cut off" from salvation (Rom. 11:18-22), have their names removed from the Lamb's Book of Life (Rev. 22:19), by committing certain sins and not repenting of them (cf. Eph. 5: 3-5; 1Cor. 6:9; Gal. 5:19, Rev. 21:6-8).
Matt: 6:15 - but if you do not forgive others their offenses, your heavenly Father will not forgive yours.
Matt: 19:21-35 - "Yes. I tell you that it will be very hard for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. 24 Furthermore, I tell you that it is easier for a camel to pass through a needle's eye than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God."
Matt: 10:32-33 "Whoever acknowledges me in the presence of others I will also acknowledge in the presence of my Father in heaven. 33 But whoever disowns me before others I will disown before my Father in heaven.
And several other passages - Luke 12:41-46, 1 Cor. 15:1-2, Colossians 1:22-23, Hebrews 3:6, 14, Rev. 2:10, 25-36, 3:1-5, 2 Peter 2:20-22
An even easier way to debunk unconditional election is to note if Calvinism's doctrine of unconditional election is true, the Christian virtue of hope is destroyed. For hope is not required if damnation is impossible for one who has faith. And yet hope is required to bring the Christian to the promised heavenly beatitude as an act of the power of God to attain a vision beyond the power of man to naturally attain.
Romans 8:24 It was in this hope that we were saved. But if we see what we hope for, it isn't hope- after all, who hopes for what he already sees?As hope is part of the gospel, then the gospel includes a promise that is not yet fulfilled but will be fulfilled in the future through an act of God. To remove hope as through unconditional election is to reduce all of Gods acts of power to only the present and never the future. Calvinism's doctrine of unconditional election is thereby shown to be false.
Calvinism must substitute the Roman Catholic sacraments as instrumental causes with faith as the ongoing instrumental cause of grace. When the Calvinist Christian believes, the Calvinist act of faith itself acting as an instrument causes grace which justifies in an ongoing manner. The act of faith is then the ongoing, Calvinist quasi-sacrament that acts in the place of the Roman Catholic sacramental economy.
Conclusion - Unconditional election of Calvinism is required within Calvinism in association with faith as an instrumental cause of grace to provide an instrumental substitute for the Roman Catholic sacramental economy that is denied within Calvinism. Once the Roman Catholic sacramental system is either denied, or reduced, or modified as happens in Calvinism, an instrumental substitute for the sacraments is required to cause grace within the life of the Christian. That instrumental cause of grace within Calvinism is faith, as a quasi sacrament acting in the place of the sacraments of ordination and confession.
Faith is not an instrument, but an act and a habit that is caused by grace. As faith is not an instrumental cause of grace, Calvinism's teaching on justification by faith alone, and the accompanying doctrine of unconditional election are also false.
Monday, September 17, 2018
The Co-naturality of Chrstian Suffering and Glory Concludes to the Blessed Virgin Mary's Intense Heavenly Glory co-natural to Her Intense Suffering.
The Blessed Virgin Mary encountered the most human suffering in human history. Her suffering began when she was told by Simeon of the suffering of Her Son, and continued until the resurrection of Her Son on Easter Sunday. Mary's suffering is summarised in Her seven sorrows as indicated below.
The Prophecy of Simeon. (Luke 2:34–35). The escape and Flight into Egypt. (Matthew 2:13). The Loss of the Child Jesus in the Temple of Jerusalem. (Luke 2:43–45). The Meeting of Mary and Jesus on the Via Dolorosa. The Crucifixion of Jesus on Mount Calvary. (John 19:25). The Piercing of the Side of Jesus with a spear, and His Descent from the Cross. (Matthew 27:57–59). The Burial of Jesus by Joseph of Arimathea. (John 19:40–42).
Romans 8:17 And if children, then heirs (namely, heirs of God and also fellow heirs with Christ)– if indeed we suffer with him so we may also be glorified with him.As the greatest causes of glory are ordered to the greatest glory, the greatest causes of glory involve the greatest suffering. And the suffering of Christ as a cause of glory is closely associated with the greatest causes of glory, which is Mary as the mother of the Redeemer. Mary, as a very important cause of redemption and glory, thereby had very intense suffering throughout Her life, which is in turn ordered towards the highest glory.
Furthermore, as the greatest suffering of a mother is to see a most loved Son die a horrible death, Mary experienced the greatest suffering. For Mary's love for Her divine Son was perfect, as from the fulness of grace Christ granted to his mother and the corresponding charity in Mary's soul. As Mary's love for Her Son was perfect, the perfect love between mother and divine Son causes a perfect union of wills between the two persons. The union of wills thereby causes Mary to experience Her Sons suffering in a uniquely intense way. Such suffering is thereby ordered to a uniquely intense glory for Mary.
Conclusion - Mary's suffering was uniquely intense due to Her role as mother of the redeemer and Her perfect love of Her divine Son. Mary's uniquely intense glory in heaven is in proportion to Her suffering.
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