[NB: This post originally served as my “application” to YAR, and Tim thought it would be good for me to share with you all as well.]
Hi. My name is David Cramer, and I’m the newest member of the Young Anabaptist Radicals.
I’m young because I’m 25 and because I’ve only been Anabaptist for about the last 2 of those 25 years. Before that I attended a church and a college (the Missionary Church / Bethel College, IN) with Anabaptist roots that were remembered by only a few. I still worship in that denomination and now teach at that college and have become one of the few that remember those Anabaptist roots.
It was during my time in seminary at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School that I began to realize, much to the chagrin of many of my professors, I’m sure, that Christianity didn’t make much sense without an Anabaptist Christology and ecclesiology. I have since formalized those thoughts through much reading of John Howard Yoder and the like.
I blog somewhat frequently at http://cramercomments.blogspot.com/, which has been featured on Christian Century blogs (www.ccblogs.org) and elsewhere. My blog traces my subtle transition from a standard-stock Arminian evangelical to an Anabaptist (with an Arminian-evangelical flavor). I have yet to do much explicit blogging on Anabaptism, as I am still learning the ins and outs. Since finishing seminary and moving back from Chicago to Northern Indiana, I have, however, started a local group called the Evangelical Anabaptist Revolution (EAR), which includes other Bethel grads, some Associate Mennonite Biblical Seminary students, and a miscellany from Goshen College, Grace College, etc. If anyone is interested in joining the Revolution, just let me know. (Currently we exist as a “hidden” facebook group, so I would have to befriend and then invite anyone interested.)
My primary interests are in moral theology and philosophy of religion, including nonviolence, gender issues, and religious pluralism. Look forward to interacting with you all.
Peace,
David
Welcome!
You should visit the Jubilee House in Elkhart. There are community meals on Thursdays at 5:30pm. http://www.prairiestreetmc.org/JubileeHouse.html
For those of you who don’t know what “Arminian” is (I didn’t…and thought maybe it was a misspelling of Armenian) I looked it up on wikipedia.
Arminianism is a school of soteriological thought within Protestant Christianity based on the theological ideas of the Dutch Reformed theologian Jacobus Arminius (1560-1609)[1] and his historic followers, the Remonstrants. The doctrines’ acceptance stretches through much of mainstream, evangelical Protestantism.
Arminianism holds to the following tenets:
* Humans are naturally unable to make any effort towards salvation (see also prevenient grace).
* Salvation is possible only by God’s grace, which cannot be merited.
* No works of human effort can cause or contribute to salvation.
* God’s election is conditional on faith in the sacrifice and Lordship of Jesus Christ.
* Christ’s atonement was made on behalf of all people.
* God allows his grace to be resisted by those who freely reject Christ.
* Salvation can be lost, as continued salvation is conditional upon continued faith.
Thanks for the welcome, ST.
I guess I should have been more clear with some of my terminology. Arminianism is primarily a set of soteriological doctrines (that is, doctrines of salvation), often contrasted with the soteriology of Calvinism. Arminianism is the explicit soteriology of Wesleyans and other “free will” churches, and from what I can tell, is implicit in much Anabaptism as well. For a more detailed theological/philosophical description, see my blog series on Arminianism.
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