“God is holy. This expresses the highest idea we can form of ABSOLUTE PERFECTION. It includes both a negative and positive sense. It denotes the absence of whatever is weak...
According to an article in today's "Wall Street Journal," physicists are still struggling to understand the basic proton. In the 1960's, they determined that the proton was made up up three particles they called quarks. Unfortunately for them, the quarks only account for 1.5% of the mass of the proton, 20% to 30% of the proton's spin, and one-third of the proton's magnetism. The physicists have therefore added gluons (to keep the quarks together) and virtual quarks (quarks that pop into and out of existence) to their theory. Yet, these additional particles do not solve the problems in the least. Ultimately, the physicists do not know why the proton is a proton. God is still the God which "doeth great things and unsearchable; marvellous things without number" (Job 5:9). If some day they figure out what makes up the proton, they can then begin their search to understand what makes up a quark. [information taken from "Scientists Try to Put Right Spin on Quarks to Understand Matter" in WSJ, May19, 2006]
John M. Frame in his book called "The Doctrine of God" has some helpful teaching on the being and works of God. However, when he begins to teach his Calvinistic theology, he seems to lose His grip on what is proper. According to him, although man is responsible for his sins, these sins are also foreordained by God. Consider this quote (p.130): "Human sins, too, are foreordained. Sometimes, indeed, as we have seen, Scripture describes God specifically as 'hardening' people, that is, making them more sinful. When God brings about sin, that sin is in one sense unavoidable." I only hope this the teaching that God foreordains sin, makes men more sinful, and brings about sin, is as repugnant to you as it is to me. But more important, it is unscriptural. God is careful to point out that He is not the tempter of sin but that sin is the result of us being drawn of our own lust (James 1:13-15). What is the point of this teaching if God has ordained our sin? This is the foolishness that consistent compliance to the Calvinistic system bears.
There are five major offerings described in the Old Testament (Leviticus 1-5): burnt, meat, peace, sin, and trespass. One them, the meat offering, does not use an animal sacrifice. The other four do. However, the offerings differ in whether the animals are to be male or female. Here is how they are specified. The burnt offering is to be a male (Leviticus 1:3, 10). The peace offering can be either male or female (Leviticus 3:1, 6). The sin offering is to be male when offered for "a ruler" of the people (Leviticus 4:22-23) but a female when offered for "one of the common people" (Leviticus 4:27-28). Finally, the trespass offering is to be a female (Leviticus 5:6). The question is why.
One of the dirty little secrets of Calvinism is that it really does make God the author of sin. In "The Doctrine of God" by John M. Frame, John Calvin is quoted (p.177) as saying: "But how it was ordained by the foreknowledge and decree of God what man's future was without God being the author and approver of transgression, is clearly a secret so much excelling the insight of the human mind, that I am not ashamed to confess ignorance." John Frame declares (p.176), "it seems to me that it is not wrong to say that God causes evil and sin." In another place (p.65), Frame states, "God does in fact bring about the sinful behavior of human beings, whatever problems that may create in our understanding." Yet James 1:13 states, "Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man." It all boils down to whom we believe: God or man. Who do you believe?
