November 24, 1999
Patterson: Calvinism OK but wrong
___SPRINGDALE, Ark. (BP)--Five-point Calvinists lack scriptural justification for their beliefs but will not be run out of the Southern Baptist Convention, SBC President Paige Patterson told Arkansas pastors Nov. 8.
___Patterson, president of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, N.C., and Paul Pressler of Houston--the two men most often credited with masterminding
PAIGE PATTERSON
the SBC's sharp turn to the right since 1979--spoke at the annual pastors' conference preceding the Arkansas Baptist Convention.
JOHN CALVIN
___After dealing with the issues of church discipline, expository preaching and spiritual awakening, Patterson was asked about the influence of Calvinism within the SBC.
___Calvinism is a comprehensive theological system attributed to the 16th century reformer John Calvin. It often is described around five primary points of belief, three of which most Southern Baptists easily adhere to but two of which are extremely controversial. The contested doctrines are that the atonement bought by Christ on the cross is limited in scope only to those God chose for salvation before the foundation of the world (implying that God predestined some people to damnation before they ever were born) and that the grace of God is so irresistible that all the elect eventually will be drawn to accept it.
___Having close friends who are five-point Calvinists, Patterson said, he respects their commitment to the Bible as the word of God and their belief in the reality of sin.
___Pressed by another listener as to whether those who hold to Calvinism are to be accepted as part of the convention, Patterson replied that the Baptist Faith & Message is the SBC's agreed-upon, adopted statement of faith.
___"There's plenty of room under the umbrella for anyone who is anything from a one- to five-point Calvinist," Patterson said, stipulating that any Southern Baptist would have to agree upon the doctrine known as perseverance of the saints or "once saved, always saved."
___"There's room for a two- or three-pointer like me, provided he can explain what is meant by two and three," Patterson said. "There's room for four- and five-pointers whom I believe lack scriptural justification for that, but I'm certainly not in favor of running them out."
___Patterson said his only caution to Baptist Calvinists lies in their expression of evangelism and missions. "Any person who holds to five-point Calvinism will never be in any danger in this convention as long as he does not allow it to lead him to unscriptural conclusions--such as we ought not to give invitations and things like that. When he gets to that point, either implicitly or explicitly, it has now become a hindrance to evangelism and missions."
___Patterson added that he found no scriptural support for the doctrines of irresistible grace or limited atonement as espoused by Calvinists. "I'm easy to convince. I stand under the word (of God). Bring me the Bible and show me where it says grace is irresistible and if you're the elect God's going to pursue you like the hound of hell."
___The Bible actually advocates "the exact opposite" of a belief in limited atonement, he asserted. "It says he died not only for our sins, but also the sins of the whole world. That is an unlimited atonement if I've ever read anything at all."
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