Calvinism series: Intro (2)

For the sake of simplicity, I will henceforth title the "why i'm not a calvinist anymore" series the "calvinism series" and will number the parts with the (#).

Introduction (Part 2)

Despite formal denials from some Calvinists and documents such as The Westminster Confession of Faith, John Calvin and the system of theology he championed does, "...assert that God is, in himself, the cause and author of sin..." (taken from a partial quote by John Milton). According to Calvin, it is all happening according to the perfect plan and purpose of God. Everything is as it should be. All Evangelicals would agree that God is ultimately going to have His Way. Of that, there should be no doubt. But, can we trace moral evil back to God in the same we can good things? As far as Calvin was concerned, even the first sin and its terrible consequences were orchestrated by God.

Calvin:
"God not only foresaw the fall of the first man, and in him the ruin of his posterity; but also at his own pleasure arranged it...some are preordained to eternal life, others to eternal damnation; and, accordingly, as each has been created for one or other of those ends, we say that he has been predestined to life or death."

The key to understanding Calvin is not only in the words "predestined to" but in the words "created for."

Calvin:
"God...arranges all things by his sovereign counsel, in such a way that individuals are born, who are doomed from the womb to certain death..."

Only if you understand and agree with these statements of John Calvin can it be correctly said that you are a true Calvinist, because all 5 points of Calvinist doctrine inevitably stem from this idea (unconditional election). You do not have to agree with everything that Calvin said or taught to be a Calvinist, but in order to be a true Calvinist, you do have to understand and agree with the central tenets and doctrinal distinctives of the Reformed faith.

Calvinist scholar John Feinberg:
"Sometimes it would be easier not to be a Calvinist...Calvinists hold views that appear at the very least counterintuitive. This is especially so with respect to Calvinist accounts of God's sovereign control in relation to human freedom and moral responsibility for evil. If Calvinists are right about divine sovereignty, there seems to be little room for human freedom. If freedom goes, so does human responsibility for sin. If Calvinists are right, it appears that God decides that there will be sin and evil in our world, maybe even brings it about that there is such evil, and yet, He is not morally responsible for any of it. We are. If this is Calvinism's God, Calvinism seems not only intellectually but also religiously bankrupt. Who would worship this God?"

Despite what Feinburg concedes, he still believes that Calvinism is the "portrayal of God" found in Scripture. How this can be, if what he says about Calvinism is true, is difficult for me to fathom.

Feinburg:
"Unfortunately, some Calvinists, because of their understanding of God's sovereignty, have denied that humans are free. YEt some of those Calvinists maintain that we are morally responsible for our sin, while God, who decreed our sin, is not morally accountable. When asked how this can be true, they respond that it is a paradox..."

Are these conflicts in Calvinism really only a "paradox" or are they hopeless contradictions? Is Calvinism compatible with Scripture? While it is not possible for a theological system to be self-contradictory AND true, it is possible for it to be internally consistent and NOT true or not true to Scripture. As will be proven in later parts of this series, Calvinism is both contradictory AND unscriptural.

I use the terms Calvinism and the Reformed faith interchangeably because, for all practical purposes, they are one and the same label.

Paul Enns:
"To speak of Calvinism is to speak of the Reformed faith. The term Reformed is today basically synonymous with Calvinism and distinguishes the Calvinist churches..."

The promotion of the Calvinist doctrine of predestination is promotion of the Calvinist doctrines of salvation and damnation. To say that many Calvinists are extremely zealous in their committment to win non-Calvinists over to the Reformed version of the Christian faith is definitely an understatement (as to why Calvinists ARE zealous in this regard will be discussed more fully in the next part of this series). Believing they are doing all non-Calvinists a favor by winning them over to Calvinism, many Calvinists have become proselytizers for the Reformed faith.

There is a widespread view among Calvinists that all non-Calvinist Evangelicals are Arminian in their theological convictions. I admit that I'm neither a Calvinist NOR an Armenian, thus I should not be labeled as being such...but I will touch on this issue a little later.

Calvinism amounts to Theistic Fatalism. A Theistic Fatalist believes that a personal God unconditionally determines where individuals go when they die, that is, whether they go to heaven or hell.

Wayne Grudem:
"By fatalism is meant a system in which human choices and human decisions really do not make any difference. In fatalism, no matter what we do, things are going to turn out as they have been previously ordained. Therefore, it is futile to try and influence the outcome of events or the outcome of our lives by putting forth any effort or making any significant choices, because these will not make any difference anyway."

The truth is, some Calvinists do not want non-Calvinists to know the full implications of Calvinism until after they have become committed Calvinists.

Lorraine Boettner explains one of the reasons behind the reluctance of some Calvinists to initially lay it all out on the table early on:
"In preaching to...those who are just beginning the Christian life...At that early stage little need be said about the deeper truths which relate to God's part. As in the study of Mathematics we do not begin with algebra and calculus but with the simple problems of arithmetic..."

The "deeper truths" to which Boettner refers to here are the distinctive doctrines of Calvinism. Some Calvinists are not only less than totally up-front, but they are not even being altogether honest with the non-Calvinists they are targeting. In the promotion of doctrines, what is held back or not expressed can be very misleading. Many Calvinists, when promoting Reformed Theology to a potential convert to Calvinism, typically limit the discussion to those features that SEEM positive to the uninitiated. However, it is what they DO NOT tell you that you really need to know in order to make a truly informed decision.

Calvinism undermines the scriptural doctrine of salvation:
1 Timothy 2:3-4 "For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, 4 who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth."
2 Peter 3:8-9 "But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. 9 The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance."
Isaiah 45:22 "Turn to me and be saved, all you ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other."
and ect...

Again, I will get into more scriptural detail in later parts.

Reformed Theology represents a serious threat to at least some of the people for whom that salvation was provided by Christ's death on the cross:
1 John 2:2 "And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world."
1 Timothy 2:5-6 "For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time"
Hebrews 2:9 "But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that He, by the grace of God, might taste death for everyone."

The salvation that is provided is also the salvation that is offered to them in a truly scriptural proclamation of the gospel of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ:
1 Corinthians 15:1-4 "Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, 2 by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you—unless you believed in vain.
3 For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures."