Welcome to the Highway
I will not try to answer your questions directly because that is already being done, probably better than I can.
Instead, I would like to state that I used to be Arminian in theology for many years. However being a student of the Word of God, there were a lot of questions that I thought needed answering from my perspective.
I was being challenged by Calvinists to research the Bible on a number of issues. After a while I was finding that the Calvinist understanding stood up against Scripture more than my (I had help as well) Arminian understanding.
However, that left me with a dilemma. The Calvinist understanding seemed to make God out to be something that I did not like.
It was because of that that I tried to dig even further with the hope that I would actually find out that the Arminian understanding was biblical. This was actually a very hard time in my life and I am not just talking about the theological ramifications.
This went on until a light came on; unwittingly I had been looking at the whole matter through a human perspective, rather than through the eyes of our sovereign God.
After that, it was only a matter of time before I was able to embrace the Calvinist understanding.
This does not mean that I know all the answers, but it now gives me more of a confidence that my sovereign God is in control and this helps me in matters such as evangelism and everyday life. Especially considering in the last year my health has not been very good.
I thought I would also mention that a lot of problems people have with Calvinism, can be attributed to misunderstanding, strawmen arguements, or just a misguided perspective.
For His Glory
Tom
