Sunday, November 21, 2010

Are you a 12-point Calvinist? TULIP, FABRIC & More

In 1619, in order to answer Arminianism, the Five Points of Calvinism were codified by the Synod of Dort. They are summarized by the acronym TULIP:

Total Depravity (also known as Total Inability and Original Sin)
Unconditional Election
Limited Atonement (also known as Particular Atonement)
Irresistible Grace
Perseverance of the Saints (also known as Once Saved Always Saved)

In 1910, in order to answer "Modernism", the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the USA, passed the Doctrinal Deliverance, which declared that Five Fundamentals were "necessary and essential" to the Christian faith.

In 1961, in order to answer Theistic Evolution, the modern Creation Science movement was revived with the publication of The Genesis Flood: The Biblical Record and its Scientific Implications, by John C. Whitcomb and Henry M. Morris, which reminded Bible believers how vital Creation and the Flood are to the faith.

These tenets of the faith after TULIP - the Five Fundamentals, Creation, and the Flood - may be summarized by the acronym FABRIC & M:

Flood of Noah was global
Atonement for sin by Christ's death
Birth from a virgin of the Lord Jesus Christ
Resurrection of Christ in his body
Inerrancy of Scripture
Creation in the six literal days of Genesis chapter one 

Miracles of Christ were a historical reality

Today, in the early 21st century, Biblical Christianity is coming under increasing pressure. The Five Points of Calvinism, the Five Fundamentals, and now Creation and the Flood are just 12 battle grounds of the faith, with More to come. TULIP, FABRIC & More.