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Ivo said:

I am having a lot of discussion with my Christian friends on reformed theology. This is a huge subject!

How important is an adamant view on say predestination?

It's essential because God is not dependent on his creatures in any sense. The Apostle Paul writes, 'So then it is not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God who shows mercy' (Romans 9:16). If salvation was dependent on man's decision making or good deeds he would be lost in his sin.

Salvation in general and election in particular are due to something in God, not in us. The Bible tells us that Jesus Christ died for us because 'God so loved...' (Jn.3:16). In other words, there was something in God--an inherent compassion, mercy, and love, which moved him to save us while there was absolutely nothing in us that attracted him.


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Ivo said:

The article of the month by A A Hodge http://www.the-highway.com/articleAug02.html, in section VI suggests, according to my reading, that it is useful to have tension between two opposing views (Calvinism and Arminianism):

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The difference between the best of either class is one of emphasis rather than of essential principle. Each is time complement of the other. Each is necessary to restrain, correct, and supply the one-sided strain of the other. They together give origin to the blended strain from which issues the perfect music which utters the perfect truth.


Note the quote itself should be read as I have cut out important parts where Hodge says that abstract historical arminianism is heresy.

What views do others have on this?

Isn't Hodge referring to the need for both the emphasis on human responsibility and the essential principal that God is sovereign? How could he be referring to the need for a blended strain of Arminianism and Calvinism when he's already stated that one is truth and the other is heresy?


Wes

When I survey the wondrous cross on which the Prince of Glory died, my richest gain I count but loss and pour contempt on all my pride. - Isaac Watts