Dear Pilgrim; I will respond here to your post to me and want to thank you for your time and the link to the J.I. Packer article. None of that is exactly new information to me but the comparison he makes is excellent. I can say that I couldn't agree with Packer more and he draws the distinction brilliantly. (But then he is J.I. Packer!)
As far as the CCC question I think I would make this point. We are talking about an organization whose basic function is to introduce the most elementary Christian concepts to people who don't know Christ. In light of that I would ask this question. When you came to Christ did you understand the distinction that J.I. Packer draws so well? Did you first understand election and predestination and then in light of that understanding accept Christ? The distinctions Packer draws are very important. But when are they important. They are important to believing Christians who are trying to understand their relationship to God. Prior to a belief in God and acceptance of Christ, I think they are quite beyond comprehension.
I just wonder how much anyone reformed or otherwise, really gets from these ideas in the initial stages of evangelism. Mustn’t we approach every person as if they are elect. Who are we to judge or know. Would you decide not to tell someone about Christ because you don't feel they are regenerate enough? The seemingly objectionable 4 Laws begin with the "God loves you..." which is certainly overly broad from a reformed viewpoint but not overly broad from a personal one as I said above. Would you begin with "God loves you, if you happen to be elect,..."!
Perhaps, as I came to Christ in a PCA church and am surrounded by people here at CCC that are members of that church and elders in that church I may be a bit naive myself. On the other hand I think we need to keep the context of CCC in perspective. It isn't a Church. It isn't an organization whose purpose is to promote a specific theology. It is an organization that exists to spread the Gospel. Yes, theology does matter in that context as well but not to the extent I think it does in a church setting. I have not run into situations here at CCC where the distinctions raised by Packer come into play. Perhaps I should look more closely.
