So often the battle in conservative Christianity is thought to be between Arminianism and Calvinism, or perhaps between liberals and conservatives. We also might think that the battle is really over pro-life versus pro-abortion.
But if the quote given below is correct, we have misidentified the true lines of the battle. The real issue in abortion is over the nature of God and His rights over human beings. When those who are pro-life argue from a man-centered way they have already lost the battle. The real issue between liberalism and conservatives is also over the nature of God. A few years ago the now deceased John Gerstner defined liberalism as “non-supernatural.” I did not like that definition at first, but the more I thought of it the more it made sense and fit with what was going on. A liberal denies a supernatural view of Scripture. A liberal denies a supernatural view of miracles. The list goes on and on. This is simply to say that the real battle and the heart of each issue with all error is really over the nature of God. Does God view humanity from a human point of view or does God see all things from a God-centered point of view? The errors of liberalism and the issues of abortion, then, really have to do with pride. When human beings interpret and view things from a man-centered view, they are viewing things from the blindness that pride brings.
“There is no single aspect of religion which may not bear the marks of egocentricity or theocentricity, according as the one or the other of these constitutes the fundamental character of the religious relationship…The two types of religion we have described, it is clear, stand in the sharpest opposition to one another. In their purest forms they would be mutually exclusive. But in actual practice they rarely appear in their purity. As we have already said, all religions show at least some traces of the theocentric motif; and we may add that even the most theocentric of all religions has been unable, in the course of its history, to escape the influence of man’s natural tendency to adapt everything to his own point of view. The history of Christianity is a story of continuous conflict between the two contrasted tendencies.” (Let God Be God! An Interpretation of the Theology of Martin Luther)
In the starting paragraph I brought up the issue of Arminianism and Calvinism, but did not discuss it. It was dealt with, to some degree, two BLOGS ago (Pride 46), but in this BLOG I would like to approach it from a different way. Using the illustration of an iceberg might be helpful at this point. When two icebergs collide, it is not the parts that protrude out of the water that collide, but the massive amounts of ice underneath that collide. When two systems of thought collide, they usually collide over things that have to be dealt with from the supporting truths that are far larger and actually support the two issues on the top. While it may appear that the two positions have their conflict at certain points, the real collision is underneath the “water.”
By definition Arminians believe in free-will. A Calvinist, using the older thinking, will stand for the freedom of God. The real issue, then, begins with who man is and who God is. The issue, while it can be argued philosophically to some degree, will ultimately rest in who God is and what God can do. Many Arminians will say that God has created man as free and even has given man the gift of free will. But while this is setting out what appears to be a high view of God, it is still not seeing God as focused on God. We can see how this works out in evangelism. John 1:12-13 would seem to set the issue at rest, but so far it has not. “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God” (John 1:12-13). This text is very God-centered. Those who believe (present tense) in His name are those that were (past tense) born. In other words, those who now believer are those that were born (spiritually) at a time previous to the time they believed. How is it that they came to believe? It was not of blood (their physical lineage), it was not of the will of the flesh (human decision), and it was not the will of the husband (choice of another). Instead of any human will or descent being the primary cause, the text tells us that it was the will of God.
In John 1:12-13 the writer (John) takes us to the root cause of the new birth. This is also what Jesus did in John 3:3-8. He takes the issue from the hands of men and tells us that the new birth is that of the Spirit. But human beings want to hold on to salvation as if it is their choice. The battle over the new birth, then, goes back to the character and activity of God over His creation. Each doctrine must go to this vital issue as well. At the root of each theological issue is the character of God. As the quote above says, the history of Christianity is a story of the continued conflict between these two (man or God-centered). The battle between Arminianism and Calvinism has been and will continue to be part of that conflict. The result, however, may surprise people.
God Loves... Himself 
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