What Reformed Theology is not.
Engraved from the original oil painting in the University Library of Geneva, this is considered Calvin's best likeness. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) The late theologian Cornelius Van Til once made the observation that Calvinism is not to be identified with the so-called five points of Calvinism . Rather, Van Til concluded that the five points function as a pathway, or a bridge, to the entire structure of Reformed theology. Likewise, Charles Spurgeon argued that Calvinism is merely a nickname for biblical theology. These titans of the past understood that the essence of Reformed theology cannot be reduced to five particular points that arose as points of controversy centuries ago in Holland with the Remonstrants, who objected to five specific points of the system of doctrine found in historic Calvinism. Those five points have become associated with the acrostic TULIP : Total depravity , Unconditional election , Limited atonement , Irresistible grace , and Perseverance of the