# Was the Internet the Means God Used to Make Your Theology Calvinistic/Reformed?



## Theoretical (Feb 1, 2007)

Well, this is kind of a break-off from the hilarious NetFinney discussion.

How many of y'all have become Calvinistic and Reformed in your beliefs because of long study of various internet resources on the subject. This was the way I came into contact with the stuff given that I'd never get Presbyterian or Reformed materials from my parents, who both abhor Calvinism. Now it took lots of debates and discussions with friends of various stripes to lead me to where I am now, but the role of good theology sites is undeniable.

What about y'all?

*I guess I am trying to inquire about how many have had these web resources as the means God used to bring them to sounder theology.*


----------



## Bladestunner316 (Feb 1, 2007)

Well I was exposed to it when a former youth pastor who I helped preached about election from romans 9. And at a small now defunct bible college there was a nice man who talked about the puritans. So I searched the net for puritans and came accross APM and now have become a calvinist.


----------



## QueenEsther (Feb 1, 2007)

I'm a Calvinist from reading my Bible


----------



## Bladestunner316 (Feb 1, 2007)

Thats too easy!!!!


----------



## Theoretical (Feb 1, 2007)

Question clarified .


----------



## Semper Fidelis (Feb 1, 2007)

You might want to add an option that includes: It wasn't the Internet at all. I can't vote for it.

When I was awakened to Reformed Theology the Internet was still fledgeling. It was _Renewing Your Mind_ that most influenced me. I still remember the program that piqued my interest. I caught about 5 minutes of his discussion on the Lord's Supper vis a vis Roman Catholicism. I ordered his tape series on Roman Catholicism and the book _Faith Alone_. That did it for me. After reading _Faith Alone_ on a TAD trip (ironically enough to Okinawa), I pretty much became a staunch Evangelical and completely repudiated synergism.


----------



## Theoretical (Feb 1, 2007)

SemperFideles said:


> You might want to add an option that includes: It wasn't the Internet at all. I can't vote for it.
> 
> When I was awakened to Reformed Theology the Internet was still fledgeling. It was _Renewing Your Mind_ that most influenced me. I still remember the program that piqued my interest. I caught about 5 minutes of his discussion on the Lord's Supper vis a vis Roman Catholicism. I ordered his tape series on Roman Catholicism and the book _Faith Alone_. That did it for me. After reading _Faith Alone_ on a TAD trip (ironically enough to Okinawa), I pretty much became a staunch Evangelical and completely repudiated synergism.


True. Well, is there a way for me to edit the poll?


----------



## Bladestunner316 (Feb 1, 2007)

APM influenced me but it was watching the discussions here that really got me going.


----------



## Semper Fidelis (Feb 1, 2007)

Theoretical said:


> True. Well, is there a way for me to edit the poll?



Done.


----------



## Theoretical (Feb 1, 2007)

SemperFideles said:


> Done.


Thanks for the help, Rich.


----------



## tellville (Feb 1, 2007)

He wasn't the only person to affect me, but as far as the internet is concerned, James White at aomin.org was pretty key in me adopting the Doctrines of Grace.


----------



## ChristianTrader (Feb 1, 2007)

tellville said:


> He wasn't the only person to affect me, but as far as the internet is concerned, James White at aomin.org was pretty key in me adopting the Doctrines of Grace.



Ditto.

CT


----------



## Bandguy (Feb 1, 2007)

Believe it or not, it was in debates on the Baptist Board where I first had my Arminian beliefs challenged through scripture. I kept trying to refute Calvinism through emotional, irrational arguments and they kept quoting scripture that I couldn't answer. One day, I began reading Sproul's "Scipture Alone", enjoyed the book so much that I checked out his Chosen by God, and that pretty much sealed my transformation, especially when he discussed the passage in Romans 9. The more I read different parts of Scripture, the more I had to agree with the doctrines of grace.


----------



## Devin (Feb 1, 2007)

I met some nice Calvinist folks online who lovingly showed me the doctrines of grace. Various sites and bloggers helped me to understand them better, but those friends were the once who really helped me embrace them. I'm so glad God has given us the internet to be used in such a fashion.


----------



## caddy (Feb 1, 2007)

Not really. It came from reading Luther's _Bondage of the Will_ and Boettner's _Predestination._ After that, Reformed sites like Monergism only helped to solidify what I was reading.


----------



## ChristopherPaul (Feb 1, 2007)

You realize that anyone who selects the Puritan board is confessing to dishonestly agreeing with reformed soteriology when they really did not (at the time).

That is unless you browsed before becoming a member.



The Puritan board is not really the place to debate soteriology (discuss, yes) since all members are required to agree before they join.


----------



## S. Spence (Feb 1, 2007)

When I began to move from my dispensationalist semi-Pelagian thinking to a Calvinistic and reformed understanding of the Bible, the website that probably had the greatest influence on me would have been sermonaudio. Now, I would probably go the monergism first.


----------



## brymaes (Feb 1, 2007)

ChristopherPaul said:


> You realize that anyone who selects the Puritan board is confessing to dishonestly agreeing with reformed soteriology when they really did not (at the time).
> 
> That is unless you browsed before becoming a member.
> 
> ...


There was once a time when you didn't have to be Reformed to come on the board.


----------



## Theoretical (Feb 1, 2007)

theologae said:


> There was once a time when you didn't have to be Reformed to come on the board.


Wow, that must have been a radically different board, Rev. Maes. When was the changeover to require confessional adherence?


----------



## Mathetes (Feb 1, 2007)

I first heard about Calvinism in James White's irc chatroom, but it was only when I read "The Potter's Freedom" that I decided that it was a true, biblical belief.


----------



## Timothy William (Feb 1, 2007)

ChristopherPaul said:


> You realize that anyone who selects the Puritan board is confessing to dishonestly agreeing with reformed soteriology when they really did not (at the time).
> 
> That is unless you browsed before becoming a member.
> 
> ...



I browsed before becoming a member. Oddly enough, the time when I spent most time browsing the Boards and A puritan's Mind was before I was a member, when I was still searching and weighing the truth, about 4 years ago now. I found APM while searching for something else and was hooked.


----------



## Chris (Feb 1, 2007)

Absolutely.

My first introduction was by a friend on a totally secular discussion board. I got saved away from church, through what appeared to be a random encounter, then went through my 'cage stage' as a poster on that discussion board. This non-denom, heavily reformed guy (who actually read apuritansmind regularly) started 'discipling' me on theology, while a PCA guy started discipling me on day-to-day stuff. Both were just posters who answered threads I had started asking simple 'Christianity 101' questions. 

Neither ever once pushed their theology on me; they just presented it and moved on to directly answering whatever questions I had. On that same discussion forum, soemone pointed me towards the discussion boards over at CARM. There's where I went through the next phase of growing pains. 

All of this time, I had very, very little FTF discipleship. It really aggravates me how little training men around me were willing to give, as I went through a lot of transitions that first 18 months or so (who he loves, He chastens...). But God has been faithful, as always, to provide me with what I needed instead of what I wanted. 

At the same time that all this happened, 20 years of being an unregenerate church member weighed on me. I've since seen other 'lost church members' be saved. And I've become very, very, very convinced that the majority of the 'church' in America is hellbound. 

During the 'cage stage' on that other board, I witnessed my head off, so to speak, and was amazed at how blind people were and how you could point out the obvious to them and they still wouldn't see it. 


All of the above has worked together to make me a committed Calvinist. 

The final turning point came at 2 AM one morning in West Africa when the missionary I was staying with said, during a late-night theological discussion, 'I'd rather face God and have to answer for giving Him TOO MUCH credit than to answer for not giving Him ENOUGH credit'.

That really stuck with me. A few weeks later, I woke up one morning and predestination just didn't seem so revolting anymore.


----------



## Redaimie (Feb 1, 2007)

there was no internet when I became reformed at least not any I knew of. After God saved me I left the Roman Catholic church with many questions, so I attended a bible study taught by a reformed Pastor & the answers were all in the bible.


----------



## Theoretical (Feb 1, 2007)

> The final turning point came at 2 AM one morning in West Africa when the missionary I was staying with said, during a late-night theological discussion, 'I'd rather face God and have to answer for giving Him TOO MUCH credit than to answer for not giving Him ENOUGH credit'.



Now _that_ is a compelling quote, and it puts matters of predestination and God's choice of us into perspective quite nicely.


----------



## Romans922 (Feb 1, 2007)

John Piper's sermons on Romans 9 (pretty much summed it up).


----------



## Davidius (Feb 1, 2007)

For me it all started with John Piper's "Desiring God." God used the first chapter on the sovereignty of God to forever change me.


----------



## Pilgrim (Feb 1, 2007)

Theoretical said:


> Well, this is kind of a break-off from the hilarious NetFinney discussion.
> 
> How many of y'all have become Calvinistic and Reformed in your beliefs because of long study of various internet resources on the subject. This was the way I came into contact with the stuff given that I'd never get Presbyterian or Reformed materials from my parents, who both abhor Calvinism. Now it took lots of debates and discussions with friends of various stripes to lead me to where I am now, but the role of good theology sites is undeniable.
> 
> ...




It depends on what you mean by "Calvinistic" and "Reformed". If you mean simply the doctrines of grace, then the internet did not play a role for me, I was exposed to them with a MacArthur book and then Sproul's _Chosen By God_. If you mean becoming a paedobaptist and joining a Reformed church (which for me was another 6-7 years later) then the internet did play a major role, including the Monergism site, the site of a former pastor, the OPC site and several Reformed internet discussion groups. I only joined this board after I was pretty firmly convinced.


----------



## javajedi (Feb 1, 2007)

SemperFideles said:


> You might want to add an option that includes: It wasn't the Internet at all. I can't vote for it.


----------



## Barnpreacher (Feb 1, 2007)

God used John Piper's_ Future Grace _to open my eyes to what his word really taught about grace. Then He sealed the deal with Boettner's _Predestination_ and Pink's _Sovereignty of God_.


----------



## ReformedWretch (Feb 1, 2007)

Well, as a free will arminian for YEARS, I one day just began to change and read the bible differently. As I did so I began to no longer fit in with my former friends and websites where I discussed theology. I was hurt and confused because I felt like I was the same person and the views I was expressing didn't seem "extreme" to me in the least, but others acted as if I had walked up and punched them in the gut.

As I searched the web for a Christian site that saw the bible the way I did I found this place and have been aided in growing in what I had no idea was called "reformed theology" and "Calvinism".


----------



## caddy (Feb 1, 2007)

Do tell ! I remember reading _*Charismatic Chaos*_ in like 1982 or 83 and being VERY impressed with MacArthur's arguments against the Charismatic Church, and later his preaching and teaching style in general. Not long after that, I began looking for a new church. To make a long story short, I went through some fits and starts before landing at my present SBC Church some 10 years ago. Reformed theology did not really take hold until around 4 years ago. Reading Luther, Boettner then finding other information on the net. 



joshua said:


> I cannot remember a time when it didn't seem like God was drawing me to Himself. However, it seemd to culminate when I was 9 yrs old. I made my profession of faith at age 9. Ironically, it was at Daisy Freewill Baptist Church in Daisy, Arkansas (population 177). Throughout the years, I guess I had stages of rebellion, but in 9th grade my determination, by the grace of God, was to love God, know Scripture, and obey it.
> 
> In 10th grade I found a copy of _Charismatic Chaos_ by Dr. John F. MacArthur, Jr. Considering all the other drivel I had opportunity, this was a welcome text. I was very impressed with this man's writing. A few years later I purchased one of his study Bibles. I was very disconcerted to learn that he believed in _unconditional_ election. I had heard about this Calvin guy, and couldn't believe that anyone would have the audacity that the Lord chose only some for heaven, while leaving others out. It enraged me! I began searching the scriptures.
> 
> ...


----------



## MrMerlin777 (Feb 1, 2007)

SemperFideles said:


> You might want to add an option that includes: It wasn't the Internet at all. I can't vote for it.
> 
> When I was awakened to Reformed Theology the Internet was still fledgeling. It was _Renewing Your Mind_ that most influenced me. I still remember the program that piqued my interest. I caught about 5 minutes of his discussion on the Lord's Supper vis a vis Roman Catholicism. I ordered his tape series on Roman Catholicism and the book _Faith Alone_. That did it for me. After reading _Faith Alone_ on a TAD trip (ironically enough to Okinawa), I pretty much became a staunch Evangelical and completely repudiated synergism.




My sojourn to the doctrines of grace was very similar. Although it wasn't any particular ministry that effected me. I read through Ephesians and what I read didn't square with the practice of the church I was attending. At that time I had met the woman who is now my wife she had previously attended an SBC church that was pastored by a Calvinist. He was the pastor that eventually officiated over my wedding. I began to understand election from him. Soon after that I was stationed overseas in Sasebo Japan and worked with a Dr who was a staunch Calvinist and Presbyterian. Through discussion with him and studies of the Scriptures on my own (this more than anything else) I came to the Calvinist position though I'd never even knew what a Calvinist was up to that point. It was a little while later that I accepted the term.


----------



## Semper Fidelis (Feb 1, 2007)

ChristopherPaul said:


> You realize that anyone who selects the Puritan board is confessing to dishonestly agreeing with reformed soteriology when they really did not (at the time).
> 
> That is unless you browsed before becoming a member.
> 
> ...



Whether the membership requirements have changed, the boards are not all hidden from public view. There are many lurkers who read the PB that have never joined. In fact, we have more non-members viewing at any given time than we do members.

I also dispute that a member has to be fully Reformed to join this board. The Admins evaluate all applications and sometimes allow members of other bodies depending upon their Confession. The requirement is that a person subscribe to an orthodox Confession.

The bottom line is that let's not make too much of this. If AOMIN.org and Monergism.org can help people that are not interacting with what is written then surely the Puritanboard can.


----------



## daveb (Feb 1, 2007)

It was primarily through preaching that God brought knowledge of the Doctrines of Grace to me. In addition to that there were some good Reformed books I was able to read.


----------



## Augusta (Feb 1, 2007)

My conversion was like Rich's I heard a portion of an RC Sproul lecture on the radio. I remember where I was driving to and I remember being totally floored. I had been staying awake at night pondering some things. One of them I couldn't get a good answer for. I thought what if we all get to heaven and someone rebels again like Satan did and it all starts over. If we have free will that is what could happen I thought. Needless to say listening to that RC lecture, which was on election, caused a lot of things to fall into place. Then I came here to satiate my hunger for more and more information and teaching.


----------



## ReformedWretch (Feb 1, 2007)

ChristopherPaul said:


> You realize that anyone who selects the Puritan board is confessing to dishonestly agreeing with reformed soteriology when they really did not (at the time).
> 
> That is unless you browsed before becoming a member.
> 
> ...



I lurked for a week or so and when I read the requirements I joined a PCA church and read the confessions and saw NOTHING I objected with then asked to join. Soooooo the PB helped point me to the truth I was already leaning heavily toward.


----------



## Semper Fidelis (Feb 1, 2007)

Wow! Look at all the decisions for reformed theology that the PuritanBoard has caused.

I see that hand there...


----------



## ChristopherPaul (Feb 1, 2007)

The Internet played a major role in my discovery of the reformation.

Namely Derekwebb.com was the most influential.


----------



## Laura (Feb 2, 2007)

My anti-calvinist youth minister goaded me on until I had look for help from the cold, hard Calvinists at a Christian guitar tab website, which had theology forums. I really thought they were cold and hard, except for a couple of nice guys who happened to be Calvinists. We debated---or rather, my youth minister debated through me with them. I think one of them recommended _Chosen by God_ (Sproul), and after that I officially declared myself Calvinist.  Since then, Monergism and Fire and Ice have been instrumental. 

_But_, I've learned more than I ever did in those 2-3 years in the past year from my Internet friend-turned-boyfriend, who as a liberal Catholic stumbled upon James White's books in a Borders, consequently started hanging out in the aomin chatroom, and matured under a godly OPC pastor (in person ) for the last 6 years. So it's a mix. The Internet was a vital means, but God has worked marvelously apart from it to bring me to understanding.


----------



## InwooJLee (Feb 3, 2007)

oh I forgot! www.whitehorseinn.org


----------



## KMK (Feb 3, 2007)

It started with the Book of Romans which led to Joe Morecraft on Sermonaudio.com, but it was Pink's _Sovereignty of God _that literally knocked me off my feet and I have never looked back.  

It was like the Lord was saying to me, "Ken, would ye also go away?" And all I could do was reply, "Lord, to whom shall I go? Thou hast the words of eternal life."


----------



## Kaalvenist (Feb 3, 2007)

Everything started when I was attending the Evangelical Free Church with my family. (All of our pastors were Calvinists.) One sermon which my pastor preached in the summer of 1999 (between my sophomore and junior years of high school), I wasn't really listening to the sermon. But I caught when he quoted from the text of Scripture (either Ephesians or Romans -- we're not sure which), and the Scripture itself said "predestined." At that point I figured that, if it was in the Bible, it must be true. My initial understanding of it was more fatalistic than anything else; but after talking with them, and especially reading the pertinent sections in Sproul's _Essential Truths of the Christian Faith,_ I came to a more biblical understanding of predestination and election.

I also had a friend in high school who was Christian Reformed. When she came to understand the direction I was going, and especially after having some arguments with her on other points, she let me borrow her old blue CRC _Psalter-Hymnal,_ with the older versions of the Three Forms in the back of the book. I was vaguely aware of the "five points" at that time; but upon reading through the Canons of Dordt, and realizing just how scriptural they were, I became a fully convinced Five Point Calvinist.


----------



## Miller (Feb 3, 2007)

I became a Calvinist because of the meesage boards at http://chrisitanguitar.org


----------



## BlackCalvinist (Feb 4, 2007)

This guy: http://home.flash.net/~thinkman/

Pointed me to this guy:

http://www.custance.org/Library/SOG/Index.html

and I'd already been a James White fan for a while prior to that thanks to the KJV Only Controversy.

The Potter's Freedom helped too.


----------



## C. Matthew McMahon (Feb 4, 2007)

This will sound funny, or at least for me, even a bit cliché:

I found the Reformed Faith in two stages. First, I took a summer and read through the bible while being a "night watchman" at my school during Bible College. Nothing much happens at a Bible College at night, so I had lots of time to study. After reading through the Bible, I went into a Charismatic, Arminian, Pentecostal bookstore to find a book about "this whole Jesus dying for my sins" _thing_ that I was very interested in learning more. Looking in the "theology" section, there was, just for me I suppose, John Owen's _Death of Death in the Death of Christ_. It was my first real introduction into Reformed Thinking. I would have to say that Owen confirmed exegetically for me what the Bible said about what grace meant and what God's purpose is in Election and Reprobation.

And this all she wrote. From thence, I could not read enough of the Puritans, and still can't.


----------

