Five Misconceptions About Calvinism

[Hammster]

Calvin's dictatorship and harsh control over Geneva remind me more of Saul before he became Paul.

#CalvinismDefeated.

 

[GingerBeer]

1. It kills evangelism

Apostle Paul

Paul was not a Calvinist.

 

[jimmyjimmy]

I think you missed the context of his post.

That's what happens when people jump in without bothering to follow the thread.

 

[jimmyjimmy]

Paul was not a Calvinist.

Of course. It's the other way around. You do who was born first, right?

 

[GingerBeer]

Of course. It's the other way around. You do who was born first, right?

I think you left a word out.

 

[jax5434]

That's what happens when people jump in without bothering to follow the thread.

Read it from your first post. I'm quite sure I have the context right.
God Bless
Jax

 

[-V-]

Every doctrine held by man is man-made.

Then you agree it's not a misconception.

The misconception implies that Calvin made it up out of whole cloth with no effort at an honest understanding of the Bible.

No, that's a straw man version of the "misconception". Honest people get things honestly wrong all the time. That they're trying to be honest doesn't change that.

All I can say is that I came to the belief simply by reading the Bible, with no other Calvinistic influence in my life. I was raised in a strictly Arminian household and had only known Arminian Christians, so the argument that it was the product of someone's wild imagination strikes me as profoundly foolish. If the idea is wrong, then it's a false notion naturally derived from reading the Bible.

How many millions of people think the Bible says, "money is the root of all evil"? Guess what, they're all still wrong, no matter how many think that. And no one is saying it's just "a product of their wild imagination." It's a product of misreading.

 

[jimmyjimmy]

Read it from your first post. I'm quite sure I have the context right.
God Bless
Jax

You jumped into the middle of something, and no, you don't have the context right. That's obvious to me. You know, the guy who wrote the post you've misunderstood.

 

[-V-]

You jumped into the middle of something, and no, you don't have the context right. That's obvious to me. You know, the guy who wrote the post you've misunderstood.

His response is on the first page, post #11, and is responding directly to your very first post. That's "jumping into the middle"??

It also seems obvious to some of us that he had the context quite right. How about being a tad bit more helpful and explain how he got the context wrong, explain how you were misunderstood.

 

[ToBeLoved]

Calvin's dictatorship and harsh control over Geneva remind me more of Saul before he became Paul.

Need more info. Got a source.

 

[ToBeLoved]

His response is on the first page, post #11, and is responding directly to your very first post. That's "jumping into the middle"??

It also seems obvious to some of us that he had the context quite right. How about being a tad bit more helpful and explain how he got the context wrong, explain how you were misunderstood.

I'd be interested in hearing that also.

 

[rockytopva]

Eliza Edmunds Hewitt was born June 28, 1851 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Educated in the local school system, she graduated as valedictorian of the Girl's Normal School that she attended. She became a teacher in the public schools of her city.

But then came misery. Her career screeched to a halt when she was forced to bed with a painful spinal problem. Lying in bed, she could have been bitter. Instead, she studied English literature and began to sing and write:

Sing the wondrous love of Jesus; sing his mercy and his grace!
In the mansions bright and blessed he'll prepare for us a place! (sung in our old Pentecostal Holiness church with much emotion and shouting).

And probably my favorite song by this lady, "My faith has found a resting place"

My faith has found a resting place,
Not in device nor creed;
I trust the Ever-living One,
His wounds for me shall plead.

I need no other argument,
I need no other plea;
It is enough that Jesus died,
And that He died for me.

Enough for me that Jesus saves,
This ends my fear and doubt;
A sinful soul I come to Him,
He’ll never cast me out.

My heart is leaning on the Word,
The written Word of God,
Salvation by my Savior’s name,
Salvation through His blood.

My great Physician heals the sick,
The lost He came to save;
For me His precious blood He shed,
For me His life He gave.

I need no other argument,
I need no other plea;
It is enough that Jesus died,
And that He died for me!

I simply, along with Eliza Edmunds Hewitt, do not need no Calvinistic argument, or no Calvinistic pleas, it is enough that Jesus died for me! No need for Calvinism!

 

[TheSeabass]

Below are 5 common misconceptions about Calvinism. Please post either in either pro or anti arguments on any of these 5 misconceptions. (yes, they are all misconceptions)

1. It kills evangelism

If before the world began, God alone already determined salvation for man in who would be saved and who would be lost, then evangelism serves no purpose.

Calvinism and the Great Commission
These fundamental premises of Calvinism bring us back to the primary question posed earlier. If a person’s salvation was decreed before the foundation of the world, and there is nothing that can be done to alter that, what is the purpose of preaching the gospel to the whole creation when: (a) it would be impossible for the whole creation to believe; (b) the fate of all people already has been “set” (in predetermined theological “concrete” so to speak)?

The fundamental premises of Calvinism may be summed up in this well-known saying of a bygone era:

• Everyone’s salvation or condemnation was determined before time began.
• Therefore, if one seeks redemption, he cannot find it.
• If he finds it, he cannot obtain it.
• If he obtains it, he cannot lose it!

Such is a maze of incomprehensible confusion. It does not take an Aristotle to conclude that this theological system is beyond the sphere of both inspired Scripture and common sense.

2. It is a man-made doctrine

True, no argument here from me.

3. It eliminates free will and human responsibility

If God decides for you what your eternal destiny (heaven or hell) will be before the world began, then what free will did you have that? None. It was eliminated.

God has commanded men to believe as the jailer in Acts 16. The imperative implies man has both ability and responsibility to believe. Yet Calvinism comes along as says man is too depraved to believe, so God has to first "regenerate" him and then give him faith as a gift thereby removing the responsibility from man to believe and evidently bumping the responsibility upon God to cause man to believe. For if man is not able to believe and God requires belief, then who is going to be responsible for man believing? Cannot hold man responsible for what is impossible for man to do. Must be God's responsibility or whoever's responsibility but not man's responsibility. If man can only have faith if God gives it to him, then who is responsible for those disciples in Matthew 8:26 for not having sufficient faith or no faith Mark 4:40?

4. It promotes “easy believism”

Cannot recall the numbers of times I catch Calvinists adding the word "only" to God's word thereby changing a verse to read one is saved by faith only.

5. It makes God a moral monster

Did God cause Pharaoh to disobey just so God could punish him? Pharaoh could only do what God's sovereignty forced him to do? If "yes" then free will is eliminated per #3 above and God is unjust ie, a moral monster.

 

[Hammster]

If before the world began, God alone already determined salvation for man in who would be saved and who would be lost, then evangelism serves no purpose.

What if God ordained both the ends and the means?

 

[Hammster]

Did God cause Pharaoh to disobey just so God could punish him?

Yes. For His glory.

“I will harden Pharaoh’s heart so that he will pursue them. Then I will receive glory by means of Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am Yahweh.” So the Israelites did this.”
‭‭Exodus‬ ‭14:4‬ ‭

 

[jimmyjimmy]

The fundamental premises of Calvinism may be summed up in this well-known saying of a bygone era:

• Everyone’s salvation or condemnation was determined before time began.
• Therefore, if one seeks redemption, he cannot find it.
• If he finds it, he cannot obtain it.

If I saw an argument against Calvinism in your post, I could reply to it.

 

[-V-]

Yes. For His glory.

“I will harden Pharaoh’s heart so that he will pursue them. Then I will receive glory by means of Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am Yahweh.” So the Israelites did this.”
‭‭Exodus‬ ‭14:4‬ ‭

You can't ignore other passages that state Pharaoh hardened his own heart, though.
Exodus 8:15, Exodus 8:32, Exodus 9:34.

See this article:
Who Hardened Pharaoh's Heart?
(Spoiler: in the Hebrew language, "God hardened Pharaoh's heart," means God allowed it to be hardened; it doesn't mean God forced it on Pharaoh.)

 

[-V-]

If I saw an argument against Calvinism in your post, I could reply to it.

 

[ToBeLoved]

If before the world began, God alone already determined salvation for man in who would be saved and who would be lost, then evangelism .

Yup. Good point.

 

[tryintogrow]

Could I offer a thought as an outsider who stumbled on this thread? I am neither a die-hard Armininian nor a persuaded Calvinist. I see both sides of it, both in Scripture and by observing human life.

Jesus tells us to judge a tree by the fruit it bears. A lot of people get scared off from Calvinism due to the logical conclusions it has wrought on so many of its promoters. Why does Calvinism have the stereotype of a free ticket to heaven? This doctrine has indeed gone woefully awry in some people, and people tend to think the tree grew twisted because it was a bad tree at its root.

Also because Calvinists love to argue. They tend to be obsessed with promoting Calvinism. Any time you want to get a Calvinist spun up, just say the words Pentecostal Holiness, and off they go. Is this the fruit that grows from God's revelation? If God turns people into intellectual bullies, there's something wrong.

Finally, for me personally, Calvinism offers no comfort. God will show up whenever He shows up, draw me to Him whenever He pleases, and make me a better person only if He feels like it. I could cry, scream, pray, shout, study, or expend all my energy, and He might just remain completely distant irregardless. I can't wrap my mind around a good Father acting that way.

Just some thoughts from a passerby with no theology degree.