Calvinism on the Rise in America?

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Evangelical Protestantism is now the largest Christian branch in the US. Evangelicalism contains a spectrum, from Arminianism to Calvinism. It was more diverse in the past as I’m told but it looks like Calvinism is dominating. Many ‘celebrity pastors’, speakers and celebrities in the Evangelical world are Calvinists. Popular theology books are from a Calvinist perspective. Popular works being read today are from Calvinist historical figures. In the largest denomination, the Southern Baptist Convention, where you see this Arminian-Calvinist continuum, many Calvinists are now at the top and in leadership positions.
Does anyone else sense this?
 
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I live in the American South, calvinism’s almost everywhere. I don’t know about other parts of the country.
 
Really? Interesting, never noticed that when I was living there (I was in between Mobile and Pensacola)
 
A lot of the Baptists here, have a particularly Calvinist flavour. Well, at least here in South Carolina. I don’t know if it’s always been that way, since there have been Protestants in the Americas, but it’s always been that way since I’ve lived here.
 
I find TULIP a pretty insulting attitude all round to be honest.

If it’s that prevalent, ugh. Poor America.
 
ATraveller said:
In the largest denomination, the Southern Baptist Convention, where you see this Arminian-Calvinist continuum, many Calvinists are now at the top and in leadership positions.
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Yet, most Southern Baptists are non-Calvinist. Some will identify as Arminian and some won’t but only 30% of SBC pastors identify as Calvinists.
 
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I agree. A friend of mine gave me the tapes of her pastor’s sermons on T.U.L.I.P.
Ugh! It was awful! I got to one part and I could not listen anymore!
 
This friend was really into reading books by John MacArthur (not sure of the spelling).
Is he a Calvinist?
 
I am not surprised at all. For whatever reason, the Calvinists (and this is a huge variety of Evangelicals from traditional Baptists all the way out to non-denominational groups) stick to their guns, read their Bibles. They have identity, backbone - especially compared to mainstream Protestants and, increasingly, Catholics, who tend to be more conciliatory to Western cultural trends, modernism. The Evangelicals make quite a killing in South America too. Of course America’s roots are in many ways Calvinist. So I don’t see much reason to be shocked at high numbers of Calvinists in the US. But even the Calvinists are taking hits from non-denominational, megaChurch type Protestants. Less dogma, more openness - akin to what hit the mainstream Protestants and Catholics. Still the true Calvinists have good numbers, probably always will.
 
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ATraveller said:
Many ‘celebrity pastors’, speakers and celebrities in the Evangelical world are Calvinists. Popular theology books are from a Calvinist perspective.
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Examples? I would think that one could just as well argue that Calvinism as believed and practiced by Mr. Calvin is dead and gone.
 
how would you know a “calvinist” church if you saw one

i live in the US NE; i see churches that say lutheran, presbyterian, methodist, baptist

i can’t recall seeing a “calvinist” church

am i missing something?
 
Well if they’re Presbyterian or congregationalists, they’re probably calvinists
 
i thought the puritans are calvinists; or is it the calvinists that are puritans… ?

hard to keep up with the splinters of the protestant church…
 
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Presbyterians are Calvinists. So are the “Reformed Churches” (Congregational churches are part of the Reformed Church group) and some (not all) Baptists.

Lutherans are NOT Calvinists. John Calvin came after Martin Luther, so those who wished to follow him would have left Catholicism or Lutheranism and become Calvinists.

Methodists are NOT Calvinists. Methodism was developed by John Wesley, who disagreed with the Calvinists of his day on a number of teachings.
 
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i appreciate your insight & knowledge on this subject

to me; the whole discussion is crazy

a bunch of “men” squabbling about theological issues & starting “churches” in their own name

i’l stick with the ONE TRUE CHURCH founded by guess who…
 
brian_custer said:
i appreciate your insight & knowledge on this subject

to me; the whole discussion is crazy
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I tend to agree. Until I met my husband-to-be, I just thought of Protestants of being one big largely amorphous mass of non-Catholic Bible readers. I learned from him that the Protestants are really aware of all the differences between the different types of Protestant churches and view them all differently.
 
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