The Young and Restless

I was reading a friends blog and he linked to an article called, "Young, Restless, Reformed - Calvinism is making a comeback—and shaking up the church."

There is some conversation that a few years ago the emergent church was receiving all the interest by young leaders, but the arguement could be made that the "reformed" church lately is getting more attention now.

Reformed theology often goes by the name Calvinism, after the renowned 16th-century Reformation theologian John Calvin. Yet even Edwards rejected the label, saying he neither depended on Calvin nor always agreed with him. Still, it is Calvin's followers who produced the famous acrostic TULIP to describe the "doctrines of grace" that are the hallmarks of traditional Reformed theology: Total depravity, Unconditional election, Limited atonement, Irresistible grace, and Perseverance of the saints.

The critical beat writers have caught up to the emergent church and are making a living deconstructing it, but what if there is now a movement towards Calvinsim? What will the beat writers find to write on then? Will they drag up old arguments that the TULIP raises? Will they find something critical to say about those that hold that this life is all about God, He starts it, will end it and He is the one who calls people to himself? What if some video surfaces in youtube showing Calvin walking through a forest while it's raining and saying that the Father does in fact love and care for us - and that this universe is really about God, and (gasp) not about us?

"This generation of young Christians is more committed, more theologically intense, more theologically curious, more self-aware and self-conscious as believers because they were not raised in an environment of cultural Christianity," Mohler said. "Or if they were, as soon as they arrived on a university campus, they found themselves in a hostile environment." Mohler explained that Calvinism offers young people a countercultural alternative with deep roots.

Why follow something "new" when there is something that has deep roots. Yet, at the heart of being reformed is the idea of always reforming. Reformed people are not afraid to ask questions, to kick things around at a deeply academic level or in the parking lot after a service. The reformed guides have been the creeds along with "sola scriptura." Sola scriptura simply means that scripture trumps. Scripture is above science, church policy, methods, and the creeds. It doesn't mean they are opposed to each other, but all things defer to scripture. Keep that in mind and you can ask questions, deconstruct, and debate without going wrong. And while doing this, you may come across something new, or at least something someone hasn't thought of for awhile.