The time for the major announcement has come. Cue the dramatic music; flash the lights; fill the stage with ominous smoke: I am planting my flag about Calvinism and it is firmly in the Calvinist camp. This post should come as no  surprise to those who have been reading my series Blogging Calvinism.

I have had some reluctance about firmly positioning myself on this issue. Over the past year or so my thinking has been challenged in a number of areas, making me a little skittish about any more theological shifting. In addition, I have changed issues on Calvinism once before. I was raised in a church that firmly and fully taught Reformed doctrine and I could argue Calvinism with the best of them. The move away from Calvinism came about six years ago, due in large part to the writings of George MacDonald. The transition back to Calvinism began several months ago. Thanks or blame for this (depending on your preferred side) can be given to John Piper. But since I have changed my mind on this once before, I want to be sure that any change now is definite and sure. It is not a bad thing when we change our minds. It could, perhaps, indicate good things about us. But it is a bad thing when we change our minds again and again and again. So may this be my last time to change sides on this issue. I think it will be.

I want to spend the next few days talking about my shift back to Calvinism. This entry is simply to introduce and index the series of posts. Tomorrow I will focus on why I am a Calvinist, what it is about my understanding of the Bible that makes my theology line up with Calvinism. Thursday I will respond to bad arguments people use to try to promote and defend Calvinism, also looking at some of the bad practices of Calvinists. In Friday’s post I will talk about what Calvinism means for the Christian life, primarily focusing on things that tend to concern people about Calvinism. Saturday I will raise some of my lingering questions. And Sunday I will write about what I have appreciated from many Calvinists.