Season 6, Episode 9

Guest Host – Joshua Mancini – Pastor of Church of the City, Providence, RI

Church of the City Mascot - they do not mess around!

A Calvinist! A living, breathing, Calvinist! It isn’t really that big of a deal because there are still multitude of Calvinists out there who are doing their thing, but Jonathan, in his closed circles of contact, does not get to talk to one often. So this was exciting for him.

The conversation focused on the acronym: TULIP

T – Total Depravity

U – Unconditional Election

L – Limited Atonement

I – Irresistible Grace

P – Perseverance of the Saints

Josh was gracious to endure Jonathan’s questions and wonderings and spoke about his understanding of being a Calvinist. Just so people are clear, being a Calvinist does not mean you worship Calvin, it means you understand the God’s relationship with humanity in a very specific way.

For a Calvinist God is sovereign, in control, and that offers a good deal of comfort. Unless you are not “in” but then we won’t know if that is the case or not until this life is over. So you should be a Pascalian Calvinist, entwining the Divine Wager with God’s sovereignty. For some reason Jonathan and Josh missed that point.

Rialage –

Jonathan is anti-NFL. He isn’t against a particular team or player, but the amount of benefits that the organization and the owners get. The article he referenced is: “How the NFL Fleeces Taxpayers,” by Gregg Easterbrook, The Atlantic, October 2013 (44-50).

Josh is angry at Rhode Islanders and especially Bishop Tobin for the way they all do their politics. He is especially disappointed with Bishop Tobin for not attending Governor Raimondo’s inauguration. Politics and Rhode Island – two kinds of crazy that make a mess!

Scripture-

Romans 8:29-30 – See, predestination is in the Bible, so it has to be true!

Watcha’ Into

Josh is into the Amateur Athletic Union – Check them out! Especially the Ocean State Mariners. After that shameless plug he is also into the book Spiritual Theology by Diogenes Allen. Good read!

Jonathan is into the modern dance film Pina – you should probably wear a black turtleneck before watching this.

Again, thanks for listening. Check out the website: www.twelveenough.com Send your comments and questions to twelveenough@gmail.com (new e-mail address), and don’t forget to rate the show on iTunes.

Next episode: Authority and the church with Fathers Jakob and Anthony!