Five Points of Calvinism: A Study Guide

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Summary: What is needed when considering this difficult subject
Review: A Scriptural study guide is exactly what one needs when making a decision on Calvinism vs. Arminianism. More often than not, when people are first confronted with Calvinism view of God's sovereignty and salvation, they rebel against it. The concept simply goes against the natural mind's idea of how things should be. But for the Christian, our personal feeling of how things "should be" should not be the determining factor on what to believe. The only thing that matters is: what do the Scriptures teach?

So if you are struggling with this topic, get this book and go through the studies. And most importantly, look up all of the Scripture references. And for more help in this regard, you might want to check out the three chapters on this subject in my book "Scripture Workbook: For Personal Bible Study and Teaching the Bible." These chapters list hundreds of verses upholding the absolute sovereignty of God and the five points of Calvinism.

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Summary: Best book I have read about the Five Points of Calvinism
Review: Edwin Palmer does a good jog explaining and defending the Five Points of Calvinism. I recommend this book to any person, Calvinist or Arminian, who is interested in learning about this topic.

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Summary: Palmer's handles Scripture better than similar books.
Review: Palmer does a better job than other authors covering this area. He does far more biblical exegesis (which you'd expect from the Executive Secretary of the NIV Bible), and his exegesis is generally more precise. (I've long wished Sproul would revise his Chosen by God to include more exegesis.) Palmer's methodology is sound. He raises the issues, then let's Scripture prove his (and its) point, but not in the "list of prooftexts" way that Steele & Thomas take. He exposits the passages he relies upon to bolster his argument, which is helpful. Unlike a few authors with similar books who shall remain nameless, Palmer is not an angry man, and doesn't have a chip on his shoulder or a proverbial axe to grind. He isn't teaching "against those terrible Arminians"--he simply wants his fellow Christians to understand our neediness and God's grace--a grace he models in response. His treatment of predestination is solid, biblical and uncompromised... and kind.

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Summary: Helpful guide to TULIP
Review: Palmer's book is a helpful guide to the so-called Five Points of Calvinism. He tells us at the very beginning of his book that there is much more to Calvinism than these 5 points, and that they were not invented by Calvin. It is also worth pointing out that they are a response to a submission to the Church of Holland and not an original statement by Calvinist believers.

I found Palmer's presentation compelling. I think that if you believe the Bible is authoritative, he has shown that the so-called five points are its teaching [along with much, much else].

Palmer's short account of Calvin's perseverance despite opposition and all sorts of illnesses is also a worthwhile feature of this book.

If you want to pursue this topic further, I also recommend Loraine Boettner's Reformed Doctrine of Predestination and Wayne Grudem's Systematic Theology for more detailed treatments.

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Summary: Not chewing on a boot
Review: When I picked up this book I thought I wasn't ready for such a "meaty" topic. I felt that I was still too young as a Christian to be reading something like this. I know that a Christian should try to go from a milk diet to meat but I regarded studying Calvinism as a step beyond merely graduating to meat. I thought it would be a step beyond the toughest steak I ever had. Closer to "chewing on an old boot". I found the book read so easily that I found myself not wanting to put it down but then not wanting to finish it either. The Church I go to is of the Arminian leaning but I'm finding out, based on the questions I've been asking in Bible Study, that I've been leaning toward Calvinism and this book has helped answer so many questions that I had asked but never got an answer to. "Ignorance is wisdom". Accepting that there are many passages in the Bible that "seem" to contradict but then realizing that there are things that God has chosen not to reveal to us at this time and that what seems to be a contradiction is only an example of how our finite minds can't comprehend. That both the Calvinist and the Arminian could both be right. I would suggest this book for anyone that wants to know God better. You don't have to be a Bible scholar to understand or appreciate it.