I'm a Christian in a muslim country, been hiding my faith from everyone and reading the bible in secret for about 2 years now.. Dreamed of going to the church and joining a community of worship for months. Would love to visit your church and worship together with you in Minecraft! I'll be joining as soon as you publicly open the server.

@micheal8672

Жыл бұрын

God bless you brother, you will be rewarded for keeping the faith under persecution or withstanding social pressure

@user-eq1un4zp4r

Жыл бұрын

Praying for you, you’re very strong

@AntoRevanth

Жыл бұрын

Church is just a place to worship just to focus and strengthen the ppl in God. God is everywhere. The triune God help you, Prayers for you brother.

@cormundum_o

Жыл бұрын

Praying for you my brother in Christ. You are very brave and your faith is strong.

@apalsnerg

Жыл бұрын

Mashallah. You are brave to keep the faith in such a hostile environment. May your rewards be great in the Kingdom, my friend. Christ be with you.

My Catholic family stopped going to church while I was still in lower school. While I always considered myself religious, I did not actually know what being a Christian meant beyond liking Jesus. When I entered university, I knew that I wanted to learn more about the faith and expected to join a Catholic group. However, I signed up for many Christian clubs during the club fair, including a reformed one. After signing up, a senior began sending me a message every few days asking when I would like to talk to learn more about the club. I kept delying the meeting because of work and nervousness, but, when we did finally talk, I felt relieved to see how friendly he was, and he even gave me my first Bible (ESV). Now, I am part of the club's leadership and look forward to going to Bible study every week and whatever special, semi-weekly event we have. I do find myself caught between Catholic and Protastant teachings but feel that studying both has helped grow my relationship with God greatly. You are right that Reformed people can be nerdy, but that makes them great.

@bradyryden2999

Жыл бұрын

Yeah same story for except my family is more nondenominational/pentecostal. Now im part of the ministry team at RUF

@chocolateneko9912

Жыл бұрын

Look into Orthodoxy as well brother. ☦️

You gotta do a server tour of everything you’ve built

@redeemedzoomer6053

Жыл бұрын

I will when I open the server to the public this summer

@Mrgaming34241

Жыл бұрын

@@redeemedzoomer6053 yo epic

I grew up next to a Presbyterian church. Absolutely beautiful on the outside, I've never been inside unfortunately. Jesus saved me after I moved away.

Even though I'm not Reformed, I enjoyed the video and hearing about things from a different perspective. If you were to continue this series I think 'Why I'm not Seventh-Day Adventist' would be a good next denomination to talk about.

@cormundum_o

Жыл бұрын

Are you Seventh-Day Adventist?

@elboyosupreme

Жыл бұрын

@@cormundum_o No, I'm a Methodist. I figured the SDA church would be a good video topic because they have a lot of unique teachings.

@cormundum_o

Жыл бұрын

@@elboyosupreme That is true

Redeemed Zoomer is only a few days away from becoming a Lutheran! 16:32

@lesinge8868

Жыл бұрын

From my point of view, he’s only a few days from becoming Catholic!

@toilet_cleaner_man

Жыл бұрын

@@lesinge8868 Lutherans are a long car ride from becoming Catholics if we're really digging into it. Luther himself didn't want to leave, but the circumstances and powers at be demanded he had to.

You are so blessed. There's nothing like that here in Wales, we're up to our necks in emotionalism or heresy-level progressivism here, it's either one or the other wherever you look. No calvinist churches here either, they're all either actually methodist, or they're dead or dying. My soul yearns for a solid presbyterian church. I'm the exact same as you on being attracted by the particularities of the reformed faith. Listening to you and your rational and charitable takes is refreshing me very much. Thank you and bless you. Soli Deo Gloria!

I’m not reformed but I absolutely love your content. I have a channel that just launched focusing on discipleship and new believers, I’m also going to be launching a Christian gaming channel shortly. I would love the opportunity to do some stuff with you in the future when that starts up. Keep it coming brother! Great content!

I so agree with the theory of evolution! In fact, evolution makes me even more amazed of God’s power. God can do both. It was so refreshing to hear you share this perspective, and your other points were thoughtful as well

Your journey was almost identical to mine. I grew up in a Baptist church and when I came of age and began studying theology, Church history (including things like the Ecumenical Councils and the Reformation), and Christianity and other religions as a whole, I became very distraught because I realized how non-cogent the teachings of the independent Baptist church I was raised in were, and began to feel even that our extremely low church service felt wrong. I was close to losing my faith, and had basically arrived at an amorphous vision of Reformed theology without knowing there was a word for it and a tradition associated with it. It wasn’t until going off to college that I found that there is a rich tradition built upon scripture that stands upon the shoulders of the giants of Christian history and was incredibly God-centered. I became a member of a PCA church and have, for the first time since switching denominations a few years ago, finally felt like I’d found a religious home.

@crobeastness

Жыл бұрын

How come you're not Catholic? Your testimony sounds like that of a Catholic convert or revert so why stop at reformer?

@lothara.schmal5092

10 ай бұрын

@@crobeastnessprobably because he doesn’t agree with the Catholic view lmao, why else

@crobeastness

10 ай бұрын

@@lothara.schmal5092 that's what I'm asking

As a fairly new Presby, longtime Reformed Baptist, I greatly enjoyed your perspective, especially comparing Lutheranism to Reformed theology.

You know, as an introvert man myself, I wonder how much I would fit myself in a solemn church service. Maybe that's even the reason why I felt inadequate at the pentecostal services most of the times. Lately my professors said I was so introverted that I might even be autistic. I mean, my brethren at the church never actually said that I was inadequate. In fact they always emphasized what a "young man of God" I was, how well I "exposed the Word of God (Holy Scriptures)" and the like I've been thinking of what I should do as a Christian or if I even should be a Christian. But one thing I could do, as a Christian and future psychologist, is to show people what theology and cult most adequates to them and maybe how the Church needs them

The more I watch your videos, the more I relate to both you and your theological ideas. I’m 23 years old, I grew up Baptist, but I’m working at Three Methodist Churches. However, I’ve never been to a Presbyterian Church and by the way you’ve been describing things in a lot of your videos, it’s sounding more appealing. Like you, I am a Musician. I play in the symphony. I grew up going to Baptist and nondenominational churches, and contemporary worship is not at all appealing to me, even at an earlier age.. I’m also still trying to figure out where I sit with my faith and doctrinal values. I’m working at 2 Methodist churches that are disaffiliated, and one Methodist Church that’s going to stay UMC. It’s going to be very interesting to see how it all works out.

@Redeemed Zoomer, You should do a video on the compatibility of Evolution (distinguishing macro and micro) and the Creation story of Genesis.

@chocolateneko9912

Жыл бұрын

He should mention the long tradition of allegorical, analogous and non literal interpretations of Genesis from before Christ, after his death with the early church fathers, through to the great Schism in 1054 and from after that.

UR INTRO IS SO FIRE

Interesting points, and I somewhat agree with most all of them. The main one I don’t completely agree with is how to think about predestination. I’m not sure if you were necessarily discarding free will, but I don’t think free will and predestination are incompatible. Without going into detail, I believe God wants us to choose Him of our own free will, but He still controls the events in our lives in a way that nudges us to make that decision. And certainly, He has controlled events in a way that ensured His plan of salvation would succeed. The idea of no free will makes me question why God would allow the fall of man in the first place. He could have predestined it to have never happened, yet it was Adam’s choice to submit to his own will rather than God’s will that resulted in plan of salvation being necessary in the first place. Regarding emotionalism, I am an analytical, nerdy guy myself, so I tend to agree with you. However, I also recognize my tendency towards logic and reason as incomplete. Our emotions can and do lead us astray, but not always. Myself, I tend to suppress my emotions, which makes me feel a certain dishonesty towards God. The Word tells us to “make a joyful noise“ to the Lord, after all. I think the confusion lies in that we have developed a systematic religiosity where we are supposed to do so routinely every Sunday (or Saturday) within the two hour time frame of our church services. It’s almost robotic, as if we have a “joy switch“ that is supposed to flip on as soon as the worship music starts or when a preacher starts his performance. Genuine emotion, to me, should mostly happen in the spur of the moment and less by a time slot. That is not to say I don’t think anyone should show emotion in church, as long as it doesn’t interfere with them being sober-minded.

@turkeybobjr

Жыл бұрын

Look up Molinism. It's the middle ground between Calvinism and Arminianism.

@JabberW00kie

Жыл бұрын

@@turkeybobjr Yes, I would consider myself a Molinist, at least until I am convinced otherwise.

@turkeybobjr

Жыл бұрын

@@JabberW00kie Same.

Awesome video man! I would love to hear from you more about your view of creation. I heard you in one of your videos mention you still believe in evolution and would love to hear you clarify more of that.

@DevotionToChrist

Жыл бұрын

I second this ^

@Refiningforge

Жыл бұрын

Ditto

I really liked this video because I wasn't sure what denomination I should be but this made me sure. I do just have one more thing I want to say though I really wish you fight for truth,and the daily Disciple would do a Colab. God bless

Predestination is where you very much lose me. Though I do like hearing about how you came to your conclusions

@paradoxelle481

Жыл бұрын

Because it’s Calvinist/Presbyterian and I can’t recall the texts exactly but I know the Bible mentions us being chosen by God somewhere, that’s where I assume Calvin got it from, though I haven’t read his institutes yet.

@Loganva

11 ай бұрын

@@paradoxelle481Id say that yes we are chosen but we are chosen because we willfully accepted Christ

@kevinjohnson4498

6 ай бұрын

I can get behind predestination in the sense that God knows what choices you are going to make because God is all-everything, but I still believe in free will. I dont necessarily think they are contradictions either. God gives you the free will to make your own choices but also knows what choices you are going to make.

I was Presbyterian, but now I kinda have the Orthodox view of nerdy theology you mentioned in the video.

I think the part where you were speaking of your respect for Lutheran theology and the very similar and agreeable doctrine you share with Lutherans is a great sign that Unity among Christians is not gone. We are not separated by our differing doctrine and beliefs about scripture, we are unified in our shared doctrines and beliefs about scripture. Now granted comparing Presbyterians and Lutherans is like comparing Catholics in Italy vs Catholics in Germany (we are very similar is my point), but we still see each other as legitimate and valid traditions preaching proper doctrine in accordance with scripture, if not just having disagreements on a few portions of the more existential parts of scripture and how they connect us with God. If you couldn't tell by my language in this comment, I'm very much a Lutheran-centric Christian (but I've had no church in my life and have been looking for one for quite a while now), which totally has nothing to do with me being from Wisconsin, but you present theology in a very direct way, instead of how you usually see "theologians" stating absolutes and denying anything other than their full and complete confessions, which I think is definitely going to work in the favor of this channel's ability to evangelize it's audience and send them in the direction of Christ, which is what it's all about anyways. You do excellent work Mr. Zoomer, thanks for the content.

I have been really enjoying your channel and just subbed! Please make a server one day, it would so cool.

I really liked the funeral analogy for reformed worship, as funny as it sounds. I attend a solidly biblical (even sort of Calvinistic leaning) “non-denominational” church, which I love, but I am very frustrated by the contemporary worship. Thankfully the worship band has sort of moved away from using hillsong or bethel music and toward music written by church members, but I still dislike the contemporary style. I’d much prefer the service to be like a funeral than like a rock concert, sense worship is a weighty thing, and it contains both joy and sadness, just like mourning the passing on of a loved one. The contemporary rock band worship also seems a little too similar to pre-reformation spectator worship where congregants would just listen to a performance of a song rather than sing it themselves. Congregational singing wasn’t really a thing in the medieval church before Luther reintroduced it. In contemporary worship congregants still sing, but I’ve found that I can almost never hear myself, or anyone who doesn’t have a microphone, singing. I visited an Old Apostolic Lutheran Church a few months ago, and I was absolutely in awe at their congregation acappella hymn singing. Sorry for the long comment, I just have a lot of thoughts about this stuff and not many people to talk to it about. Thanks for all your excellent videos.

Can you make a video on free grace theology? It's something I'm confused about.

lol the last part of the video made me laughed and feel guilty at the same time HAHAHAH

Catholic here, I would say we definitely agree more on the topic of sacraments than disagree. A common analogy is that the sacraments are the steps of the ladder that lead us to heaven. So they are a means to and end, that end being eternal salvation. Sacraments are both a sign and the “thing they signify”, by which I think you mean a fount of grace for God to reach us. I do believe there are some individual Catholics who may overemphasize the ritual and forget that it is a means to an end. Unfortunately, that problem is common because of poor catechesis from the previous decades.

Amen❤❤🎉🎉😊😊

What do you think of compatibilism? Like, God's sovereignty is not incompatible with free will through some mystical process? I agree with almost everything in Calvinism except for free will. (I believe the original sin was humanity abusing free will to disobey God, God did not force anyone to sin). What would you call my theology?

@David-bh7hs

Жыл бұрын

Darn it I think I'm Lutheran

@Swiftninjatrev

Жыл бұрын

@@David-bh7hs 😂 Technically with compatibilism, it's trying to say we have freewill, but it fails in that God still determines what choices we make and what we do.

@daliborbenes5025

Жыл бұрын

​@@David-bh7hs That's a good question and it touches on something that came to my mind when watching the video. Are free will and determinism opposites? I mean, I wouldn't exactly consider nondeterminism equal to free will. The way I see it, if I get served pizza and dogsh*t, I'll always deterministically choose pizza over the other, less gourmet, option. Free will concerns my responsibility, determinism is about predictability. I'd say the world is deterministic and ordained by God and yet in some mystical sense, we are free to reject God as Adam and Eve were. Kinda the same as the fallen Angels were. So our sin has this kinda "eternal" echo to it. Like God already knows if we deny him before we are even created, and yet I'd say just as angels weren't created fallen, but did fall due to their rebellion, so do humans. In the end, the theological implication should be that humans have enough free will to be responsible for their own sin, yet not enough free will to be able to choose to worship God by themselves. Our free will is severely restricted and affected by sin, yet we are not forced to sin by some outside force. The issue is 100% within us.

@David-bh7hs

Жыл бұрын

@@daliborbenes5025 that's my view as well. I believe in the ultimate sovereignty of God, but that doesn't take away the Sin is entirely our fault

Hey brother can you do a video on baptists, and reformed Baptist please. Do you know Jeff Durban at apologia church what do you think about him?

@redeemedzoomer6053

Жыл бұрын

My channel has a section “why I’m not…” and that has a video “why I’m not Baptist or Reformed Baptist”

Explore some dungeons so you can actually rename your sheep John Knox. Also, is your skin supposed to be a ladder-back woodpecker or just a generic woodpecker?

@reformed zoomer Thank you for what you do and your videos and helping me understand things. I need sermons and a Bible for dummies lol. I’m intelligent, just not real book smart (darn ADHD. It’s hard to absorb what I read. I heard KJV is the most accurate Bible, but it’s difficult for me to understand. I just try my best and read the Bible in general. Bless you🙏🏼

@isaacperkins9603

Жыл бұрын

KJV isn't actually the most accurate-- good translation, for its time, but they didn't have as many manuscripts as we have nowadays. The recent findings of the Dead Sea Scrolls are really cool, and have helped further the modern translations. And, KJV is hard to understand, and English has evolved enough that KJV english could be described as a slightly different language. Soooo, look for a good ESV (if you mainly speak english), and go from there :D The myth that KJV is the most accurate comes from the idea that older = better, which is sometimes true (look at old stone tools), but in this case false. Good translation, great run on its life, outdated language. NKJV is good as well, just not the best for people like you and me for concentration (ADHD is a ***** with studies. Otherwise I love hyperfocusing on my trade work).

It is a solemn assembly. Saying our church service feels like a funeral is a compliment :)

@redeemedzoomer6053

Жыл бұрын

I think so too :)

@nickjames6813

Жыл бұрын

@@redeemedzoomer6053 Zoomer! Bless you kind sir for your work especially lately been really active. Soli Deo Gloria! …excited to see that video about how to pray and repent n all that. Thank you

Huge missed opportunity. You could have named the sheep John the Baaptist.

You should read Predestination by Garigou-Lagrange, I know you aren't Catholic but I think you'd actually like it a lot

If God plans out all events in history, doesn't that make Him responsible for sin?

@Swiftninjatrev

Жыл бұрын

Calvinists would say no, God is not responsible for sin, but the implications of the Calvinism kind of lead to that conclusion logically. I think Calvin himself even just accepted that God was the "author of sin" Most Calvinists do not make that claim and they hardly believe that, but the implications sadly make God responsible for sin.

@STRLNKparad0x

Жыл бұрын

God gave Adam 1 rule and he broke it. Creating a rule, in turn, creates sin, because Adam denied a direct command from God. I see it as, I guess like a test or something, kinda like what He did with Job. Anyways before you say something about Satan, God gave angels free will just as He gave Adam, and Satan defied God so technically, God objectively "created" (I only say created for lack of a better term) sin. Nothing exists outside of God, and that includes sin. It doesn't make God responsible for sin, because we are totally depraved. God has, however, ordained sin for His holy purpose.

@__-tn6hw

Жыл бұрын

@@STRLNKparad0x "God gave Adam 1 rule and he broke it. Creating a rule, in turn, creates sin, because Adam denied a direct command from God. I see it as, I guess like a test or something, kinda like what He did with Job. Anyways before you say something about Satan, God gave angels free will just as He gave Adam, and Satan defied God so technically, God objectively "created" (I only say created for lack of a better term) sin. Nothing exists outside of God, and that includes sin. It doesn't make God responsible for sin, because we are totally depraved. God has, however, ordained sin for His holy purpose." If God made sin, doesn't that mean He is not omnibonevolent, as he would be contradicting his own standard (What makes sin sin is because it is something that intrinsically breaks one of the two greatest commandments)? Does God hate Himself?

@__-tn6hw

Жыл бұрын

@@STRLNKparad0x "Creating a rule, in turn, creates sin, because Adam denied a direct command from God." I would have to disagree, Just because I make a law doesn't mean I made criminals. Criminals arise out of a willingness to break that law. They broke the law, all I did was make it.

@STRLNKparad0x

Жыл бұрын

@@__-tn6hwokay where did sin come from then?

Nice video. How old are you?

Thoughts on Molinism

I would like to ask you for some clarification. I agree that God is in control of everything but there is just one thing that I'm curious about. Do you believe that when someone is born God decides if they are going to hell or would you say that he knows if someone is going to hell when they are born. I believe in the later and would say that he has a plan for everyone that he wants them to follow even if he knows that they won't.

My problem is, I live in the buckle of the Southern Baptist Bible belt. All I have around me are Baptist, Independent Baptists, Holiness Pentecostal, Seventh Day Adventist. If I drive miles away, I can reach a Calvery Chapel, Episcopalian, or Lutheran Church. But its really too far away to consider "local". I feel very outnumbered and the more I express my views, the more I get sideways glances.

How do Calvinists answer "the problem of pain" or "the problem of evil." If we don't have free will, then does God want men to do evil things? Why?

@sebin5216

Жыл бұрын

Excellent point

I would like to add something that you nearly said. If the historical record of scripture is the result of man's choices, like Samson's choice of a wife and Jonah's flight to Tarshish, then man determined the content of scripture. In order for scripture to TRULY be God's word, then God must have directed the history it contains to the tiniest detail.

The end😂😭

Cool channel! Thanks for sharing, I would say as a Catholic we can't reform the One Church if we leave it in first place. God bless!

Could you make one where explain why u are not protestant ?

Lutherans believe that you can loose your salvation ! 😱

How do you know if your one of the elect??

@redeemedzoomer6053

Жыл бұрын

As Calvin said, by having faith in Christ

As a Lutheran, I reject the Presbyterians being smarter than the rest of us assertion, haha.

Ok, but do you have a biblical foundation for your reformed beliefs or is it based on other people's opinion?

@redeemedzoomer6053

Жыл бұрын

Yes. The more I read the Bible, the more I became convinced of Reformed theology. All throughout the Bible, we see God’s Sovereignty and Covenant. I actually was opposed to it when I first heard what it was, but then I read the Bible and it was unavoidable

Personally, I live with the tension that no human covers all the bases, as it relates to why they believe what they believe. No theologian, saint, doctor, genius, or child has it perfect. Myself included. That used to trouble me greatly, but no longer. I'm of the mind that most of humanity isn't fully sane, primarily because we express our fallibility every chance we get, in some way. Our thoughts are not omniscient thoughts, our ways are not infallible ways. Whereas, His ways and thoughts are fully true, all comprehensive, pure at its most microscopic levels, eminent above all forms of transcendence if I understand His Word. There is always someone more intellectual/ thoughtful who can find a loose thread or expose a blind spot or a stubborn inconsistency in any view. That same someone would find that their own beliefs are just as vulnerable to someone smarter than them. So when God views us, imagine if God himself who is omniscient cataloguing the flaws of our theology.. What would he reveal (I shudder to think)? Which is not to say that I would shudder at being so far from knowing all that is true (I'd fully expect that), so much as tremble at the revelation of how far the east (my thoughts) is from the west (his unassailable knowledge). His Word upon the matter, is literally unimaginable if His Word is true. So WHY do I believe? Well, while i am not fully sane, it stands to reason that the basis for my belief is not fully sane and therefore be perceived as a foolish basis. Yet seeing as we are all somewhat kooky (we cant even see heaven, hell, living spirits, or any version of what CS Lewis's Narnia represents), I'll just say the supernatural experiences in my life, subject to all ridicule or criticism, will have to do. Not to say some beliefs (in Christianity) are not more reasoned than others or that, in contrast, some have a dangerously faulty framework destined to crumble. My theological sand castles have been washed away long ago, and as painful as it seemed at the time, I'm grateful that I was not swept along with them.

Whenever I think of the word "Reformed", I think of Calvinism or maybe Arminianism. I am neither. I also think of religion. I was not around in the dark ages so I had nothing to be reformed from. On the other hand, I have been taught dispensationalism since 1971 and am not leaning towards partial preterism (which I think you are? I Just found you a few minutes ago) So I suppose if I switch, I could say I am a reformed Dispensationalist to Partial PREterist. Or would that be that I am a Reformed Preterist? I don't even know the proper way to use the word "reformed" in a sentence. I always thought I was a Christian who believed the bible (now,52 years later, come to find out there is more than one type of dispensationalism - I had no idea until recently).

Interesting that you became reformed for scientific compatibility, I had a similar experience when I was picking my religion (bahai). I also noticed Christ, tradition, and sovereignty are the center focus of what you looked for, I think you picked the right path for yourself

I can't say I belong to any branch but if you made me pick one it would be pentacostal charismatic, grew up in a charismatic church I was saved on a Sunday the day of pentacost not a coincidence either, but I was always kind of a rebel religiously speaking like I always had keen insight and understanding of what good leadership and bad leadership is, I found out God called me to the prophetic, so I can relate to all branches even catholicism and Baptist, as long as they're speaking biblical truth and accept the bible as the finished work of God and the final authority of his word I'll sit in any church. Most today are non denominational and focus on experience and growing in faith. That's fine. Their is no right or wrong way to serve God as long as you never compromise and remember where you stand. I actually had a prophetic vision one night of a gen z youtuber taking the charge for his generation, a few months later I found your channel 😇

So you talked about the sacraments as being necessary for salvation. I lean more towards being baptist in that i see baptism and communion as more symbolic. My reasoning being that if you theoretically had a man stuck in a cave with no way out, and he had nothing but a Bible that his grandma snuck into his backpack. Say that for the last few days of his life he read the enough of the Bible to place his faith in Jesus Christ, but obviously he has no bread or wine for communion, and no water to get baptized in and not a soul to proclaim his faith to. Would this person not be saved? While this may seem far fetched, this surely happens in places like China where you aren’t allowed to have a physical copy of the Bible. I may be seriously misunderstanding the role of sacraments in Reformed Theology but this is sort of how i think of it. Basically if you had nothing but the Bible, how would you practice Christianity. I am genuinely asking so anyone’s responses would be awesome.

I have not decided yet If I am Lutheran or Reformed. I have German Lutheran heritage, but I do not like sculptures in Church.

There are a few important misconceptions at play here. You seem to think that Calvinism is necessary for the belief that God "controls everything" - but it's because God doesn't control everything - he is _in control_ of everything. That's a very important distinction (and Calvinism is entirely ancillary to whether or not God is controlling or in control, either way). To the point of the comfort of knowing God is in control - I think it's rather more comforting to believe in an "open" future that I have some control over, but God is always there ahead of me, providing for me and guiding me, redeeming my mistakes and renewing my mind day by day. There's less room for trust in God when I have a belief that "whatever will be will be" and much less room to believe my prayers matter to him - or that we have any kind of relationship - if it's all predetermined, and I'm just a needle riding a groove in a record. As far as inspiration of scripture goes - this is also ancillary to the question of Calvinism. To the point of "natural development" -- this just sounds like cope. It's just redefining miracles to be anything you want because you've already conceded ground that miracles don't happen. I'm saying that as someone who agrees with you, by the way. But I don't see anything "natural" about the process of life's generation and evolution, I suppose that's where we differ. I don't think a reasonable survey of the evidence even leaves that as a possibility. God intervened, or else it simply can't be explained with modern science or theory. Abiogenesis is actually just impossible and cannot occur naturally. "God-Centered" - this phrase is often used as a canard. It's only God-centered if it's true about God. It's entirely man-centered if it's not true. As for making the glory of God the center of your faith -- I think this is a rather fraught view. In the first place, what do you even mean by "glory" ? I've never heard a definition that wasn't either self-referential (circular) or, in a roundabout way, a denial of God's aseity (or at least a denial that he is self-sufficient). It becomes, on any careful analysis, an entirely arbitrary goal. But more important is the central question - is it God-centered at all? Where do Christians get the idea that God's purpose is to glorify himself? But the Bible does say that "for the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame." and more importantly, it describes what glorifies God the most- Christ's great humility (Phil. 2). Ultimately, though, this view leads to teaching something utterly abhorent about God, which I would argue is about as far from glorifying as any doctrine could possibly be -- that God created hell to "demonstrate his attributes (namely those of wrathfulness and judgement)" and that the purpose of the souls he _created for damnation_ was self-glorification. When you bring up the contradiction this creates with "God is love" they respond with a clever "That means that anything God does is love, and also it means that God must love ultimately - and to love God is to love ultimately - so God loves God ultimately!" and all of a sudden, you've gone and redefined love to be (again) completely arbitrary. To me this is the hinge of the whole debate. When God created man in his image - is it even remotely conceivable that he could derive any "glory" from destroying his image in hell? That thought should be so obviously preposterous that it isn't even worth elaborating on. "We take sin the most seriously" This is the only argument in favor of Calvinism in the entire video, and then only indirectly. But you didn't actually make the point about Total Depravity taking away man's ability to choose God! So again, it's ancillary to the actual issue! So you actually don't have any reasons to believe specifically in Calvinism - you have a lot of good reason, however, to believe in God as revealed in the Bible. I encourage you, Redeemed Zoomer, if you read this - to think more deeply about the _specific claims_ of Calvinist soteriology. You're enough of a "theology nerd" to figure out how deep the problems go, if you choose to apply your reasoning in a critical way. And given the paucity of positive arguments for the _very specific question of reformed soteriology_ in this video - I don't think your Calvinism will be as strong as the scrutiny you apply. For what it's worth, I'd be happy to make a list of _better_ reasons to be a Calvinist that argue for it more specifically... but I can also refute every one of them.

Even though I’m a Pentecostal I love to listen about reformed theology on KZread. I think it’s because of the emphasis of the sovereignty of God. So restful.

do u think we’re in the end times? or we (gen z) will be the generation to see Jesus’ return ?

@redeemedzoomer6053

Жыл бұрын

Jesus said we're not going to know so that means we're not going to know. Jesus could return today or in 10,000 years. Every generation has had many people who were "certain" Jesus would return in their lifetime.

One thing I just don't understand about reformed theology... Doesn't it mean that God is the author of evil if he's predestined certain people to go to hell? How can you reconcile God being good and Him choosing individuals to be doomed to eternal suffering? This is the biggest obstacle for me to willingly choose to believe Calvinism. Not to mention that I don't quite see what the benefits of believing Calvinism are? I think I probably subscribe to Molinism, as to me it seems the best way to reconcile His sovereignty with our free will, and God being good

Catholics have the same reasoning as you behind sacraments. Nobody said we do them for their intrinsic value, God grants us grace through them!

Make a video why you’re not Lutheran

Honestly I never knew that Presbyterians were Calvinists, I had thought they were Scottish Anglicans for whatever reason

@jonathananderson260

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Well the Anglicans are generally Reformed (other than Anglo Catholics)

@josephbrandenburg4373

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I think they were long ago before they became Presbyterians.

I truly appreciate your presentation of the many different Christian doctrines in their best possible lights. However, I think your understanding of non-Protestant sacraments is a bit incomplete. The sacraments are necessary to for one to be saved (see John 3:5 for Baptism). However, in Catholic teaching the saying goes "God is bound by the sacraments, but he is not bound to the sacraments". So in the case of Baptism, God will always fulfill his promise of grace to those baptized in water in the name of the trinity. But there is also what's called baptism of desire, where if someone believes in Christ, renounces sin, seeks baptism but dies before receiving it, God in his endless mercy may still save them. For example, Dismas the Good Thief

If God predetermined everything, wouldn’t that mean He is to blame for Lucifer’s fall and original sin? If not, kindly explain

With all due respect, those who are atheist and those who accept predestination both, in equal measure are left in absurdity and Incoherence. If you are to argue that both 1. You are saved by faith alone, and 2. That you are either saved or not saved as according to God, then you are left in paradox. You cannot have the ideas that 1. Any behavior should be improved since sin is undesirable 2. That anyone can actually improve themselves 3. There is even a point in logic or words or cogent discussion. All of these things are impossible since the presumption is that you have no choice, therefore (just like in a nihilistic void) you are left with no way to validate, or provide an account for your beliefs or truths, especially of god. This is of course ignoring the conflagration of issues around the idea of 'proving' the existence of god, or the truth of the Bible to anyone, since you come out the gate with the same paradox that atheists have which can't even provide reason for how you ought vs how things are. Which is why any cogent argument, can't have conclusions that invalidate its premises and leave you without legs with which to move. I can't be told to change if you presuppose that I can't change at all, not even in accordance with God, since it's all predetermined. Once again, this is simply a counter to what I see as not only blatant heresy that destroys the gift of will from God apon eden, but a view which leaves (anyone honest of there premises) no justification. God bless

About the Bible argument: Your logic would mean that God wrote every single book in the world. Did God wrote 50 shades of gray? Did God write every erotic novel in history? By your logic, yes, He did.

White Reformed worship is not the same as African or Latino Church Worship. Part of it is cultural and social class, nothing to do with Calvinism per se.

Why play minecraft when talking about this?

@DrumboAgainGaming

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Why not?

So you are yet to pick up a dictionary and realize that “sovereignty” doesn’t mean that God does everything. It means God can do anything.

Most of your reasoning seems to be very wordly. You're reformed because of how you and other people perceive reformed people to be? You think the traditions look neat and so you want to ascribe a lot of meaning to them? That's a subjective, window-shopping mentality of "Well, what do I personally want to feel like, and whatever that is I'll believe that." Your theology should be 110% informed by proper study of the Bible. Whatever the Bible teaches should be your theology, and if what you thought was good theology is contradicted by a good understanding of scripture then you should freely give it up to better conform your theology to the Bible. Doing so doesn't lead to reformed theology. As far as your notion that Reformed theology is taught by scripture, an objective reading clearly shows it isn't. What reformed people tend to do is eisegetically read reformed theology into proof texts like Romans 9 and then not even consider it when reading the rest of scripture. If reformed theology were really true then it would cohesively fit into all of scripture, which it absolutely doesn't. If someone was trapped on an island, had no conception of Christianity, and read a copy of the Bible then they'd never in a million years come up with the notion of reformed theology with its determinism. This is why anything even resembling reformed theology didn't exist in Christianity for hundred of years after Christ. It wasn't until St. Augstine, who was influenced by the long time he spent being a Gnostic, that such notions of divine determinism entered mainstream Christian thought and has remained a minority opinion of Christian thought ever since. Just as one example, consider the story of Jonah. With a traditional free-will understanding of scripture the story is pretty straightforward, but if you want to impose determinism on the text, then the story becomes some strange perversion of the text's plain reading. Instead of Jonah not wanting to go to Nineveh, fleeing, and then being forced by God to go there anyways, the consistent-reformed understanding would be that God wanted Jonah to go to Nineveh, but God wanted Jonah to not go to Nineveh so God made Jonah not want to go to Nineveh and so God made Jonah flee so that God could then force Jonah to go to Nineveh anyways because despite the fact that God didn't want Jonah to want to go to Nineveh God also wanted Jonah to go to Nineveh anyways. The consitntly-reformed understanding of the most of scripture is ad hock like this. You're also falling victim to some false-dichotomies. One such example is you incorrectly believe that either God completely controls all human will and action or God is not all-powerful and somehow weak. If you really stop to consider this reformed false-dichotomy, it actually displays God as being much weaker than the traditional free-will understanding of scripture. Imagine the world is like a game of chess. Reformed theology suggests God could only win the game if he controls every move the other side will make and therefore knows what will come next, and without forcing the other side to make certain moves He would then be powerless to win or know what comes next. The traditional free-will understanding of scripture would be that God doesn't directly force the other side of the board to make certain moves, the other side has genuine free will and can actually play the game as they see fit, but God, being all powerful and all knowing, knows what the other side of the board will freely decide to do and can plan accordingly to win in the end regardless. To bring this analogy back to reality, the traditional free will understanding of scripture is that we do have genuine, real free will and can actually make an impact on the course of history, but God is all powerful and all knowing so He knows in advance what we genuinely freely will decide to do and so He has planned accordingly to weave history into a tapestry of His design. Another false-dichotomy is that either reformed determinism is the case or scripture is somehow a contradiction between it being written by man or God. I've never heard this notion before, and on its face it seems like nonsense to me. That's probably because I recognize the false-dichotomy I previously mentioned. The human authors of the Bible freely choose to write what they did, but God, being all powerful and all knowing, knew what they would freely choose to do and to write and organized history in such a way to have His word be freely written by these humans. There's no contradiction to speak of. The other thing those of reformed theology do is try to have their cake and eat it too but affirming certain premises but refusing to affirm their logically necessary conclusions. Mainly, if reformed theology is true then God is the author of evil. The main premise of reformed theology is that all of man's thoughts, wills, and actions are determined by God in such that we don't have free will. If that's the case for all of our actions then that includes our sin. It's basic logic, and yet those of reformed theology want to illogically both affirm that God controls all of our actions and God somehow isn't responsible for sin. What's the response to this by the very best of the best when it comes to reformed theology? That's to say, what's the very best those of reformed theology have to this accusation? Ignorance. That's not me taking some kind of cheap shot; the very best of the best, those like John McArthur, simply appeal to the notion 'Well I don't know. God is mysterious and I can't claim to understand God's plan.' That's it. The reformed response to God being the author of evil, a logically necessary consequence of the divine determinism taught by reformed theology, is this strange appeal to their own ignorance. It's a complete refusal to address the topic. The notion can't be directly addressed because it's so plain and straightforward.

I really dont like Calvinism, the predestination thing with out freewill makes no sense to me.