The best Calvinist Christianity books: Reddit reviews

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Out of all of the Reformed ideas out there, I'm the least keen on limited/definite atonement. But my pastor has <em>From Heaven He Came and Sought Her: Definite Atonement in Historical, Biblical, Theological, and Pastoral Perspective</em> on his bookshelf, and he has told me before that he quite likes the book.

It's a collection of essays. Although it's probably aimed more at pastors than at the general reader (so it may be some difficult reading depending on your background—I don't know), you may find it helpful.

As my flair indicates, please check out Denault's The Distinctiveness of Baptist Covenant Theology before emptying the baptismal.

>I've been waiting for Dr. Mildred (/u/davidjricardo [+51]) to pipe in and recommend a short book called Letters to a Young Calvinist by James K.A. Smith. It was very helpful to me when he recommended it to me this fall.

You beat me too it! But I agree: /u/19-ONE - you need to read this book ASAP. It's the best antidote to the cage-stage. A quick easy read best digested in small parts, it does a great job of providing an overview of the Reformed tradition that is accessible, theological, and pastoral. It's aimed at those who have a 'come-to-Calvin' moment from within other theological traditions (Smith was pentecostal), but would benefit everyone. IT's quite cheap too - you can get it on Amazon for under $10.

Do you know the denomination? There are lot of different flavors of presbyterianism, and there could be a wide range of "what to expect." If you don't know, check out the church's website. It might tell you something like "Presbyterian Church in American" or "PC(USA)" or "Evangelical Presbyterian Church" or who knows what.

Also, your geography and the demographics of the church will probably play a role in what you experience. Even within the same denomination, a big, young, urban church will probably feel a bit different than a small, older, rural church.

>Also, are there any recommended info sources for Presbyterianism or Reformed theology as a whole to begin with?

A great starting point is R. C. Sproul's <em>What Is Reformed Theology?</em>. It covers a lot of the big picture theological issues without getting stuck in the nitty gritty of all the different denominational particulars. If you're the type who wants to watch/listen to something, Ligonier has a multi-part video/audio series of Sproul teaching what is essentially in the book.

Systematic Theology has a large breakdown of most religions and gives their background and what they believe.

https://www.amazon.com/Systematic-Theology-Introduction-Biblical-Doctrine/dp/0310286700

Because God can do anything and chose to become human. Philippians 2 would suggest He opted to put aside some of His divinity in a very humble way. Yeah it is hard for me to even understand that. Because humility is divine. As is glory.

But no I don’t think it’s illogical. I think it’s paradoxical. You know - “the more I’ve learned the more I don’t know.” Is that illogical? No. It just takes a second of reflection. Or does it take longer to truly appreciate?

Anyway I’m not too smart. Go read something like Wayne Grudem systematic theology. It starts, if I remember correctly, with Christology. Or maybe that’s just the part I read first. But yeh it’ll probably address most of your questions about God in a better way than Reddit. https://www.amazon.com/Systematic-Theology-Introduction-Biblical-Doctrine/dp/0310286700

Which makes me wonder- why are you here? Probably to cast doubt in the minds of Christians more than to ever learn something. Says a lot about you. Says a lot about atheism. Atheists believe this life is the only you’ll get. And you want to spend it trying to mock others? What a waste. I don’t want to mock you. I want you to find God because He’s good. Way better than I deserve or could even describe. And you can know Him! To know Jesus is to know God. Study Jesus

Here is an excellent systematic theology that will show you what the Bible teaches about itself. Hope this helps.

https://www.amazon.com/Systematic-Theology-Introduction-Biblical-Doctrine/dp/0310286700

I recommend The Distinctiveness of Baptist Covenant Theology by Pascal Denault. It was very helpful for me because I knew I was covenantal, but wasn’t convinced of paedobaptism. He offers the 1689 view of covenant theology which is more nuanced and yet doesn’t fall into New Covenant Theology.

Thanks for engaging! Stick around here, we’d love to have you.

If I may, I’d love to give you something to think about. There’s something called the “cage stage” which many of us have gone through. It’s where you’re incredibly aggressive about Calvinism because you’re passionate about it, it’s important, and you feel as if it’s something nobody has told you about. Like I said, I get it. I’ve been there.

All that to say, I would recommend reading about how to get out of the cage stage. One book that gets recommended often is Letters to a Young Calvinist. It’s worth reading.

Anyway, glad we had an oppurtunity to chat. see you around!

I ordered this version of Calvin's Institutes. It arrived slightly damaged and so I chatted with an Amazon rep and he gave me 50% off! Woohoo

I prefer paper too. I own the 1541 edition in print, and Battles in Kindle. Kinda wishing it was the other way around..but between those two, no matter the format, I've got all the Calvin I'll ever need.

I'm glad it was helpful for you. If you are "new to the whole reformed world" I'd also highly recommend the book Letters to a Young Calvinist: An Invitation to the Reformed Tradition by Jamie Smith. It's really helpful.

Grudem is pretty helpful on this subject to define categories. Conveniently, Amazon has the relevant parts scanned, beginning on page 47.

I highly recommend Wayne Grudem's Systematic Theology. I grew up Arminian and this book was instrumental in my switch to reformed theology. It can be dense, but it has a great index (by topic and by verse) and footnotes. You can read it like a book (I'm a bit of a nerd, so I read the first third of the book like that) or use it as a reference. Grudem also tries to give a fair treatment to viewpoints he doesn't hold, which I really appreciate.

I just reread my phrasing, and I admit that it's probably a bit confusing. Let me try again.

The phrasing Peter uses is similar to the whole "President Clinton" thing Grudem uses. Someone who knew him when he was in college can say, "I knew President Clinton when he was in college." But they don't literally mean they knew Clinton when he was both in college and the President of the United States. As far as I know, he hasn't gone back to college since graduating (and before he was president). What they mean is:

> You know President Clinton? I knew him back before he was President of the United States. We were in college together.

From what I understand (and what Grudem explains), the structure of the Greek that Peter used follows a similar pattern to how we can speak of someone using their current title in a past tense when they didn't have that title. So when Peter says, "in which he went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison" I would say that he is saying this:

> There are spirits that are in prison now. Christ proclaimed righteousness to these spirits through Noah while the spirits were still alive.

Hopefully that makes it more clear.

I've seen your posts and I see your desire to learn, so I'll offer this advice: If you want to understand, I would recommend two things. First, read the Bible cover to cover and understand that if a verse is going to be used alone, the interpretation must take into account its context with other verses in that chapter, book, and the whole Bible as well as the intended audience and how they would have understood the words used. Second, get a good Systematic Theology. I highly recommend Wayne Grudem's Systematic Theology. Note that a Systematic Theology is no substitute for the Bible (which is why I didn't recommend it first), but it can help as you wrestle through tough scripture.

Finally got the Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine by Wayne Grudem. Got it for around $25 (hardback), it sure does beats lifeway's $55 price tag.

What your argument hinges on is the newness of the belief in predestination.

To say that Luther and Calvin picked it up out of obscurity is a huge misunderstanding of the history of this doctrine. Predestination, and more specifically definite atonement (the most controversial of the so called "Five Points of Calvinism" even to this day in Christianity), has had a long robust history in the church. Paul, Augustine, Jerome, Aquinas, and countless other theologians upheld the doctrine that Christ saves whom he wills to save. For some historical context around the doctrine of predestination, I suggest reading From Heaven He Came and Sought Her. It's broken into four sections, and it's an interesting read even if only for the section about the historical perspective.

If predestination and definite atonement were not new doctrines on the scene, then that doesn't really explain the difference in cruelty. Catholics executed many, many people alongside Protestant leaders.

I'm admittedly pretty biased in this discussion, because I am a "Reformed" Christian. But I purely enjoy history and love debating it just like the next layman.

Do you have any recommended reading for your theological position? I would recommend The Distinctiveness of Baptist Covenant Theology, but for free, I would recommend the 1689federalism.com website

Probably the heidelblog. And anything /u/BSmason puts up.

Try for a book covenant theology: sovereign and gracious, its written by my pastor.

I would also add the first several articles in this wiki:

https://www.reddit.com/r/Reformed/wiki/paedobaptist_resources

and Frank Walker's <em>Covenant Theology</em> is a good intro.

Check out a book called Systematic Theology by Wayne Grudem. It's a huge book that he calls an intro to Biblical doctrine. I'm going through it myself and the first few chapters address the canon and inerrancy, and authority of scripture. I've been a believer for most of my life and have always known in my soul that I believe the Bible is God's very words and that it is inerrant, but this really helped me to see more clearly the "why". I found the part on the canon of the Bible very fascinating and how the early church was tasked with compiling the Bible we know today. In short, the books written by the apostles (Peter, Paul, James, etc) were given authority to write the words and have them counted as God's very words. Jesus told them before He ascended in John 14:26; "But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you." Other books, such as Hebrews where the human author is unknown accepted to be "self attesting". Grudem says to that " the words of these books would have been self-attesting, that is, the words would have borne witness to their own divine authorship as Christians read them." He says this about Hebrews, " The majestic glory of Christ shines forth from the pages of the epistle to the Hebrews so brightly that no believer who reads it seriously should ever want to question its place in the canon." Jesus said it Himself in John 10:27, " My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow Me."

Do you know any difference between that edition and the Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine by Wayne Grudem?

If you expect push back when someone in your group starts to smell a TULIP, you can work through Daniel Montgomery's PROOF: Finding Freedom through the Intoxicating Joy of Irresistible Grace This book derives a new acronym from Dort and does an excellent job of keeping these doctrines as positive things we should celebrate, rather than negative ones that we should be embarrassed about. This is especially good for students learning this the first time, because those most likely to be ashamed of a doctrine like limited atonement or unconditional election are those who know them least.

I'm pretty sure this whole book is about the Calvinist connections: http://www.amazon.com/Protestant-Ethic-Spirit-Capitalism-Twentieth-Century/dp/0140439218/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1427254632&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=protestant+work+ethic

I will second the recommendation for the book. Here is an amazon link to buy. It's a quick, easy read.

I'd recommend it to every "young" or "new-to-Calvinism" person on this sub, even if they aren't in the cage stage.

Going to make a plug for this book again. It puts both views side by side and discusses the pros and cons of both. Extremely balanced and understandable. The single most helpful resource I have come across.

I have read it and I would say it had some problems, but I don't know what they are, if that makes sense. I am currently working through several Presbyterian essays on infant baptism, as well as this book. Looking forward to the conversation afterwards!

I've definitely observed the sort of behavior among reformed Christians before - and it is annoying. Jamie Smith cautions against this very sort of behavior in his book Letters to a Young Calvinist: An Invitation to the Reformed Tradition. I highly recommend it to anyone who considers themselves Reformed but is in a a Baptist or non-denominational church, regardless of age.

> Also, can you be a Reformed and be a purgatorial universalist?

Yes, but purgatorial universalism is definitely not a Reformed position.

> I know most of you are going to say that I'm wrong and going to hell for my heresy

I will say that I think you are wrong, but it doesn't rise to the level of heresy. I do understand the appeal of it. It's also not something that is going to send a Christian to hell. Like other sins, the sin of believing in purgatorial universalism (assuming that it is wrong) is covered in Christ's death on the cross.