~Author’s Note~
To begin with, I’m going to go on record in saying that I have NO seminary or ‘divinity school’ training. I’ve been a Christian since I was 17 and, up til fairly recently, knew nothing about what ‘Calvinism’ was. I might have vaguely heard the name Calvin (John) mentioned as one of the reformers of the Church during what has come to be called ‘The Reformation’.My eyes were opened (WIDE, as in shock!) when, quite by accident, I stumbled upon a doctrine that, to my uneducated mind~per theological things~ just seemed WRONG. But the more I asked about it, the more confused, frustrated and deeply ANGRY I got! With God, more than anyone else. I mean, if this business about an ‘elect’ was true, and God (for the sake of discussion) chose who the ‘elect’ would be without even those chosen having any say in the matter, and the rest of humanity was predestined, by God, to eternal torment, then I wanted NO PART of him! I was a Christian, but what about my family, what if God did not ‘choose’ them? What made me any more worthy of salvation than they were? Something did NOT feel right about the whole thing. And yet, either God (the REAL GOD….of the BIBLE) wouldn’t let me go, or I couldn’t let this issue go…I kept searching. Some of the sources, who agreed with the doctrine of ‘Limited Atonement’ would casually state that God chose His elect and who were we to argue? We should be thankful he chose any of us! That should have made me feel good, except it didn’t. These people were so…..cool …casual, when I asked, “What about your families or your best friend or your co-workers? Doesn’t it bother you that God will arbitrarily send these people to hell without a second thought?” If I got an answer at all, it centered around God’s SOVEREIGNTY. Oh, how they LOVED throwing THAT word around! But it still struck me as COLD. Utterly indifferent!
FINALLY! Answers! I’m sure the Lord knew how completely upset and stressed I was and how I wanted to chuck Christianity altogether, if this LIMITED ATONEMENT garbage turned out to be true! I’m sure He’s had to deal with MANY people in that same boat. I started finding people on Youtube, who would counter this doctrine, and the entire ‘Calvinist’ set up. And they were addressing the very points I was troubled about. Thank GOD! I wasn’t going crazy! Others felt the same way! And I was directed to sources that could counter this heartless religion, where the God of the Bible (supposedly) was painted as a character without a heart for His own creation. That wasn’t the GOD I was told about in church, or I wouldn’t have continued going to church! What had I stumbled into?
HATCHED in HELL
Inside of a day of finding this one book, I made one discovery about the religion of ‘Calvinism’ that saved me from rushing to the other side. (Atheism). This religious system was, as much as any other false religion, was HATCHED IN HELL! If Stephen King tried, he could NOT create a horror story to compare with the cold bloodedness of Calvinism! Not only is truth STRANGER than fiction, in this case, it’s FAR SCARIER! An eternal nightmare!See, unlike Jehovah’s Witnesses and Mormonism, Calvinism uses, or, should I say MISuses the Bible (EXCLUSIVELY) to agree with their doctrine, instead of holding their doctrine up to the litmus test of scripture. Any and all cults do the same. Now the Watchtower and Mormonism, and all the other Isms we’re familiar with, as well, are notorious scripture twisters, themselves, but they also have their own books that conform to their doctrine. To my knowledge, the Bible is the only ‘book’ the Calvinist uses, (if I’m wrong, and there are other books, I’m open to correction). WORSE is the way the most beloved scriptures are altered to suit the views of this ….aberrant sect. And that’s a POLITENESS!
In my research, I’ve collected nearly an entire book of notes, all centered around what Calvinists call T.U.L.I.P. The ‘heart’ (?) of the Calvinist ‘gospel’. In posting each of the ‘five points of Calvinism’ , I will do my best to be plain in what those letters stand for, so, by the time you get to the end of it, you’ll know what you might have let yourself get involved with . It’s a subtle deception, this T.U.L.I.P…one pastor put it, “LOVELY flower but LOUSY theology!” Problem is, once it’s in your head, it’s like you find yourself singing a song you don’t even like. No matter how bad you want to shut it off, it keeps playing itself over and over in your head. Been there. I know. Worse yet, because this false system does use the Bible, it is seen as CHRISTIAN, just because its namesake was one of the supposed reformers. In this case, however, I have to wonder if the ‘cure’ wasn’t worse than the disease!
That said, let’s get on with it!
It’s a TRAP! He’s an IMPOSTER!!!
2 Corinthians 11:4 (Another Jesus, Another ‘spirit’, another ‘gospel’) // 2 Cor 11:14 (Satan as ‘angel of light’) See also: Acts 20:29, 2 Thess 2:3, 2 Tim 4:1.All things considered, what scenario could be more likely? Especially if you’re familiar with Calvin’s horrific abuses of those who attempted to disagree with him. These days, Calvinist adherents, on less-volatile terms with non-Calvinists, will simply say, “You don’t get Calvinism!” On that, we’re in agreement, but little else besides.
Full, five-point Calvinists equate T.U.L.I.P with historic Christianity, but if you know about the points behind the acronym, compared to the God of the Bible, then you have to know something is NOT right! Like I said earlier, I’ve never been to seminary. I don’t know anything about the Bible languages, apart from the fact that they exist(ed) Greek. Hebrew. Aramaic. I can, however, read a text like John 3:16, 17, and tell you what it means. For God so loved the WORLD… God did not send His Son into the WORLD to condemn the WORLD, but that the WORLD through Him, might be saved .” In this case, exactly what it says. Same with 2 Peter 3:9 “….He is not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.” That’s pretty straight forward. It is God’s desire that all should come to repentance. (A condition of salvation). We have to repent. Come to Christ; admitting we’re sinners. Instead, Calvin’s disciples insist, today, that Christ died for the ‘elect’ only. That He loves a specific group and no one else. That Christ came to save them, but no one else! This is NOT THE GOD OF THE BIBLE!!!! You’ll see that (hopefully) by the time I’m finished.
“Christ came into the world to save SINNERS, of whom I am chief.” 1 Tim 1:15
Who has sinned? According to Romans 3:23, ALL have sinned. Now, if Jesus came to save sinners, and ALL have sinned, then NO ONE is left out of God’s plan of salvation. Many, tragically, LEAVE THEMSELVES out by refusing Christ’s gift, but that is NOT GOD’S doing. 1 John 2:2 talks about Christ’s satisfying God’s justice for the sins of the WORLD. This statement echoes the sentiments of John the Baptist, “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the WORLD.”
Now, before any Calvinist proponents insist, “HA! This chick is NUTS. This world is a MESS! How can Christ have taken away the world’s sins if we’re in the mess we’re in?” Simple. The offer is on the table but has not been accepted, by most of the world. There are soap factories in the world, too, but that doesn’t mean that everyone is clean. The solution has to be APPLIED. This is a personal choice. Counter that with what I am FINALLY going to get to…. the five points of Calvinism, which denies just about every point I’ve just made.
T.U.L.I.P; FRAGRANT Flower. DEADLY Doctrine!
Not being a horticulturalist, I know precious little about how to raise plants. I recall a potted Evergreen that I took home and tried to plant in the back yard. Whatever happened, the poor thing died. Bummer. It would have been cool to have a tree in the back yard. Evergreens are supposed to be a sturdy tree, just not in my hands. Likewise, I know even less about Tulips, except that I believe they are native to Holland. I recently saw some at the store; bought by people, who wanted to get their moms something for mother’s day. A beautiful flower. The central doctrine, undergirding modern-day Calvinism, is anything BUT beautiful! Heretical, DIABOLICAL DECEPTION. Misleading would be THE understatement of the last millenia!T= TOTAL DEPRAVITY. In Calvinism, ‘DEPRAVITY’ equals ‘INABILITY’. Because humanity, for the most part, doesn’t want or seek after God, Calvinism concludes that we are incapable of seeking after God on our own. And yet, this god of Calvinism will hold humanity responsible for the choice he did not allow us to make.
The god of Calvinism chooses to regenerate people who will be part of his ‘elect’. Yes, the Bible does mention the word ELECT, but NOT the way Calvinists use it. Case in point, JESUS (Messiah~Isaiah 42:1) was mentioned with use of that word. Does that mean that Jesus was chosen for salvation? How? He’s the cause of salvation! So ‘election’ has to have a different meaning than what Calvinism gives us.
The problem with the Calvinist’s god and his ‘election’ of those he will save is that there is NO CHOICE on the part of the person being chosen. Calvin’s god overcomes any resistance on the part of his electee by what is called ‘Irresistible Grace’. (the ‘I’ in Tulip) . That said, the question must be asked, (and I’ll ask it any number of times in the course of this essay, I’m sure! ) ‘If God (for the sake of making the case, let’s assume the god of Calvinism and the God of the Bible are the same ‘person’) is calling all the shots, and humanity has no say in their own eternal destiny, then WHY didn’t God just save everyone, right off the top? Why did the fall even have to happen? One book I finally bought answered that question; and to my surprise, we came to the same conclusion! Imagine MY shock!
A few years earlier, I wrote an essay called, “Calvinism in the Garden; Who is the author of the fall?” Two issues paramount in this entire matter; humanity’s moral responsibility and God’s motive for sending Christ into the world. Answer to question number 2…. LOVE. And REAL love in contingent on having a choice to love. If God does not give humanity a choice and simply chooses a group to serve and love him, how is that love? A man can approach me and say, “I’ll give you ten million dollars if you’ll marry me.” Or put a gun to my head and say, “If you don’t marry me, I’ll blow your brains out!” One option is obviously more appealing than the other, and even offers a bit more in the way of choice, but even if I did marry the guy, all the money in the world can’t make me love someone I hardly know. On the other hand, while having my brains splattered all over the wall might not sound very appealing, neither does being married to a guy who has to use threats of violence to get people to do anything. If I leave, I’m dead. If I stay, I’m miserable enough to wish I was dead.
The god of Calvinism gives us no choice. Those who are his ‘elect’ are chosen, by some mysterious act of regeneration which makes them willing to serve. Kinda like being hypnotized without even realizing they’ve been hypnotized. On the flip side, those who are NOT the elect can hear sermons and gospel messages til the cows come home and (according to Calvinism) not be able to respond to the message because Calvin’s god doesn’t want them to be able to respond. Either way, individual choice is a non-issue.
Look at it like this…. you’re drowning, and someone extends a life preserver. But they hold the preserver ten feet out of your reach and then shouts at you for not grabbing onto it. Then they take the preserver back and say, “Your loss! I tried!” Should you be allowed to drown because someone kept rescue out of your reach?
Another illustration, which might help clear things up a bit better, is the idea of the INVITE.
According to Calvinist doctrine, man is in control if we are given the choice of accepting Christ’s offer of salvation, but that doesn’t work. I don’t know someone is having a pizza party for their birthday unless I’m invited to that party! The person doesn’t TELL me to come. I’m not directed to said party at gun-point. On the other hand, I can’t go to a party I don’t even know is going on, never mind where it’s going on. GOD issues the INVITE. Humanity can choose to say yes or no. But unless we have an offer to respond to, one way or the other, how can we respond at all? The OFFER of SALVATION was made by GOD. Humanity can respond, And the Bible says that we can ALL accept the offer God extends. Matter of fact, it is HIS desire. (1 Tim 2:4, 6) Sadly, HE knows that too many won’t accept. This is NOT God’s wish. It’s just what He knows. And to KNOW something is going to happen and to MAKE it happen are two very different things! THIS is one of the points that separate Calvinism from Biblical Christianity. According to the Bible, God told Adam and Eve NOT to eat of the tree that was in the middle of the garden; knowing the full ramifications of what would happen if they disobeyed. The god of Calvinism, who is NOT truly omniscient, initiated the fall so he would know what would happen. In other words, God (as Calvinist doctrine goes) tells Adam and Eve NOT to eat from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, but then he makes them eat from that tree because the only way he would know what they were going to do is if he makes them do it. But wait! Why would God tell someone to do or NOT do something if he was going to make them do it because that’s the only way he could know that’s what they would do? Wouldn’t that make our actions God’s actions? If that’s the case, how can ANYONE go to hell if our actions aren’t really ours? Can you say ‘SET UP’ ???
U= Unconditional Election “The UNCHANGEABLE PURPOSE of God whereby, before the foundation of the world, He hath , out of mere grace, according to the sovereign good pleasure of His own will, chosen from the whole human race,…. a certain number of persons to redemption in Christ……”
In plain English, like what was stated in the T of T.u.l.i.p, the decision of who will be 'saved’ is God’s alone, If you’re one of the ‘elect’, congrats! If not, tough tacos, Pedro! You’re burnt toast.
This is why I distinguish the GOD of the Bible from the small ‘g’ god of Calvinism. The god of John Calvin is UTTERLY APATHETIC to those he casually condemns to eternal torment without their having a choice in their eternal destiny. Romans 6:23 says the GIFT of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ, our Lord. According to Irresistable grace, those who are the ‘elect’ (of Calvinism) have no knowledge or say in the matter. It was imposed on them. As if to say, “You’ll take this gift and like it!” I’ve heard it said that the ability to respond to the Gospel is contingent on whether or not you have been ‘regenerated’ so that you can say yes. It amounts to being ‘born again’ before you’re ‘born again’. Again, though, the god of calvinism has a limited capacity for love and compassion. Much like that of fallen humanity. Hmmm? Coincidence? Hardly.Tragically, incredibly, this horrific view is shared by Calvin’s adherents, today! And it dawns on me that these deceived souls may not be following Christ so much as *men’s erroneous interpretations of Who THEY believe Jesus to be, and what the Bible says about Him. (*Augustine, who passed his teachings to Calvin) .
Somehow, though, this makes it worse ! Probably because Calvin has been considered one of the heroes of the reformation. One question posed by my purchased book, suggested that Calvin leaned FAR MORE on Augustine’s views than what the Bible taught. If that be the case, and the doctrines framed by Calvin were formulated, in no small part by a thorough-going Roman Catholic, then where did these doctrines come from, if not the Bible?
When you consider the nonchalance, with which the god of calvinism can damn millions, by his cold-blooded version of ‘Tag, you’re it"’ or ‘Eeeny Meeny Miney Moe’ then you don’t have to be a Bible scholar, or even an expert in geography, to determine where such doctrines were conceived!
L= LIMITED ATONEMENT ; Connected with the previous two points of of Calvinism (and the most divisive, even amongst Calvinists) , this HORRENDOUS HERESY sets the deceit in granite, as hard as the hearts of those who agree with it!
I said that this was a divisive doctrine, and that not all Calvinists hold to it. Ironically, it would almost be better if they did. At least it would do away with the tangle of contradictions the ‘moderate Calvinists’ ensnare themselves in, trying to explain it away.A BIG word with Calvinists is ‘SOVEREIGNTY’ . The ‘SOVEREGNTY’ of GOD is huge with these people, and cannot imagine God being able to keep full control if humanity is allowed the right to choose whether or not they will accept Christ’s gift of Salvation. THIS is yet another reason why the Calvinist does NOT know the GOD of the BIBLE. The god of Calvinism is NOT truly Omniscient. He doesn’t KNOW everything unless He creates it or decides it. That is where human frailty comes in.
We cannot see perfectly into the future. God can. Mind you, to GOD, it is all displayed in what C.S. Lewis’ Screwtape (Screwtape Letters) acknowledged to be God’s ‘UNBOUNDED NOW’. God is outside time. So what we call the future, uncertainties and all, is right in front of God. He didn’t have to CREATE an event to know it would take place, He just knows. God does rule in the affairs of men (Daniel 4:32) but He doesn’t contravene our God-given choice. He will either confirm that choice or even frustrate human attempts at self-imposed control. (Just as with King Nebuchadnezzar) who thought he was all that and then some. God brought him down to earth, nearly literally, until he got the point. It’s hard to continue being proud when you’re eating grass and sleeping in a barn. Still, the king had a choice. He COULD have continued in his pride, only to be kept in the same condition for a longer time. But King Nebuchadnezzar wisely chose to go back to his life as a king, but knowing who the TRUE monarch was. Smart man. Took a few lessons to figure it out, but he got the point, at last.
Still in all, this talk about God’s ‘SOVEREIGNTY’ , there is precious little room, in Calvinist doctrine, for God’s LOVE and COMPASSION. Unless, of course, it’s for the Calvinist ‘elect’ . Radio preacher John McArthur, however, (referring to himself as a ‘moderate’ Calvinist) believes that Christ does love everyone, but to different degrees. To the non-elect, God might bestow earthly blessings, like a good job, a nice house, All the world might offer. To those the Calvinist god cavalierly predestined to eternal torment, this scenario is on a par to feeding someone the best meal they ever had before marching them to a wall, to be executed by firing squad or fed to a great white shark! In the words of Tina Turner’s Bio-Flic, ‘What’s LOVE got to do with It?!”
I = IRRESISTIBLE GRACE
Humanity cannot hear or respond to the Gospel unless the Calvinist god first ‘regenerates’ them, and Calvin has applied this only to his god’s ‘elect’. There is no such thing as FREE WILL in Calvinism. Without the Calvinist god deciding that he wants us, we literally don’t have a hope in hell! This point has been made three times already, as it is reiterated time and time again in upholding the Calvinist position.According to modern-day preachers of this ‘gospel’ (?) like John Piper, it is to his god’s “good will and glory” to predestine multitudes to eternal judgement before they were even born! I’ve also read that even children, (babies!) who were not chosen as the ‘elect’ by the despotic deity of Calvinism could wind up in hell! If you can believe this, Mr. Piper has NO , NOT ONE IOTA of difficulty with this doctrine (even as he assumes it to be true). Personally, I’d sooner cozy up to the iceberg that sunk the Titanic than try to communicate with an ardent, five point Calvinist, who truly believes that these hellish heresies are found in the Bible!
I have a difficult time reconciling ‘Love’ of any kind with the actions that would say quite the opposite. It is the ‘love’ of the god of Calvinism that millions are prevented, by his ‘SOVEREIGN WILL’ , from being able to understand or respond to the Good News that leads to salvation, and yet judged, by the same god, for NOT responding to the same gospel he would not allow us to respond, favorably’, to! Double-think of this magnitude would give George Orwell a pounding headache.
Now…taking Calvinism back to the Garden of Eden; since humanity has no free will, then the Fall of Humanity was not only KNOWN by God but DECREED by him. (Remember, the god of Calvinism cannot foresee things he didn’t already create. CALVINISTS ADMIT THIS! ). He could have kept Adam and Eve away from that tree or he could have had Eve shout for help until God zapped the snake. Thus removes temptation and all’s well.
So why didn’t he? If God is TOTALLY in control; puppeteering humanity around like some cosmic Jim Henson, why didn’t he just prevent the fall? It would have been easy enough. The Bible says, “Is there anything too hard for the Lord?” (Genesis 18:14). And he could save all humanity, TODAY, by over-riding everyone’s resistance and having them regenerated so they can hear and respond. So why doesn’t he? If Calvin’s god is holding all the cards, and pulling our strings, then why doesn’t he just save everyone? (2 Peter 3:9) .
Could it be that this god isn’t about love? That the god of Calvinism is no more than a cold-hearted control freak who sentences millions to their doom just because he can?! If that’s all he’s about then Satan can just put his feet up and relax. Calvin’s god is doing better, damning souls, than the two thirds of the fallen angels that sided with Lucifer. With a deity like this, who needs demons?
Tragically, people blinded by this damnable heresy~ 2 Peter 2:1 (CALVINISM) are not seeing the God of the Bible. The God of the Bible could have zapped Eve as soon as she touched the forbidden fruit. But do you just zap someone you love just because they disagree with or disobey you?
In the best of homes, with mom and dad doing everything as right as possible, (no boozing or drugs in the home. There’s love and guidance aplenty. ) And yet, the child gets involved with the wrong crowd and there’s all sorts of trouble. Do the parents just write the prodigal child off or do they keep trying to steer the erring child back into the right direction again, as well as pray the child will come to his or her senses? In the case of the God of the Bible, to A&E and their descendants, God made every effort possible to bring His kids back to the right road before resorting to the most drastic measures. On the other hand, the god of Calvinism already decided that A&E would fall. He purposed it. The god of Calvinism is the author of the fall, and all that came after. And yet, he holds humanity morally responsible for a choice we had no ability to make! In legal terms, that would be known as a Frame Up! (Read Luke Ch. 15). Prodigal son came to his senses and CHOSE to go home. If he had no choice in the matter, the same god who decided he should go home was the same god who also told him to spend his inheritance on, as one country song once put it, “Cigarettes and whiskey and wild, Wild Women!”
{ Dear Calvinist, Envision yourself in court. You’re on trial for mass murder. You KNOW you did NOT commit this crime, for which you will pay with your LIFE if found guilty. Moreover, you know who DID commit the crime, for which you’re standing trial! And out he walks! The door of the Judge’s chambers opens and the man who set you up, on the crime of mass murder, is stepping up to the judge’s bench! Think that’s fair? NOT MUCH! }
I mentioned, a few paragraphs back, something along the lines of the god of Calvinism Puppeteering us around “like some cosmic Jim Henson”. My SINCEREST APOLOGIES to JIM HENSON’S family and to the man, himself. See, even as a flawed person, Mr. Henson wouldn’t do, in a billion years, what the god of calvinism has decided will-less humanity should do! Think about it! Under the doctrine of Calvinism, even HITLER would have to be defended, on the grounds that GOD (for the sake of making the point) was the one pulling his strings! Atheist groups could have themselves a high old time, if that point could be proven!
But then, what about people like the Ten Boom’s, the Schindler’s and others, great and small, who made whatever effort they could, to save people who were being hunted down, by the Nazis, who were also acting under the will of the Calvinist god. NOW, If the god of Calvinism was moving Hitler to do what he did, then WHO was moving those who were trying to save people from what the god of Calvinism was making Hitler do? “A house divided against itself…” and all that. If there is no such thing as free will, we have ‘god’ in a complete conflict-of-interest with himself! Holy Schizophrenia, Batman!
If any Calvinist can offer a viable explanation as to how God can hold will-less humanity responsible for what he has them do, I look forward to reading it. NOTE: Your explanation cannot involve use of the word MYSTERY. Simply consider how YOU would feel; being put on trial for a crime you did NOT commit!
And now, for the last petal on this poison plant….
P= Perseverance of the Saints.
Aha! I mentioned Schizophrenia a minute back. If THIS doesn’t prove the illogical, (if not utterly UNBIBLICAL) nature of Calvinism, I’ll EAT a Tulip!For four letters of the acronym, GOD’S (Calvinist god) ‘Sovereignty’ is exclusive. Human will and choice is not even considered. If this god choses to regenerate us, fine. Otherwise, he had decided that the non-elect will spend eternity in hell, without their having any ability to choose where they want to spend eternity.
I reiterate this to contrast it with the last letter of T.U.L.I.P Perseverance of the Saints. THIS is where it comes down to what WE have to do. PROBLEM….. How do we do or decide to do anything when humanity has no will???? Or is this remedied when Calvin’s god regenerates his elect?
No matter, if our salvation is entirely contingent on our behavior, and conduct, I can tell you, from personal experience, I’m toast! I’m a believer in Christ. I’m a born again Christian. I’m also a child of the 70’s, and have membership on a facebook page, involving a movie I grew up with, and love writing fan fiction. I’ve also had to ask forgiveness for swears, uttered in impatience. I’m in serious trouble if my salvation hinges on MY record, instead of Christ’s righteousness being transferred to my account.
More to the point, however, is the CONTRADICTION between this Point in Calvinism and point number 2….. UNconditional Election. How can someone be ELECT, based on God’s choice and then, a few letters later, be unelected, based on the record of performance. How does UNconditional become Conditional? I assumed Unconditional Election meant whoever the god of Calvinism chose was IN. Doesn’t God know what your record of performance will be? Doesn’t he DECIDE your track record? How is your salvation suddenly your doing if you have no will to decide what you’re going to do?
Thus, it’s the same with all other world religious systems. Devout, well-meaning Roman Catholics might wonder, towards the end of their lives, if enough Rosaries were said. A sincere Jehovah’s Witness might begin to ponder, even with good standing in their Kingdom Hall, if they’ve put in enough field service. A Muslim could worry about the attendance at the Mosque, for the five prayers a day. NONE of these poor souls have assurance, that when they die, they will go to heaven or Paradise, or end up in hell or eternal non-existence. That a Calvinist has to wait til the end of their lives to know if their track record is acceptable to their god is as much prove as we need that these deceived souls are NOT familiar with the GOD of the Bible. The God who loves them and ALL humanity. The God of the Bible is not into the ‘HELL PACKAGE’; choosing only so many for salvation and chucking the rest, ever so casually into eternal fire. Isaiah 55:1 ----> . Revelation 22:17.18,
In one chapter of this book I’ve been reading, it’s been said that there is NO assurance of salvation in this man-made system. And if that doesn’t prove the point, conclusively, I don’t know what will! (John 5:24, 1 John 5:11-13,) No other man-made religious system provides assurance for salvation, either. In some cases, it’s a sin to make such a presumption despite what the Bible teaches on the matter. We CAN KNOW. The question is, though, are you depending on doctrines of John Calvin, or the sacrifice of Christ for your assurance. One will give you full assurance (Hebrews 7:25) and the other cannot and Will NOT.
Putting this matter of ‘limited atonement’ into perspective, for those of you who are parents; You smell smoke in your home late one night. Fire. Without thinking about your own safety, you rush to the room of your two kids. Question; do you grab BOTH kids or just the one? Any good parent would grab both and race from the burning building. The god of Calvinism, on the other hand, would grab one child OR the other; leaving the lone child to die in the house fire. How is humanity more compassionate than their creator? Simple; the god of Calvinism is NOT humanity’s creator. He’s a man-made despot; born from Satanic inspiration, and nothing more elegant than that.
At the end of all of this, we need to get back to THE prime motivator for Christ’s coming into the world and going to the Cross. LOVE. JOHN 3:16, 17. WHOSOEVER WILL…. I’m a WHOSOEVER. How about you? Are you 100% sure that YOU are one of the ELECT? If not, maybe you need to find out. I take that back. There is No MAYBE about it; you DO need to find out. Your eternal destiny, as well as your present peace of mind, depend on it!
According to 1 Cor 14:33, God is NOT the author of CONFUSION. Calvinism, on the other hand, is REPLETE with it! Confusion. Uncertainty and a complete lack of genuine love or basic human compassion on the part of their hyper-controlling god, Even fallen humanity (by the will of the Calvinist god, for the sake of discussion) has a modicum of basic decency towards other people. Not everyone, but most people we know have a measure of compassion towards other people. Unless you keep company with Neo-Nazis or terrorists.
In closing, I’d like to leave you with a thought and then my ABSOLUTE FAVORITE quote by King James, (Yes, THE King James), who commented on the Calvinist gathering “Synod of Dort” and the doctrine that came out of it.
I’ve given the first point of Calvinism’s T.U.L.I.P some thought. TOTAL DEPRAVITY meaning INABILITY. If you know someone who used to drink and doesn’t anymore. Or used to do drugs and doesn’t anymore, or used to gamble and doesn’t anymore, then you have just disproven the first point of Calvinism. Without the ability to choose to change a situation, the drunk would always stay drunk. The drug addict would remain a drug addict. The gambler would keep gambling. And yet, I know both a former drinker and a former drug addict. Neither, sadly, are Christians, but they both decided that they wanted OUT of a self-destructive lifestyle and so they found a way to get out. If that is possible, then why can’t man, who has been said to be ‘incurably religious’, seek after God? In the Old Testament, (which goes back a significant amount of time PRE-Calvinism) there are any number of verses that talk about seeking the Lord. One of my favorites is Jer. 29:13 “You will seek Me and FIND Me when you seek after Me with all your heart.” This proves it can be done.
On the contrary, if there is NO WILL, and humanity , one day, stands before the great white throne judgement, to be condemned for sins that the god of Calvinism has decreed we would do, then that will be the BIGGEST INJUSTICE of time and eternity! Such a god can NOT claim the title , Righteous Judge .
I believe I already mentioned it before, but it bears reiteration; Calvinism’s resurgence in these days; with its lack of love or assurance of salvation is prime evidence of the days we’re in! 2 Cor 11:4 ,14 ; 2 Thess 2:3 ; 2 Tim 4:1
Referring to the fourth point of Calvinism, (Irresistible Grace) that God is the cause of BOTH sin and salvation, King James had THIS to say;
“This doctrine is so horrible that I am persuaded , if there were a council of unclean spirits assembled in hell, and their prince, (the devil) were to ask their opinion about the most likely means of stirring up hatred of men against God (their maker), NOTHING could be invented by them that would be more efficacious for this purpose, or that could put a greater affront upon God’s love for mankind, than the infamous decree of the late Synod of Dort…”
If I could reply, I would say, “Your majesty, King James, I have absolutely NO doubt, in my mind that the religion of Calvinism originated from that very locale!”
One Last Word……
Calvinism OR Christ: There is NO way to reconcile the God of the Bible to the god of Calvinism. One gives humanity the ability to choose to accept or refuse the gift of Salvation He offers. (Joshua 24:15) (Romans 6:23) How can anyone CHOOSE anything if free will does not exist? To force something on someone…(as in IRRESISTIBLE GRACE) is hardly gracious. Even if it’s something a person would want under more pleasant circumstances. The god of Calvinism is a hard-hearted control freak, who thinks that it’s wonderful that he pick a tolken group of people to make himself LOOK like he has an ounce of compassion. And, sadly, he’s fooled enough people, to this day.
I’m going to assume that you have enough compassion to do what would be right for any albeit FALLEN human to do. If you see a man robbing another, would you not make a noise to distract the robber and let the other man escape? Or you saw a man abusing a woman in the street as you’re on your way home from work, would you not stop and help the woman? If you’re in a boat, and you see two people in the water. One is holding onto his friend for dear life, but neither of them has much time left if they aren’t plucked out of that chilly water. Do you grab one or both and let them in your boat? If you say BOTH, then you are better than the god of Calvinism.
The God of the BIBLE loved His creation enough to die for ALL. So why aren’t all saved? NOT because God doesn’t want all to be saved, but because too many don’t want that salvation. They want to do what THEY wish with No ‘religion’ to mess with their plans and good time. WHOSOEVER WILL may drink of the water of life freely (Rev 22:17) How can John speak of a will that doesn’t exist? EVERY SINGLE SOLITARY PERSON at an evangelical crusade IS the elect, just because they chose to be there. Even cutting the number in half, one half being believers already, and the other half being friends and family, who the first half WANT to see come to Christ. EVERY SINGLE person, in that unsaved group can choose to respond to the evangelist’s message. A ‘spiritually dead’ person still has a mind, Will and intellect. They can still think through a scenario, and decide, based on what they hear, that they want what the person is offering. THAT is the difference between the God of the BIBLE and the despotic god of Calvinism.
So, the question remains; Do YOU want the God of the Bible, who loves ALL of His creation equally, or, do you want to live in doubt; believing that you MIGHT be part of this select puny group but never sure if the god of Calvinism really loves you as his elect, of if he’s just jerking you around, as one of the non-elect, so that you are all the more deserving of his judgement and damnation?
According to the Bible, God does not have favorites. (Romans 2:11) The god of Calvinism DOES. Supposing that you discovered that the god of Calvinism didn’t want YOU as one of his elect after all, and that he was just letting you believe you were one of his elect, ‘all the more to judge you’. Wouldn’t you like to know that there WAS a way to escape the eternal judgment to which this small ‘g’ god sentenced you? Don’t you want to TRUST the Jesus of your non-Calvinist, non-‘elect’ neighbors, who seem so sure of their Salvation. Before you answer, consider one more thing;
Did JOHN CALVIN die for ANYONE’S sins?
No? Well then, Jesus would be in a better place, of knowing whose sins HE was going to die for, than a guy who seemed more interested in his ‘rules’ of righteousness being kept, than how those people felt about the one, whose hyper moralistic thumb they were living under.
Again, I will ask, Who did Jesus come into the world to save? SINNERS. (1 Tim 1:15)
Who has sinned? Romans 3:23 ALL have sinned…. So, if Christ came into the world to save sinners and ALL have sinned, then where does John Calvin get off, insisting that Jesus only died to save a few sinners from hell? If an inheritance is in the bank for five kids but only two accept the money, that doesn’t mean the money wasn’t meant for all five, only that two of the five accepted the money that was intended for all five of them!
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“Who are the ‘elect’? WHOSOEVER WILL. “ ~Adrian Rogers
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Calvinism in the Garden: Who is the Author of the Fall?
Friday, September 16, 2011 at 3:59am
<--- Christ at Heart's door. Notice, He doesn't have a battering ram!I never intended it, believe me! I just got an email from a youtube page where I was listening to a COMMON SENSE sermon by (the LATE) Dr. J. Vernon McGee on the issue of 'ELECTION'. On that same page, the Late Adrian Rogers said that the 'ELECT' are WHOSOEVER WILL. John 3:16. God so loved the....ELECT? He loved the WORLD. However, to those who buy into the doctrine of John Calvin say that 2 Peter 3:9 says that it applies to the ELECT, whom GOD chose. We have no say in the matter of our own eternal destiny. If God chose you, be thankful. If He decided, on the other hand, that your mother or father or sisters, brothers, aunts, uncles, best friends were created to spend eternity in hell, then that's that. God decides. We have no choice in the matter.
When a Calvinist can say that, seemingly UNruffled by the possibility that his or her own family could end up spending eternity away from God, it causes me to wonder about the spiritual state of these people. It doesn't seem to bother them. Yet, for reasons known only to God and Dr. Phil, I continually find myself in a LATHER every time I end up talking to them; asking them...or trying to communicate with them that God could send your mother or father to hell, with NO say on the part of the person, as to where THEY want to go. It doesn't bother them!!! THAT is scary! I'm sorry, but these people and this doctrine do things to my blood pressure that I didn't think could be accomplished, this side of rushing out of a burning building!
Time and time again, I have dealt with this issue with some Christian people on this site and I've worked some parts of the issue out, by way of logic as well as specific verses in the Bible ( 2 Peter 3:9, John 3:16, 1 John 2:2) and then I considered something.... Take the doctrine of Calvinism back to the Garden of Eden. If it's true that we don't have a choice, and GOD decides our eternal destiny, then God decided that Adam and Eve would fall, DESPITE HIS WARNING against eating the fruit from the tree in the center of the Garden. IFCALVINISM is TRUE, then GOD CONTRADICTED HIMSELF and purposely lead Adam and Eve into the very sin He had warned them against! Like some cosmic Jim Henson, God was working the strings of the first couple....guiding Eve to take the fruit, as she gives into the temptation of the serpent. IF that be true, then GOD is the author of the Fall, NOT Adam and Eve! This would make God NEITHER Just Or Holy, but every bit as crafty as the enemy! And it would render the Bible no more reliable than the last issue of The National Enquirer and would give me a WHOLE NEW RESPECT for ATHEISTS!
Whose choice is it?
Does this make sense? I ask Calvinists to respond. Do you care that God may have pre-destined your mother or father or sister, brother or best friend,co-worker, favorite next door neighbor to eternal punishment minus their ability to decide? Do YOU resent God for forcing YOU to go to heaven, when maybe you like the idea of roasting marshmallows for eternity? Do you feel like you should have had a choice? DID Adam and Eve choose to Sin, or did GOD have Adam and Eve sin? If the latter, HOW can God be called Just or Righteous?
God/Serpent: Disguised as a good guy, the Calvinist god is every bit as deceptive as this thieving record-producer, who got what he had coming! But if the god of Calvinism IS the author of sin, who’s gonna fix his wagon???
