How convenient it is for jokesters that we had a college classmate named "Calvin." Ha ha ha! That right there is obviously a setup for a joke about the great debate of Calvinism vs. Arminianism. Ha ha ha! And who is not a five-point Calvinist? Well, actually, lots of people in the Assemblies of God and other Christian denominations have a problem with the extremes of Calvinism, including the idea of limited atonement, the idea that Jesus died to save only some of the people. Not everyone will be saved and yet God is "not willing that any should perish." Just another paradoxical truth. Calvinists really like to argue these points but we try to avoid this argument because, anyway, both sides are right. As the AG website says: "We agree with the Calvinist emphasis on God's sovereignty or supreme
power and authority. But we also firmly believe the Arminian emphasis on
mankind's free will and responsibility for his actions and choices. We
believe the Bible teaches both truths."
I can't speak for Presbyterian "Buddy" because I don't know what they believe. We never discuss these things with them. The relatives represent quite a wide spectrum of Christians beliefs and denominations and even some not so Christian values. The farther away you get from the source, the more the picture distorts. Which is why the relatives can only speak for themselves, not for me.
