INTRODUCTION
Calvinism is making a comeback. More and more individuals have
converted to this belief. Allow me to give you my opinion on Calvinism. I
personally believe that there are, in fact, passages of Scripture where man has
no choice. Where you can interpret predestination (within that given context)
to mean that man does not CHOOSE to believe in God. At the same time, there are
also passages that would contradict this notion. Yet, since God’s Word CANNOT
contradict itself, we must conclude that something is amiss. What I have
learned about Calvinism is that, although her followers may, in fact, seem
genuine when discussing their beliefs, they often are not telling you the whole
truth (much as the Mormons and Jehovah’s Witness do. (Please note, I am not
claiming that Calvinism is a Cult). They don’t tell you that Total Depravity
does not mean that you are just a sinner, but that you are actually unable
(Total Inability) to believe in Christ. They don’t tell you that they think
that you cannot CHOOSE to believe in Him. They don’t tell you that they believe
Jesus ONLY died for the Elect (Those whom He predestined) and not “the world”
as John 3:16 would have you believe. They don’t tell you that they believe that
you are unable to Reject God’s gift of Salvation. There are many things that
the Calvinist does not tell you, but what they do say is just enough for you to
consider yourself like them. They ask you a series of loaded questions that
are, at face value, seemingly innocent enough, yet they lead to a non-sequitur
conclusion. For example, “Don’t you believe that we are born sinners?” or “Don’t
you believe that God is all-powerful?” better yet, “Can something that is dead
make any choices?” Each of these questions seems easy enough, but with a
Calvinist twist, you will find yourself trapped into espousing what they deem
to be doctrinal truth. I have met numerous people who were not Calvinists years
ago, but were later “converted” because of these apparent similarities,
claiming, “I guess I was a Calvinist the whole time!” Yet, this logic is not
sound. Consider, for example, I have two arms and two legs. A monkey has the
same. Therefore, I must be a monkey. Yet, we know that despite our
similarities, this is not true because we are also different in many ways. So
to with Calvinists. We may share the same Biblical foundation, yet our
conclusions differ drastically.
And so, my dear reader, I wish to give you a chance to make a
choice. You do have a choice, believe it or not. I want you to be consciously
aware when you encounter a Calvinist. Most of the time they will not say they
are Calvinist. Instead they will claim, “I’m not a Calvinist, I just believe
the Bible” or “I’m a Christian, not a Calvinist” or simply “I don’t like
labels.” With all this in mind, I have compiled a list of “indicators” that
will help you to recognize the Biblical view of the person to whom you are
speaking and the implications of what they are saying/asking.
·
A Calvinist has a different vocabulary than
those who hold opposing views. I have compiled a list of certain keywords that
you will notice when in a theological conversation with them. Now, please
understand, just because someone uses any of these words, does not mean that they
must be a Calvinist. And yet, it is highly probable that they are.
- Sovereign
-
Soteriology
-
Providence
-
Ordained
-
Propitiation
2. ENGLISH STANDARD VERSION (ESV)
·
You will notice that the Calvinist will cling to
a specific translation of the Bible. Produced through Crossway. Most of the
prominent translators were Calvinist. I had this revelation when I began to
read through the ESV Bible and noticed that they conveniently inserted the word
Sovereign to support their Biblical eisegesis.
3. CLOSE MINDED
·
The typical Calvinist will steer away from
Theologians, Philosophers, Apologists, etc who are not Calvinist. You may be
familiar with William Lane Craig, Norman Geisler, J.P. Moreland, Dr. Walter
Martin,… but since they are not Calvinist, they’re not right.
4. CHARLES SPURGEON
·
I have studied Christian Theology, Philosophy,
and Apologetic for years and I was not introduced to Charles Spurgeon until I
began my research on Calvinism. The Calvinist’s go-to Theologian is Charles
Spurgeon. He is not bad in and of himself, but when used to defend the
Calvinist position and/or be-little the non-Calvinist…that is when virtue turns
to vice.
5. THE "PROPHETS" OF CALVINISM
· The main “prophets” of Calvinism are John
Calvin, James White, R.C. Sproul, Charles Spurgeon, John MacArthur, and John
Piper. I say “prophets” because these
people hold a special place in the Calvinist’s heart. If you don’t agree with
these people, you must simply “not be enlightened enough.”
6. “SECOND CONVERSION/ENLIGHTEN"
·
When you meet a Calvinist, the conversation will
eventually move towards why you are not a Calvinist. I cannot tell you how many
times I have heard the Calvinist say that I am not a Calvinist because I
simply, “have not really studied enough,” or “I haven’t been enlightened.” I
have even heard Calvinists call it a “Second Conversion” when a non-Calvinist
becomes a Calvinist.
7. IMPLIED PRIDE
·
Along with #6, the Calvinist will make you feel
somewhat inferior and in some instances I have seen them make fellow Christians
question their own salvation. They really believe that they “dig deep” into the
Scriptures and that if you don’t have the right doctrine of how one is Chosen
by God, than you may actually not be chosen. This has caused some to question
whether or not they are actually chosen/saved.
8. REPLACEMENT THEOLOGY
·
This mainly applies to the Hyper Calvinist.
Replacement Theology is the belief that the Chosen People are no longer the
Israelites, instead it is the elect who are the Chosen People. The Church has
replaced Israel. The Hyper Calvinist will go so far as to say that any time the
word Israel is mentioned after Acts 2, it is talking about the
Church….seriously…. they believe this.
9. CONVERT PEOPLE
·
The Calvinist has an agenda. Almost every
conversation regarding Christianity is focused on the defense of Calvinism, the
belittling of all opposing views, and the goal of converting you to Calvinism.
10. QUOTING ROMANS 8-9 AD INFINITUM
·
If you notice how the cornerstone of an
individuals argument/belief is formed around Romans 8-9, they are most likely a
Calvinist.
11. WORSHIP MUSIC
·
If you stumble into a Church that focuses on
hymns because they detest modern worship music under the guise of, “It focuses
too much on man, and not enough on God” or “Hymns are more theological and
in-depth.” It is most likely a Calvinist Church. The Calvinist also hates modern worship
because it is too repetitive. In a nutshell, if worship sounds like a funeral
procession…most likely a Calvinist Church.
12. SHOTGUNNING
The
Calvinist does not play “fair.” You will notice if the person is a Calvinists
if they quote numerous references to support a multitude of points. In the
Apologetics/Debate world, this is actually a tactic called Shotgunning. Instead
of merely being organized and moving point by point… they want you to try to
address every one of their many points, thus handing complete control of the
argument to them.
13. PROOF-TEXTING
Proof-Texting is a technique that the
Calvinist will use to prove most of their points. This is “the method by which
a person appeals to a biblical text to prove or justify a theological position
without regard for the context of the passage they are citing” (http://www.theopedia.com/proof-texting).
In order to get around this, they will “shotgun” (#12) you so you won’t have
time to focus on a specific text/passage.
CONCLUSION
Some of you may be wondering, "What is the point of all this?" Please, let me tell you. The Church of America has become divided on so many levels. We are playing into the Devil's hands. The fruits of Calvinism are more unnecessary division. It's ok if someone doesn't hold the same view as you regarding HOW we are chosen. If you truly believe God is all-powerful, all-knowing, all-present, Almighty, then you must admit that you cannot understand Him. We know of the Trinity, but we cannot fully grasp it because we are finite human beings. We know that Jesus was fully God and fully Man but we cannot understand it because we are finite human beings. We know that God Predestines and that man has free-will, but we cannot understand this because, again, we are finite human beings. The minute we claim to understand HOW God works, we be-little Him....we limit Him. My God is so powerful and so beyond my understanding, that He is able to be in control whilst at the same time allowing man to choose his fate. Can't grasp this? Good! It's your first step in embracing your humanity and clinging to the one true God who surpasses all understanding.
