Hello

I am an Elder, web developer, husband, and father. I have 4 children, 2 bio and 2 foster, and being a dad is the most rewarding and challenging thing I have ever done or will ever do.

I have a passion for studying the word of God. In particular, two of my favorite areas to study is the doctrine of The Trinity, and the doctrine of Salvation. To me, the Trinity is the most important doctrine to reach the lost and correct false religions while soteriology is one of the most important secondary issues for those already in Christ and understanding the character and heart of God. 

This website started out as a way for me to organize and capture notes for my own personal study system. As it grew, I found that I had a considerable amount of notes on the topic of soteriology and that my notes may be helpful for others as well. Thus was born the idea to expose my notes in an organized and structured way to help others who are wrestling with soteriology and to also further sharpen my own beliefs.

I understand that you may disagree with my conclusions; however, I encourage you to weigh it, think biblically about it, and refute any claims with rigor, intellect, and scripture rather than attacking from emotion. I view those who disagree in this area as brothers and sisters in Christ and this topic is not more important than our unity. When it comes to this debate, I will not pull back on my punches but I will also never hold back the hand of fellowship. Blessings!

Why?

Soteriology is the study of salvation and is what I believe is one of the most important secondary issue of our Faith. I say it is a secondary issue because I believe that being wrong in this doctrine does not apostate someone from salvation. I view those who are faithful in Christ but stand on the other side of this aisle as brothers and sisters in the Lord. I argue with such vigor on this topic, not because I believe that Calvinists are at risk of losing their salvation, but rather, because of how it may damage and hinder the lost sheep that Calvinists come in contact with and how it might detract or become a stumbling block to those who hear it as the gospel. [TODO: See these real world examples of the detriment Calvinism has had on how Christians are viewed by the lost]

After much study on this topic, I believe that it is clear that the Calvinistic system is hurting the church, trampling the character of God, and implanting seeds of doubt about who God really is to the lost and saved alike!

My Journey

A third option!

I remember as a young theologian many years ago, that my church offered a soteriology doctrine class which I eagerly took, I was the youngest in the class by far with many other wise men and women in my church. 

There was one specific class dedicated to soteriology in which our educator presented the best arguments from both sides of Armenianism and Calvinism. To his credit, he never mentioned to us, or at least me, which side he landed on - as he wanted us to decide for ourselves using our own understanding of the scriptures.  He simply presented both arguments clearly and concisely with scripture and reasoning in which I felt torn because both sides seemed to have the potential for truth. 

This was a struggle for me because it also planted a seed of doubt about how can the Word of God have this amount of seemingly contradictory statements on such a foundational issue. One side fully emphasizes the sovereignty of God, while the other emphasizes His love and human responsibility. My heart and conscious were aligned with the part that leaned love and yet my reasoning and mind seemed to clearly indicate that Calvinism was the much more logically consistent and sound of the two choices just presented to me. 

I walked away as an Armenian, but only because I felt in my heart that the character of God as taught in the scriptures couldn't align with Calvinism... but I couldn't prove why Calvinism was wrong, at least yet.

It wasn't until much later that I realized that I had been faced with a false dichotomy of soteriology. Although Armenianism aligns closer to the heart of God as the Bible teaches - there are many holes and stretching in their reasoning that makes Calvinism look like the much better option, especially when those are the only two options presented. I will go so far to say that the flaws of Armenian theology is one of the reasons that Calvinism has gained such popularity. The combination of Armenian flaws and this false dichotomy has undoubtedly swayed many to align with the Calvinist camp, if only out of an act of desperation. 

The weight off my shoulders when I found a solid, biblical, rational view of soteriology that is neither of these was profound. Since then, my love and passion for God and his word have rooted deep in my heart and soul with a peace that I have never felt before. 

The third option is not just some middle ground, for both Armenians and Calvinists fall on the Augustinian grid in which they start the discussion on a foundation out of square. Instead, there is an option that elegantly merges the scriptures in a cohesive way that doesn't require calls to mystery, tension in truth, or any other saying that masquerades what is simply inconsistent thinking. And although my resulting beliefs aligns much more with Armenians, the distinctions are clear enough that we should highlight our difference so as to not unnecessarily concede points to the Calvinistic systematic that ends up with Armenians views in disarray. I clearly remember the day that everything clicked for me. I was overwhelmed with a passion for God: how great our God is, how loving our God is, and how just our God is; and how he can be all of these things in unison without conflict and without attributing to God the evils in the world.

If not Calvinism, then what

No one really wants another "ism" to study and this view can be simply called the "traditional" view of soteriology; however, the modernized name for this view has been coined Provisionim. If Armenians focus on Human Responsibility, while Calvinism focuses on sovereignty, then Provisionim would focus on God providing.

TODO: Update this section
To most of the hard questions asked by Armenians and Calvinists, we answer with a "Yes, but God provides".
We are lost in sin: Yes, but God provides a way to him through calvary
There is nothing we can do to become right with God: Yes, but God provides,
etc... 

I encourage you to approach the content of this website with ferocity and rigor but also with fairness as you look to grow or challenge what is being stated. There is no good to come from our sides destroying straw-men of our beliefs. 

My Promise

My goal is that every Calvinist argument that we oppose is presented in its best light and strength and to steel-man their viewpoint. We strive to argue the Calvinist points even better than most Calvinists can in search of the truth. For the truth will stand firm no matter what is thrown at it so let's stand up to all of our arguments with humility and rigorous testing.

My final promise is that I remain open, I have always said that I will follow the Word whether it aligns with what I want or not. If you think I am wrong with any statement, phrase, belief, or conclusion. I encourage you to challenge me with why and I will do my best to answer or find an answer. The truth should not be something we are afraid of. If the Bible taught Calvinism, then we should all be Calvinists, but if it doesn't, then none of us should be Calvinists. Come let us reason together as we look to study the character of God as he has revealed to us in his Word.

And yes, if you can convince me that Calvinism or Armenism is true... well I guess I will need to make a new website. 

But chances are I'll remain a Provisionist unless God predestines me otherwise ;)