Rating: 
Summary: 40th Anniversary Edition is AMAZING!!!
Review: I can't say enough about the 40th anniversary edition (2nd Edition) of this book. Revised and HUGELY expanded from it's small booklet form to over 200 pages, including solid exegesis of difficult passages, discussions on things like preservation and perseverance, and soooo many more things I cannot even mention here, make this book a WELCOME addition to anyone's library. Most of the reviews on here (pre-2004) point to the old edition of this book. It's really cool that Roger Nicole again did the foreword to the new edition, with John MacArthur doing the afterword and a host of other folks with additional articles..... oh just go pick it up!! The appendices alone are worth the price of the book.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Book
Review: I have owned this book for several years and enjoyed it very much so and agree with it 100%. The authors acurately represent the five points of Calvinism and then defend them with pages upon pages of Biblical backing.To respond to an earlier user's comments: how is this book not suppossed to reflect bias? If it reflected no bias, then the book would have no creed to mention of and would be entirely not worth reading.
Rating:
Summary: Five Points of Calvinism
Review: I have read this little book many times. Next to the bible, this book has helped me discover, more than any other, the person of God, His plan and His purpose. I have bought many copies and given them to friends. This is a book you must read several times to discover it's truth.
Rating: 
Summary: Biased
Review: I must comment that this book exhibits much of the bias to be found in much of the theological writings today, particularly on the issue of Reformed Theology and Bible versions. It is lamentable that seemingly educated people apparently cannot present an issue without distorting the position of the other side(s). And it's not only lamentable, it is downright sorry, particularly in view of the fact that we are discussing the grace of God (in this instance). I long to find a resource that presents fairly and honestly the positions held by both camps supported by Scripture. May God raise up such a creature and creation. In Jesus' Name
Rating: 
Summary: I would have rated a 5, but...........
Review: I would have rated this gem a 5. It is probably one of the best
primers on the Doctrines of Grace and cites many sources for further study. The only glaring problem was a silly little anachronism in the book which calls those who believed in the Doctrines of Grace before Calvin, "Calvinists". That is also the
problem I have using the nickname 'Calvinist' as those doctrines
are as ancient as God's counsel. Affixing a time for their introduction is problematic. They are not Augustinian or Calvinist doctrines, but the Doctrine of the Triune God in Salvation. Dr. Norman Geisler and Dave Hunt need to curl up with this book and learn some biblical truth about who they are and who God is.
My prayer is that their ignorance is not invincible.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Scriptural Support
Review: Many books are written about Calvinism, but the particular strength of this book lies in the richness of Scriptural support. Of course, because of its small size compared to exhaustive works such as Calvin's, it does not cover passages which are seemingly contradictory to this teaching. I have recommended John Murray's book as a response to a reviewer's question about passages that include words like "every man," "the world," and "all." The Steele and Thomas book also shows that one-point, two-point, ...etc. Calvinism is logically inconsistent, though I agree that more must be read on the subject if one is not convinced by this book. I was an Arminian when I first read this book and I could instantly see the problem with my beliefs after I had finished reading it. My next book was John Murray's "Redemption Accomplished and Applied" (0802811434).
Rating:
Summary: The only book a person needs to refute Arminianism is
Review: The Bible. But since our SINFUL NATURES guide our CARNAL reasoning as unsaved creatures, the doctrines of Grace go against every fiber of our being resulting in Pelagianism ie(Grace is good to have but is not neccessary). Once we are saved we move from Pelagianism to Arminian thinking ie (we are sick but not dead) we had the decisive moment in our own salvation, (we chose Christ without God working ALONE to regenerate our hearts for us to do so). When we seem to mature in our sanctification and put away our preconcieved ideas and predjudices concerning OUR FREEWILL (which is bondage to sin before we are saved) we see the scripture teaches these very things that are contained in this book. The authors give many Scriptures concerning every point in the doctrines of grace. When I first read this book when I was considering this view. This book is not what convinced me of this position, it was the bible. In fact i fought long and hard against it. However, there were certain areas that needed to be explained. This book goes through step by step which each point had helps digest some of harder pills to swallow. Much more study is needed to be done concerning these doctrines and this topic, however this is a pretty good place to start. I think this is a book that should be in everyone's library! It is a very helpful resource! I want to thank God for for the Graciousness of His Grace. For me being a sinner was powerless to convert myself for I did not see the loveliness of Christ till He showed me. He is the one who gave me the desires of my heart, namely Himself! He has become the desire of my heart and it was Him who gave to me that desire. Soli Deo Gloria!
Rating:
Summary: Theology by out of context proof text
Review: The book, though a good introduction to Calvinist thinking, is weak on exegesis. If you delve into the context of many of the passages you find that they have been pulled out of context and do not attain the meaning of the heading that they fall under.
The real strength of the book is in the back, where new information is added that chides Calvinists into taking a closer look at how their doctrine plays out in the rest of their lives. There needs to be more love for the lost, more spreading of the good news (like in the first century church), more acknowledgement that God's ways can be defended on Calvinist and Arminian grounds (see Spurgeons comments on the two paths and his praise of Wesley).
There is too much purported support in "proof texts" rather than solid attachment to the contexts from which they were derived and the spirit of the over all letters they are a part of. The Bible was not written in chapter and verse. Sometimes we break it down to a sum of components that actual destroys the essense and true meaning.
Rating:
Summary: A Helpful Introductory Tract to the Doctrines of Grace
Review: The five points of Calvinism came about as a response to the Arminian 'Remonstrance.' The Arminian Remonstrance demanded a radical change in the 'Reformed' theology of the Christian church in Holland. The Arminians challenged the sovereign grace doctrines affirmed in the Belgeic Confession of Faith and the Heidelberg Cathecism and disavowed the Reformed doctrine of predestination among other things. Arminianism essentially affirms that man initiates salvation in accord with his free will, which I believe is in sharp contrast to the message of Scriptures. This tract compares and contrasts the tenets of 'Calvinism' versus those of 'Arminianism' and then proceeds to document Scriptural evidences for Calvinism. It features a helpful bibliography of resources affirming Reformed theology. Many opponents of Reformed theology disparage 'Calvinism' as if its adherents are duped into some innovative 'new' doctrine contrived by John Calvin- but Calvin only affirmed the spiritual truths espoused by Augustine, the Apostle Paul and Christ himself. Calvin no more invented the doctrines of grace than he invented God's creation. The five points of Calvinism represent the doctrines of total depravity, unconditional election, limited atonement, irresistable grace and the perserverence of the saints. These doctrines form an easy-to-remember acrostic: T.U.L.I.P. A previous reviewer affirmed that he is a "2-point Calvinist" while I contend there is LOGICALLY no such thing, since he does not likely affirm a doctrine of total depravity remotely similiar to that of the Reformed doctrine of man's innate depravity. For if he did, he would recognize that there is corollary to the total depravity of man, which is man's total inability to save himself and the need for redemption by God's grace alone. As it is written, it is God who justifies and we who were made alive by the Holy Spirit were formerly dead to our sins and trespasses. If you're new to Reformed Theology or interested in better understanding it, you might check out my Amazon guide to Reformed Protestant theology as well as What is So Amazing About Grace by Phillip Yancey. Sola Fide!
Rating:
Summary: A Helpful Introductory Tract to the Doctrines of Grace
Review: The five points of Calvinism came about as a response to the Arminian Remonstrance. The Arminian Remonstrance demanded a radical change in the Reformed theology of the Christian church in Holland. The Arminians challenged the sovereign grace doctrines affirmed in the Belgeic Confession of Faith and the Heidelberg Cathecism and disavowed the Reformed doctrine of predestination among other things. Arminianism essentially affirms that man initiates salvation in accord with his free will, which I believe is in sharp contrast to the message of Scriptures. This tract compares and contrasts the tenets of Calvinism versus those of Arminianism and then proceeds to document Scriptural evidences for Calvinism. It features a helpful bibliography of resources affirming Reformed theology. Many opponents of Reformed theology disparage 'Calvinism' as if its adherents are duped into some innovative 'new' doctrine contrived by John Calvin- but Calvin only affirmed the spiritual truths espoused by Augustine, the Apostle Paul and Christ himself. Calvin no more invented the doctrines of grace than he invented God's creation.
The five points of Calvinism represent the doctrines of total depravity, unconditional election, limited atonement, irresistable grace and the perserverence of the saints. These doctrines form an easy-to-remember acrostic: T.U.L.I.P. A previous reviewer affirmed that he is a "2-point Calvinist" while I contend there is LOGICALLY no such thing, since he does not likely affirm a doctrine of total depravity remotely similiar to that of the Reformed doctrine of man's innate depravity. For if he did, he would recognize that there is corollary to the total depravity of man, which is man's total inability to save himself and the need for redemption by God's grace alone. As it is written, it is God who justifies and we who were made alive by the Holy Spirit were formerly dead to our sins and trespasses.
If you're new to Reformed Theology or interested in better understanding it, you might check out my Amazon guide to Reformed Protestant theology as well as _What is So Amazing About Grace_ by Phillip Yancey. Sola Fide!
| 
