Ep 39 Austin Fischer: Young, Restless, No Longer Reformed
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- Опубликовано: 6 окт 2024
- Austin Fischer, author of "Young, Restless, and No Longer Reformed" and pastor of Vista Community Church joins the show to discuss his journey in and out of Calvinism. Whether Calvinist, or non-Calvinist, you will enjoy listening to Austin's story.
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"The overwhelming majority of orthodox Christianity was not Calvinistic" - Good Point!
It just depends on what you consider orthodox.
Great interview!
Austin,
Where did you attend Seminary?
Concerned,
Fellow sojourners in Christ
@35:00 you guys get into the question of non-Calvinistic soteriology and the common strawman argument heard in debates being something like... 'a non-calvinist believes they can just decide and save themselves' as if God's Sovereignty is undermined or God could 'fail to save' etc, etc.
I call the argument a strawman because it assumes the non-Calvinist believes they 'save themselves' and I've not heard that anywhere. If someone did believe that, I too would call that heretical. What a non-Calvinist typically means (as I understand it) is...
A) God authored human creation with the Free Will to choose God's Will for humanity (Obedience through the Holy Spirit, His commandments, His example through Christ, His Word, etc) or essentially their own (their raising of self into the position of authority, idolatry of self & therefore face the consequences). This does not undermine God's Sovereignty [if] it was His design from the beginning. This seems to square how Adam & Eve were able to fall without implicating God in the evil. Evil/Sin essentially being the result of separation from God and His Will through Free decisions. Like Cold is the separation from a heat source. Cold isn't really a thing. Sin too is merely the rejection of God's authority in our lives and experiencing what separation from His Holiness feels like.
B) Christ's life, death, burial, resurrection, were all predestined and foretold through the prophets and elsewhere in scripture as the atonement for humanity that would yield their way, repent, deny themselves, humble themselves for God's way & recognize Christ as the Son of God and His sacrifice being that atonement.
C) No human simply 'chooses and saves himself' as it's a contingent action. It requires the necessary 1st cause of Christ's defeat of Sin & Death, a divine miracle, a work of the Holy Spirit. A human that responds to this invitation is simply responding to said miracle & work of the Holy Spirit, acknowledging they CANNOT save themselves. If you want to say this desire to turn from wickedness in the natural, is caused by the Holy Spirit, I guess you could say that.
I think sometimes as Christians we look to split hairs unnecessarily. I think it's just as easy to argue the work of Christ and the Holy Spirit is powerful enough & some have hardened their own hearts in pride, they just prefer their life of sin (lacking ears to hear, eyes to see). God wants them to repent cause He legitimately longs for reunion with members of His family, but is love, therefore won't force Himself upon anyone. Likewise, He won't force you or I into His presence for all Eternity, even though that is His Will for ALL. Reminder... This is not a Failure, this was the design from the beginning.
Yes!!!!!
This is SO helpful.
I spent 30 years in bondage to Calvinism and once I learned the truth I will not be quiet anymore! The Calvinist doctrine of election and determinism is a Manichaean, pagan, philosophy which was an amalgamation of Stoicism, Gnosticism, and Neo-Platonism. The deception started as Stoicism in the early Church and all the Apostles and Church leaders fought against it. One can see this not only in church history, but in the New Testament epistles as warnings of “false teachers” and “every wind of doctrine.” It took Satan over three hundred years to send in a Trojan horse to deliver the Manichaean poison. For decades I had been told by Calvinist that "All the early church fathers agree with election and predestination." What Calvinist mean when they say "early church fathers" is Augustine. Once I researched this, I learned that, in fact, NONE of the early church fathers (before Augustine) agreed with election and predestination; they all defended free will. Augustine lived over three hundred years after Christ and he was a Manichaean for 10 years before he became a Christian. For the first 15 years, he taught and defended the doctrine of free will. To salvage the practice of infant baptism, Augustine suddenly changed his mind and reverted to the damnable doctrine of a Christian cult (Manichaeism) and inserted it into Christendom. So, the basic doctrine of Calvinism is directly from the pit of hell. Once a person swallows the hook of election and predestination, it is like Satan gouges out their eyes then tells them “Now let me read the scriptures for you.” Thus, there forward they will view every mention of the words “predestination, chosen, election, and the elect” through the lens of Calvinism. Later, John Calvin became a sort of sock-puppet of Augustine. Throughout his work he referenced Augustine over 4000 times and once wrote that "I could write my entire theology from the writings of Augustine.”
Once you truly research this and are honestly wanting to know the truth the evidence is so overwhelming and so clear you will get your sight back. You will be able to breathe God's fresh air again and see the scriptures for what they really say without wearing Calvinistic glasses. Many of the teachings of Calvinism are good, but the heartbeat is an artificial construct of pagan philosophies of another god and Christ. Research this for yourself and don't be afraid to step out of your Calvinistic echo chamber and you will be set free from the clutches of Calvinism. I have been a believer in Christ for 45 years and have studied and interacted with many cults, so I am very familiar with the way they work! Calvinism is the most deceptive of all cults. If you run to people like James White, MacArthur and Piper you will never get free.
If you truly want to look into this, a good starting place is to listen to a man who was a Calvinist for 10 years. He is kind and honest about his redemption from Calvinistic doctrine. ruclips.net/video/LatpdNAnH4g/видео.html
Don't be afraid of the truth, God is waiting for you.
Show Cat Thank you SO much! I learned about reformed theology as a brand new believer and for the last twelve years it has been such a terrible struggle for me. I have struggled to read scripture without seeing it and threw me into the biggest tailspin. Really. It has been the most difficult barrier in my life and walk with Christ. I never knew how to truly love a God who would predestine a few for salvation and damnation for the rest with no choice of their own. I know the Calvinist response to that is that it is just an emotional argument, but still. It created serious struggle, especially coming from a family of non-believers and raising children of my own. I am finally breaking free from the chains of Calvinism and letting myself believe and trust that Jesus truly did die for ALL and that He truly does desire that all would come to the knowledge of the Truth. It has been hard because once that teaching is in your mind, it permeates everything, including how you read Scripture and how you view God. I can’t explain all the pain and struggle it has caused me over the last several years in a comment, but just know that breaking free from Calvinism is the best thing I could have done.
@@nd0158
Awakened!!!!
Calvinism works in the realm of Calvinism. The entire doctrine is built on stand alone verses that are taken out of context.
To survive, Calvinism must remain in a topical study format. If the proof texts are applied to a contextual study format, the doctrine dies a slow, miserable death.
Just think of the simple word "believe" which in itself requires making a choice.
The word "IF" used so much throughout scripture in verses like "if you abide in Me..." or "if you confess with your mouth...".
The message of the cross cannot jive with calvinism.
The gospel cannot coexist with calvinism.
The believers assurance has no footing in calvinism.
The end times judgement is for nothing more than show in calvinism.
In calvinism, ALL doesn't really mean ALL. EVERYONE doesn't really mean EVERYONE. WHOSOEVER doesn't actually mean WHOSOEVER.
Biblical definition after biblical definition must be changed.
95% of biblical doctrine has to be ignored or completely removed from scripture for the calvinist doctrine to be true.
I'm greatful that you found truth.
God bless!
Great Interview!
You may both be interested to read "God's Strategy in Human History by Roger Forster".
Jesus Said he who has seen me, has seen the Father!
Calvinism started as small & it will end up small
I think the dilema you have is that you want to keep your pastor position as opposed to standing for truth and lose your position?
Arminius was a calvinist.
Calvinism is heretical.
I AGREE
Calvinism is demonic.
I'd like to see less of an emphasis on trying to talk like a frat boy.
So, basically, these young men were almost totally ignorant of Historical Theology and issues in Historical Theology when they thought they were Calvinists.
That's a typical situation with these kinds of folks.
Rather than studying Systematic Theology and Historical Theology and Church History, they were relying on lectures/sermons from Piper, Sproul...etc.
That's the problem, folks.
DO YOUR OWN HOMEWORK!
I'm not a Calvinist/Reformed Baptist because of Sproul, Piper...etc.; I'm a Calvinist because of a consistent, biblically-derived Systematic Theology.
Our thinking, even after conversion, is FLAWED.
We carry all kinds of errors, falsehoods, and lies in our thinking even after we become Christians, which needs to be remedied by learning more truth [from God's Word].
A Christian should spend the rest of his/her life remedying the errors in his/her own mind by the systematic study of Scripture; and, yes, issues in Church History can also be of great service in this area (we are not the first Christians to think about these issues; it's sheer arrogance to think we are).
It's truly frustrating for those of us in the Reformed camp listen to how ignorant someone was, and then conclude, "that's why I left Calvinism".
It's frustrating and downright angering.
For example, at one point the interviewer mentions Dr. William Lane Craig (who promulgates the Jesuit invented idea of "Middle Knowledge") and thinks that this man has some great insight into issues of Theology Proper!
This, of course, is utterly fallacious....Dr. Craig's thought on this is NOT original.
Reformed scholars have dealt with this issue for nearly 500 years!
Fact: Molinism (as promulgated by Dr. Craig himself) makes God's knowledge DEPENDENT UPON THE CREATION, EVENTS THAT OCCUR IN TIME, AND ON THE CREATURE for His knowledge of it/them!
Dr. Craig has said this very thing, EXPLICITLY!
And, one of his followers, Pastor Mike Winger, EXPLICITLY SAYS IT AS WELL!
Another example:
One of the main IDOLS of synergism is their dogmatic adherence to Human Libertarian Free Will.
Problem? How do they define the concept?
Typically, they define it as, 'the power of contrary choice,' or, 'the equal ability to choose between two or more incompatible options under the same circumstances'.
Problem? the Bible talks about the "freedom" of human beings in very specific contexts.
And, the Bible most certainly DOES NOT endorse a definition of human free will like, 'the power of contrary choice'.
Rather, Jesus Himself gives a two-part definition of Human Free Will in Jn. 8:31-38, and it DOESN'T mean, 'the power of contrary choice'.
Jesus, in His humanity, most certainly DID NOT possess 'the power of contrary choice'; yet He was the freest human to ever walk the earth!
Why? Because Jesus possessed the BIBLICAL DEFINITION of Human Libertarian Free Will!
Not only this, but the Glorified Saints of Christ will possess the biblical definition of Human Free Will only in the eschaton, when Jesus returns (right now, in Sanctification, we are a 'work in progress').
These synergists don't even realize that their definition of human free will is flawed, and unbiblical (it's flawed BECAUSE it's unbiblical).
Sigh. Once again, I must express my frustration at otherwise young, intelligent men, who apparently love God and His Word, stumble so badly simply because they won't do some in-depth homework on the issues...and simply because they won't even attempt to question their own presuppositions about their [false] definition of human free will, responsibility, predestination...etc..
Questions? I'm totally open.
*Soli Deo Gloria*
I think Austin has a different view of church history, tradition, the bible, and systematic theology than you do. That's not even factoring in the ethical concerns he has with double predestination and the doctrines of grace in principle.
Show Cat
1 second ago
I spent 30 years in bondage to Calvinism and once I learned the truth I will not be quiet anymore! The Calvinist doctrine of election and determinism is a Manichaean, pagan, philosophy which was an amalgamation of Stoicism, Gnosticism, and Neo-Platonism. The deception started as Stoicism in the early Church and all the Apostles and Church leaders fought against it. One can see this not only in church history, but in the New Testament epistles as warnings of “false teachers” and “every wind of doctrine.” It took Satan over three hundred years to send in a Trojan horse to deliver the Manichaean poison. For decades I had been told by Calvinist that "All the early church fathers agree with election and predestination." What Calvinist mean when they say "early church fathers" is Augustine. Once I researched this, I learned that, in fact, NONE of the early church fathers (before Augustine) agreed with election and predestination; they all defended free will. Augustine lived over three hundred years after Christ and he was a Manichaean for 10 years before he became a Christian. For the first 15 years, he taught and defended the doctrine of free will. To salvage the practice of infant baptism, Augustine suddenly changed his mind and reverted to the damnable doctrine of a Christian cult (Manichaeism) and inserted it into Christendom. So, the basic doctrine of Calvinism is directly from the pit of hell. Once a person swallows the hook of election and predestination, it is like Satan gouges out their eyes then tells them “Now let me read the scriptures for you.” Thus, there forward they will view every mention of the words “predestination, chosen, election, and the elect” through the lens of Calvinism. Later, John Calvin became a sort of sock-puppet of Augustine. Throughout his work he referenced Augustine over 4000 times and once wrote that "I could write my entire theology from the writings of Augustine.”
Once you truly research this and are honestly wanting to know the truth the evidence is so overwhelming and so clear you will get your sight back. You will be able to breathe God's fresh air again and see the scriptures for what they really say without wearing Calvinistic glasses. Many of the teachings of Calvinism are good, but the heartbeat is an artificial construct of pagan philosophies of another god and Christ. Research this for yourself and don't be afraid to step out of your Calvinistic echo chamber and you will be set free from the clutches of Calvinism. I have been a believer in Christ for 45 years and have studied and interacted with many cults, so I am very familiar with the way they work! Calvinism is the most deceptive of all cults. If you run to people like James White, MacArthur and Piper you will never get free.
If you truly want to look into this, a good starting place is to listen to a man who was a Calvinist for 10 years. He is kind and honest about his redemption from Calvinistic doctrine. ruclips.net/video/LatpdNAnH4g/видео.html
Don't be afraid of the truth, God is waiting for you.
@@ShowCat1 I'm sorry you've been deceived by Leighton Flowers and his semi-Pelagianism.
Leighton Flowers teaches that the Grace of God in salvation is not miraculous, and doesn't/cannot actually save any wretched, rebel sinner.
Leighton Flowers holds to the idolatrous doctrine of "human free will". He doesn't know how the Bible actually defines "human free will," and so he resorts to the old, pagan definition of it as, 'the power of contrary choice'.
Sorry, but your assertion that Calvinism/Reformed Theology is from Gnostic sources has bee debunked time and time again.
Your failure to understand what you're talking about is not mine, but yours, my friend.
Why don't you give God thanks for your salvation? Why? Because your theology teaches you that it was YOU who actively participated in the sole, instrumental means of your Justification: FAITH.
Leighton Flowers falsely teaches that human beings, fallen in Adam, are still able to conjure up faith within themselves out of the cauldron of their own human free will (and, of course, he falsely defines 'human free will' as, 'the power of contrary choice,' which is NOT how the Bible defines human free will").
Again, I'm sorry you're being deceived.
Hope and pray that you come to the truth about what Scripture teaches on these issues.
*Soli Deo Gloria*
@@R01202 Nope, Adam did not possess 'the power of contrary choice' to act against what God already foreknew would happen.
Nothing that happens in time, in God's creation, happens outside of His foreknowledge.
The question is, 'how does God know stuff?'.
Is God's Omniprescience (His exhaustive, infallible foreknowledge) dependent upon His creation?
Or, is it dependent upon Himself alone?
To the former question, the Reformed answer, "NO".
To the latter, the Reformed answer, "YES".
This maintains the Aseity of God (what God IS in-and-of Himself).
@@R01202 No, the Holy Spirit is NOT leading these semi-Pelagians to "all truth".
Some truths, yes, but they have some seriously erroneous traditions that have not been purged, yet.
So do you and I, by the way.
Eg. I have two videos which demonstrate that both William Lane Craig, and Pastor Mike Winger have stated, "God's knowledge is DEPENDENT upon the choices I make, and the events that occur in time".
This is a serious falsehood, and does damage to the Attributes of God (namely, His Aseity, with special respect to His infallible Omniprescience).
All of this nonsense that is spewed by Leighton Flowers, William Lane Craig, and Pastor Mike Winger, is because they feel they have to defend, at any cost, their fallacious definition of "human free will," which they don't even know how to define BIBLICALLY [and instead fall for the philosophically speculative definition not derived from Scripture].
Hope this helps.
Let me know if you have further questions.
*Soli Deo Gloria*