About Us
Just two average Joes and their families
Dave Block
My name's Dave, and I'm a former Arminian.
The Lord opened my eyes and heart to believe in him when I was
only eight years old. One Wednesday night, during a youth
meeting at my church, the teachers fully explained the Gospel
message and offered an invitation to go to the other side of the
room if you wanted to talk more about what they had just
presented. I remember feeling very afraid of the prospect
of spending eternity in hell and amazed that God would send his
Son to die for sinners like me, but I wasn't sure about
everything, so I denied the opportunity to pray at that time.
But that same night, as I laid in my bed thinking about what I
had heard, God quickened my heart and I begged God for His
forgiveness. Over the next ten years I was discipled from
the Arminian point of view. After I graduated from high school I
attended the same college that Nate did and for the first year
of my education my Arminian beliefs went unchallenged. In
my sophomore year, I began to date my long-time friend, Caryn
(now my wife),
who was a monergist. Through some long conversations and
debates, I realized that my theological dogmas were based on
sentiment and not on the Word alone. I began to
contemplate God's infinity and eternality and realized that my
view of God was really small. God then enlightened my mind
and I came to embrace the theology of monergism. Since
then, my faith and obedience has grown by leaps and bounds.
My hope is that God will illuminate the Scriptures for you that
you may see Him for who he really is.
et cognoscetis veritatem et veritas
liberabit vos,
"and you will know the truth and the truth will set you free"
Dave Block
To contact Dave write to:
dave@apostatearminian.com
Nate Harlan
My
name’s Nate, and I’m a former Arminian. I won’t bother
with a bunch of biographical info - you didn’t log on to
hear about my 3 year old’s struggles with potty
training or my neurotic, co-dependent dog. You’re here to
discuss theology, so that’s what I’ll briefly discuss in
reference to myself. I’ve been justified in Christ for about
13 years, and spent 10 of those years as a staunch Arminian.
I was ’saved,’ baptized, and discipled in a decidedly
Wesleyan-Arminian denomination. I attended the college
affiliated with the same denomination, and received a
thoroughly Arminian theological education. I fervently
defended the free-will of man in regard to salvation and
railed against doctrines such as predestination, limited
atonement, preservation of the saints, etc. In my mind,
Calvinism was a deterministic and flawed theology that
failed to support the mercy of God and the responsibility of
man. I even vehemently stated among friends that if God
truly was the God Calvin (and Augustine, Spurgeon, Owen,
Edwards, etc) claimed Him to be, then “I wanted nothing to
do with Him.” What a foolish, ignorant thing to say. Then
several years ago, while working under a Reformed-minded
pastor, I was exposed to the writings of the venerable
John Owen. In short, I realized that Arminianism was not
based upon the testimony of Scripture, but on the fallen
sentimentality of man. After months of debate and
internal strife, I ’apostatized’ from the theology of
Arminius and embraced monergism or ‘5-point Calvinism‘
to many. The bottom line, I have learned, is this: “It
[salvation, God’s election] does not, therefore, depend
on man’s desire or effort, but on God’s mercy” Romans
9:16 (emphasis mine). Salvation is the result of God’s
sovereign grace, not the choice of man. Many consider
this to be splitting theological hairs. It is my hope
that our site will help you to see that there is much
more at stake here than mere theological hair-splitting:
it is the very essence of the Gospel. Therefore, what we
believe in regard to the Calvinist/Arminian debate has
profound implications for every Christian, not only the
ivory tower dwelling theologians. May God, who gives
freely without finding fault, grant you the wisdom to
discern these things.
Sola Gratia,
Nate Harlan
To contact Nate write to:
nate@apostatearminian.com
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