Now that I’ve come out of the theological closet, before we move on, there are three things you should know about me.

1. I’m terrible at sight-reading choral music.
2. I’m terrible at sight-reading choral music.
3. I’m terrible at sight-reading choral music.

That is to say, rather than taking the bait in the post below, I’ve been busy cussing losing my salvation sitting at the piano. That was tongue-in-cheek, of course. Coupled with staying out too late having coffee with a great gal I met online (!), I am worn out and cry, “Mercy!” Calvinist or Arminian, unearned or earned, offer me some grace.

All I have to say is that the signs were there all the time. And for my own entertainment (and hopefully yours), I offer the following Top 10 Reasons You Should Have Known I Was a Calvinist:

10.The liberal use of the adjective “covenant” before “children.”

9. I can’t sing from memory all the verses of “Just as I Am.”

8. I never wish you luck.

7. You read Marla’s expose’.

6. I plagiarize Elisabeth Elliot and John Piper.

5. I can’t make a casserole as good as my Baptist girlfriends.

4. Romans 9 isn’t cut out of my Bible.

3. I can’t name any televangelists.

2. I smile at the insult “frozen chosen.”

And the number one reason you should have known I was a Calvinist:

1. I read the Bible. :devil_tb:

This is all in fun, of course. I hope you take it as such. I think it’s important to be able to laugh sometimes. In effort to wrap up the discussion, I wanted to comment on a few things mentioned.

We shouldn’t have any creeds but Jesus and the rejection of the terms “Calvinism” and “Arminianism”: To say that one has no creed but Jesus is a creed in itself. As such, a Jehovah’s Witness or Mormon can claim the same thing, but it really means whatever the hearer wants it to mean. While this can be readily understood among like-minded folks (and I understood the meaning of those who said this), the terms must be clearly defined, especially in a post-modern culture. And so, the historical Church has adopted such means as The Westminster Confession, The Apostle’s Creed, and other like statements.

Furthermore, I think the use of labels in the context here is helpful and not equivalent to the reprimand in Corinthians not to follow teachers, but Christ. (One of you says, “I follow Paul”; another, “I follow Apollos”; another, “I follow Cephas”; still another, “I follow Christ.” I Corinthians 1:12) Insofar as Calvin was faithful to the Scriptures, I can say that I am a “Calvinist.” Instead, however, I could say that I ascribe to Biblical Theology, but that leaves two problems. The first is that you wouldn’t think I was being faithful to my weblog title—“humble” being the key word. The second is that the terms are not clearly defined. And so, the use of a shorthand label is easier than saying, “Yes, I believe in the perseverance of the saints, that God will not allow any of His own to slip out of His hand; yes, I believe that I was completely dead in my sins and that even my faith was a gift so that I may not boast…”

And so, my blessings to all, and to all a good…afternoon. (Except to that guy who reads this site in Japan.)