From R C Sproul
Just a few years before the Pilgrims landed on the shores
of New England in the Mayflower,
a controversy erupted in the Netherlands and spread throughout Europe and then
around the world.
It began within the theological faculty of a Dutch
institution that was committed to Calvinistic teaching. Some of the professors
there began to have second thoughts about issues relating to the doctrines of
election and predestination. As this theological controversy spread across the
country, it upset the church and theologians of the day. Finally, a synod was
convened. Issues were squared away and the views of certain people were
rejected, including those of a man by the name of Jacobus Arminius.
The
group that led the movement against orthodox Reformed theology was called the
Remonstrants. They were called the Remonstrants because they were remonstrating
or protesting against certain doctrines within their own theological heritage.
There were basically five doctrines that were the core of the controversy. As a
result of this debate, these five core theological issues became known in
subsequent generations as the “five points of Calvinism.” They are now known
through the very popular acrostic TULIP, which is a clever way to sum
up the five articles that were in dispute. The five points, as they are stated
in order to form the acrostic TULIP,
are: total depravity, unconditional election, limited atonement, irresistible
grace, and perseverance of the saints.
I mention this historical event because it would be a
serious mistake to understand the essence of Reformed theology simply in light
of these five doctrines—the Reformed faith involves many other elements of
theological and ecclesiastical confession. However, these are the five
controversial points of Reformed theology, and they are the ones that are
popularly seen as distinctive to this particular confession. Over the next five
posts, we are going to spend some time looking at these five points of Calvinism
as they are spelled out in the acrostic TULIP.
From
here
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