I read an Arminian blog that proposed that Arminians actually have more in common with men such as Rob Bell or Greg Boyd and even emergents than with Calvinists.  He proposed that the Calvinist reaction to those teachers and their teachings is a prime example of why Arminians should not team up with Calvinists on theological issues.  He stated that the first fruit of the Spirit listed in Galatians 5:22 is love and he believed that Calvinists rarely show love when dealing with people that they disagree.

I would say, first of all, that its a bit unfair to lump all Calvinists in this camp.  While it is true that some Calvinists can be militant in their views and state that they are the gospel (as Charles Spurgeon once said), I have found that most Calvinists I deal with seem loving.  When I was in college it is true that most the hard core Calvinists of the R.C. Sproul line were very hard toward me and I know of a couple of them who viewed me as completely unregenerated because of my Arminian views on salvation.  I also occasionally receive harsh e-mails from Calvinists saying that I am lost or that I worship a false god.  So it is true that some Calvinists are mean spirited and some do hold that Calvinism equals the gospel of Jesus but not all can be labeled that way.  I know of some Arminians who strongly believe that Calvinism is of the devil and that Calvinists will be judged for their false teachings yet not all Arminians hold to those views and it would be unfair to say that one Arminian speaks for all.  John Piper no more speaks for all Calvinists than Roger Olson does for Arminians.

The bottom line for me is not Arminianism or Calvinism but Scripture.  What does the Bible say?  This is the far most important question to ask when dealing with any teaching.  If Bell or Boyd or Piper or MacArthur line up with Scripture then I am for them.  If not, I am against them even if I do so in love and respect.  I think that the Bible should be the issue not whether Bell opposes Calvinism or not or whether Boyd supports unlimited atonement or not.  The bottom line should be the Bible.  Does the Bible teach this or not?  Sometimes those answers are easier than others but we would do well to be like the Bereans in Acts 17:11 and search the Scriptures instead of taking the works of Arminius or Calvin and making them the standard by which we judge truth.  Arminius and Calvin are just men and while we might appreciate their theology and their labors to produce clear, concise systematic theology, the standard for truth will always be the Bible alone.

This is why I can read, fellowship, pray, and evangelize with Calvinists.  Because my standard is not Arminius or Calvin or Spurgeon or Bounds or Campbell.  My standard for testing theology is God's inerrant and infallible Word.  If we would make the Bible the standard for truth and testing theology, I fear that many of our "heroes" of Arminianism and Calvinism would fall short.  We must make the Bible and the Bible alone our standard.