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I've been reading about the different Great Awakenings, Calvin, etc.
are you talking about Calvin and predestination? I'm new to some of this, so wonder what red flags to look for.
Read Romans 8:29-30. This is one of the strongest predestination verses.
29 For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. 30 Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.
John 6:39 is a great passage on that subject, as well.
Yes!
didn't realize the word 'predestined' was in the Bible, thought Calvin came up with it, thanks for sharing!
Predestined and election have similar connotations.
Do a word search in the New Testament on Election or Elect or Elected, you will see about 24 references all referring to those chosen by God for salvation.
good to know/will be helpful as I keep searching; sites like this; https://www.apuritansmind.com/?s=Elect
This may upset a few, but bare with me when I say predestination is a misunderstanding of Scripture. It assumes before you are born, you are predetermined or chosen the go to Heaven but it ignores the omnipresence and omniscience of God and the gift of free will. You see, God as the Creator stands outside of Creation and literally sees everything, and every time, all at once. You know the first verse of the Bible, "In the beginning God created the Heavens and Earth." Get that, in the beginning so before this happened, there was no such thing as time but then when He created the Heavens (space) and Earth (matter) it was literally the beginning of the space/time continuum. So by this, knowing that God sits outside of creation, thus He also sits outside of time itself. So He knew me before He set the foundations of the earth, because He can see my entire life all at the same time. He knows the decisions I'm making, even to the day I was saved. Point is, I made that decision on my own, God just knew that I was going to, just as He already knows everyone else that is going to join me as a Brother or Sister in Christ. But that's not predestination, that's just God being God and knowing all of His children and the decisions they will make in life.
Sorry I didn't reply sooner. Yes, predestination and the rest of TULIP. I'm thankful that I spent about a year and read the entire Bible before I started going to church. And, the church I went to didn't start going all in for Calvinism until a new assistant pastor came on board. Things to look out for is "Nothing happens unless God allows it" and "God is in control".
From my reply to demonite10: f you're a reader, I'd suggest a book called "What love is this?" by Dave Hunt. It's a bit old, but it has some great information. For newer information, try this website: https://www.beyondthefundamentals.com/ Some of their videos are pretty long, but not all of them. And there are "class notes" with PDF files you can read.
Another good (but older) book by a Calvary Chapel pastor is "The Dark Side of Calvinism" by George Bryson.
You can believe in predestination and still be based. However, Calvinists are typically more "fundamentalist" in the sense they're really conservative and not as open to new concepts. To be honest, a lot of new ideas have gotten this country in trouble, so there's something to be said about it.