Comments, page 3
The comments on the other page are getting long (because of me and my long-winded answers😀), and so here's a fresh, new post for your comments (but you can leave them on any of the three posts that you want to). But remember to please see my rules for commenting on the "welcome" page before leaving your comment. Thank you!
I guess this is the only way to contact you. This comment is in reference to your page https://anticalvinistrant.blogspot.com/2020/10/list-of-calvinist-preachers-authors.html Regarding Mark Hitchcock, the evidence that he is a Calvinist in on his own church site here: https://faithbibleok.com/media/series/sgm477h/the-5-point-of-calvinism Regarding Ray Comfort, I'm not so sure that he is a Calvinist. If you are able, you can see his FB post where he starts with "Why I'm neither Calvinist nor Arminian" here: https://www.facebook.com/official.Ray.Comfort/posts/why-im-neither-calvinist-nor-arminianhow-do-gods-sovereign-grace-and-mans-respon/875228102497664/
ReplyDeleteThank you, Renee. I appreciate the info. Good catch on Hitchcock. I'll take off the "closet Calvinist" note.
DeleteAnd I actually just ran across that Ray Comfort headline the other day and was going to look into it. But I'm still not so sure Comfort isn't a closet Calvinist. In the article you shared, he says that faith is a gift, which sounds Calvinist to me.
And when he talks about human responsibility, he says: "And [Spurgeon] preached that it is the sinner's responsibility to trust in the Savior: 'Trust Christ with your soul and He will save it. I know you will not do this unless the Holy Spirit constrains you, but this does not remove your responsibility.'" So through a Spurgeon quote, Comfort confirms that the only way to trust in Christ is if the Holy Spirit forces us to, and that if the Holy Spirit doesn't force us to, it doesn't change that fact that we were required to (which means the non-elect will be punished for not doing what was required, even though they had no choice about it). Once again, this sounds Calvinist to me.
And in the Statement of Faith at Living Waters (https://livingwaters.com/about/#statement-of-faith) under the "Holy Spirit" heading, it says: "We believe that salvation, attested in all Scripture and secured by Jesus Christ, is applied to His people by the Holy Spirit... [The Holy Spirit] by His powerful and mysterious work regenerates spiritually dead sinners."
When I hear something like "salvation is applied to "HIS PEOPLE" and "the Holy Spirit regenerates spiritually dead sinners" and even "the MYSTERIOUS work of the Spirit," I hear Calvinism. Veiled, but Calvinism. Because to me, it's not saying that all people have the ability to believe and be saved, or that God offers salvation to all but that we choose to accept it or reject it. But it's saying that God pre-chose "His people" and the Holy Spirit then regenerates those people - "spiritually dead sinners" who cannot believe on their own - to cause them to believe and be saved. I may be wrong, but that's how I interpret what it's saying.
And under the "justification" heading, it says: "We believe that Christ, by His obedience and death, fully discharged the debt of all those who are justified. By His sacrifice, He bore in our stead the punishment due us for our sins, making a proper, real, and full satisfaction to God’s justice on our behalf." To me, this isn't saying that Jesus died for the sins of all people in order to purchase salvation for all, which we then choose to accept or reject. But it's saying that Jesus died only for those who will believe in Him. At least, that's how it sounds to me.
But I do see how sometimes Comfort can sound one way and sometimes the other. I think his main focus seems to be on evangelizing and unity in the Church, which might be why he doesn't focus on promoting his brand of theology, whatever it is. So while I can hear him sound non-Calvinist sometimes, I think there's enough to cause me to think otherwise. But I'll make a note saying that he's a possible Calvinist but doesn't seem to focus on promoting it, if he is.
Thank you for your comment and info. And yes, this is the only way to reach me. God bless!
You may be right about Comfort. I didn't look into him that deeply, but I agree with your assessment based on everything you just said. I find that concerning because of his "loose association" with Answers In Genesis at times. I know that many Christians have a "don't throw the baby out with the bath water" philosophy when it comes to divergent views on some topics, such as Calvinism, but IN the case of Calvinism I don't agree. I find the errant beliefs of Calvinism to be SO egregious that I find it very difficult to read or follow anything that anyone who holds those beliefs may write, even if on a particular subject they are 100% correct. I have that struggle right now, as I only just "discovered" that Ron Rhodes and Mark Hitchcock are Calvinists, hence the link that I sent to you. I have been reading a prophecy book by Rhodes, which led me down the "references" road leading to his "Calvinism." We have numerous books by Rhodes & Hitchcock purchased through a ministry that we have always considered trustworthy, but now I am concerned. I suspect they may be operating under the "baby-bathwater" philosophy since on the topics that are their ministry focus, Rhodes & Hitchcock are in agreement. I have reached out to someone within that ministry for clarification.
ReplyDeleteI know what you mean. I don't like to throw the baby out with the bathwater either, but I too have trouble listening to even the good, biblical things Calvinists teach and preach because I know what their deeper layers are, their bottom-line. And I know how they try to sound non-Calvinist and to use our naivete against us, to manipulate us into their theology. And so I don't trust even those who say that they're not pushing Calvinism on anyone.
DeleteI wish I didn't have to call out closet Calvinists, those who aren't really trying to push their Calvinism. I would love to be like "Let's just unify on the things we can agree on, and ignore the rest," but I think that's what got our churches into this mess in the first place. It's what allowed Calvinism to seep in slowly but deeply.
The bad doctrines of Calvinism cannot be separated out from the rest of their teachings. It contaminates everything, especially considering how they view God's character and activity in the world, and the abilities/responsibilities of mankind (or the lack thereof, I should say). This will affect every other part of their theology too, which makes it hard to trust any of it.
Plus, tolerating any level of Calvinism's theology gives it a foothold in the church, and it confuses the congregation because many people aren't aware of the signs/errors/dangers of Calvinism, so they can't be alert and discerning about it. The way I see it, Calvinism acts as a cancer with a goal of invading the body to grow and grow and take it over, under the radar. And so allowing even a piece of it gives it an open-door, allowing it room and time to grow in subtle ways until it's too big to stop.
This is why I tend to stay away from almost anything Calvinists write/preach, even the good things. (Though I could tolerate and appreciate scientific information from a Calvinist, such as pertaining to Creation Science, or something like that. I wouldn't have much problem with that.) And it's why I include closet Calvinists on my list, so that people can be discerning about their teachings as a whole, being aware of the soil it grows from.
In some ways, I really do think Calvinism and non-Calvinism cannot co-exist peacefully in a church. And churches, pastors, theologians, and authors should specify upfront if they're Calvinist, so that they don't deceive people into buying into a theology they don't want. And Calvinist pastors should never hijack a non-Calvinist church, as it happened with ours. But they often aren't this honest and forthright, preferring instead of indoctrinate people slowly and stealthily, under our noses. And this is why I take such a strong stand against it and ring the alarm bells loudly.
Blessings to you, Renee. And God bless your efforts to dig into all this. Jumping into the world of Calvinism is like jumping into an Alice-in-Wonderland rabbit hole, isn't it? :)
Almost every word you used in your whole paragraph starting with "Plus, tolerating any level of Calvinism's theology gives it a foothold in the church, and it confuses the congregation..." is EXACTLY what I myself have said too!!
ReplyDeleteGreat minds think alike. ;)
DeleteI just recently left a stealthily Calvinistic church. I stumbled upon this blog when I was researching criticisms on Calvinism.
ReplyDeleteI, too, have experienced much of the duplicitous doctrinal nonsense you describe here. I came to realize over time that the pastors believed their views--particularly 5-point Calvinism--was inerrant and anyone who thought otherwise were ignorant or sinners. The intellectual arrogance amongst the leadership was astounding.
Throughout the sermons, I spotted numerous profound contradictions I could not ignore. I eventually went to the leadership, and they didn't listen to me, to say the least. But the final straw was when I discovered they taught that "apostates" who abandoned their faith were entirely at fault only because they "wanted to sin." There was 0% acknowledgement over why people leave, like leadership hypocrisy and other significant issues. There was only blaming those for daring to leave the flock. Nevermind the massive contradiction that it ultimately "glorified" God!
With that, I left. I'm trying to find a church that doesn't teach such toxic doctrine, but it's easier said than done.
You're doing a great work by exposing this. Kudos.
Hello Valerie, I'm so sorry my reply never showed up here (I just realized it's missing.) I did reply on May 11, but it didn't publish for some reason. So I'll reply again. Sorry about the delay.
DeleteThank you so much for the encouragement! I really appreciate it! And I'm glad you had your wits about you to notice the things that were off with that church and pastor.
I totally understand so much of what you're saying. One of the early alarm bells I got with my ex-pastor's preaching was how he would make it seem like if we disagreed with him, then we disagreed with God. He'd say we had three options about his teachings: to ignore it, get angry about it, or accept it. Clearly, no disagreement was allowed. As a licensed counselor, I could tell something was very off, very manipulative, about the way he preached... and it made me listen really closely to his sermons, because anyone who needed to use those tactics was going to try to push something we'd naturally resist.
And we have friends who have recently left that church because of him and his leadership style and Calvinism - and he did a sermon (about church hurt/leaving a church) just before they officially left and said (among other things) that it's deadly for someone to leave a church, that it damages them and their children and future generations, and that those with "church hurt" need to repent of their bitterness. It was very strategic, in my view, especially since he added it as "bonus" material to his sermon, as if he had to make sure to preemptively mold people's opinions before they all heard this good couple was leaving.
I hope you find a good church soon. But I totally understand the "easier said than done" thing. Several people I know (including us) are coming to the same conclusion. God bless! And sorry again about the delay. I'll make sure the reply publishes this time before I leave the page. :)
Thank you for writing so extensively about Calvinism. A little background-I was raised Mormon and left when I was 18. My in-laws (Lutheran) rejected me because I was raised Mormon and so I spent the next 15 years in this limbo with God due to church and Christian hurt. But God changed my heart when I was 33 and my husband and I looked for a church to call home.
ReplyDeleteA year ago we started attending a Calvinist Church. I didn’t know what that was but from the first sermon something felt off to me. I won’t go into all the instances or this would be a book. But if you consider Mormonism a cult then let’s just say I was picking up on a lot of similarities. Over the course of a year my marriage went from the best it had been to the worst. I feel completely disconnected from the God I know changed my heart.
I was taken aside by one of the pastors wives after expressing some concerns to a member and when I said I just never feel uplifted after the sermons I was told that I just wanted fluff and not truth. And that if something made me uncomfortable then I was being convicted by God. I finally had the wherewithal to say, no I don’t think so. Which was not taken well. She then turned it on me and said I wasn’t feeling uplifted because I wasn’t attending all of the things that are expected. I was going to church and their homeschool PE but not the Bible study and small group. But to me church shouldn’t take up every moment of your life. It just becomes a checklist, especially for an introvert I don’t feel close to God constantly doing- I feel stressed.
They’ve promoted self erasure, to never trust yourself, not have boundaries, feelings are always to be mistrusted, if you don’t fall in line then you could be a false teacher, an unstable Christian or may not really be saved. So then it’s very unsafe to express anything other than agreement. This also feeds into the watch dog culture. I feel like they suck the life out of God. I can’t live like this anymore so we’re leaving. Thanking God I spazzed out during their membership classes and didn’t sign the papers to submit to church discipline.
I didn’t see you mention this yet, but they also have like a church promise members recite at baptisms. The whole congregation (members only) stand and recite something like promises to the church to be active in all the things and I thought that was weird to be like promising your devotion to the church and not to God?
Anyways, thank you for going into all of this so extensively. It’s really helped me understand what happened this last year of my life.
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DeleteAnonymous, Thank you so much for your encouragement and for sharing your story. But I am so sorry that you've gone through such struggles. I can't imagine how it's felt to go from one "cult" to another. Those must have been some difficult, suffocating years for you! But I give you so much credit for struggling through, seeing things clearly, and being willing to do the right thing and take the right stands even if it cost you a lot. And I'm really glad that it sounds like your marriage is still intact and that your husband has stuck with you, especially after that rocky year at the Calvinist church.
DeleteYou mentioned never feeling uplifted at that church. I realized how much my soul was starving for some godly encouragement after we left our church and went to a different once that preached about God's love and about Him carrying us through hard times (and not necessarily decreeing/causing those hard times first). Hearing simple truths about God's love was like breathing that first breath of fresh air and seeing the first bit of sunlight after being trapped in a tiny closet for years. I think lots of people's souls/hearts are suffocating under Calvinism, but they don't even know it. And they won't until it's too late.
They don't realize they're missing the simple, beautiful truths of Scripture - that their souls are starving and faith is shriveling up - because they're too busy filling their heads with deep Calvinist theology/academic information (and busy trying to convince themselves it makes sense, isn't contradictory, and doesn't destroy God's character). And so they can't see the forest for the trees anymore. And they're settling for a ton of (incorrect) information about God instead of having a relationship with God. And someday they'll wonder what happened to their simple faith and the simple joy of knowing/trusting God and His love and care. It's sad.
(And I agree that church shouldn't take up all our time. That's something that church - not God - imposes on people. I've got some big problems with what the Church in general has become over the years, the institution it's grown into. I think in many ways it can detract from a real relationship with God instead of helping facilitate it. But most people aren't aware because they're too busy with church things to notice. They are so busy doing things for God, that they don't see how they fail to be with God. Does that make sense?)
And wow, you summed it up so well when you said: "They’ve promoted self erasure, to never trust yourself, not have boundaries, feelings are always to be mistrusted, if you don’t fall in line then you could be a false teacher, an unstable Christian or may not really be saved. So then it’s very unsafe to express anything other than agreement. This also feeds into the watch dog culture. I feel like they suck the life out of God."
"I feel like they suck the life out of God" - I couldn't have said it better myself!
And you're so right in all you said there. In fact, recently I've been hearing from people at my ex-church that it has become a very clique-ish culture of "fruit-inspecting," judging people's faith by how well they measure up to what they pastor says good Christians should look like, always making people feel like they aren't good enough.
It's frustrating to know good, God-fearing, humble Christians have submitted themselves to this, can't/won't see what's wrong with it, won't allow themselves to heed the red flags and alarm bells they get, don't take the time to double-check the pastor's teachings, and won't dare to question the leadership for fear of looking like a bad Christian. The more I learn about it, the more I can see the sinister power of Calvinism in getting a stranglehold on people minds and faith. It becomes more cult-like the more I study it. It's sad.
But I'm so glad you had the courage to oppose it and that you and your husband got out of there. And now hopefully you can help others find their way out too. God bless. And thank you for sharing. :)
Hello,
ReplyDeleteI just found out about your blog a little while ago and I wanted to reach out with two questions:
1. Are you familiar with Answers in Genesis? I used to work for them and I'm grateful for much of their great content concerning biblical authority and cultural issues. Nevertheless, although they claim to not take a side in the Calvinism debate, my wife and I have noted that their conferences typically feature Calvinistic speakers (such as Costi Hinn, Voddie Baucham, and others). It's frustrating because we appreciate AiG a lot but their associations with Calvinistic teachers is worrisome.
2. Would it be possible for my ministry to be added to your list of non-Calvinistic teachers/writers? In addition to serving as a pastor, the Lord has allowed me to publish two books. I aim to use the platform I've been given to inform people about the dangers of Calvinism and how we can respond in grace, humility, and truth.
Thanks for your time,
Angel
Hello Angel, Thank you for your comment and insight. I do know of Answers in Genesis with Ken Ham. Like you, I truly appreciate their creation vs evolution research, and I have even shown lots of their videos to my kids because I think they're very valuable. But I didn't know about the Calvinist speakers at their conferences - that's sad to me that they'd do that. I wish they would just stick with creation vs. evolution, especially if they claim to not take a side.
DeleteBut I have suspected for years that Ken Ham is most likely a Calvinist, based on some research I did about him. But since he didn't talk about it or push Calvinism in his creation stuff, I let it slide and enjoyed the creation videos anyway. And because his focus wasn't on theology, I never included his name on my lists of Calvinist preachers/teachers/pastors. But I've always known to be cautious with him. Thank you for bringing this to people's attention. It's worth knowing and being aware of. :)
I'm glad to hear you've got a ministry about exposing Calvinism and that you want to do it with grace and humility. That's wonderful! And so important these days, with the way Calvinism is spreading. If you share the name of your ministry and/or books with me, I'll look into it. (It will take me some time though.)
And even if I don't add it to the actual lists on my other blog (I only have a few consistent names on that list, ones I've known for years), at least it will be here in the comment section for people to find... or maybe I could highlight it in its own post. I've done that before to help get the word out about other resources. God bless. And thank you for taking the time to visit and comment. :)
And one more thing: I just started publishing comments from this Comment Corral blog on my anti-Calvinism blog. So fill your next comment with things you'd like to have published on my other blog. It'll be like being a guest blogger for a day. :)
Delete(But I reserve the right to edit out things in people's comments that I don't want published on my blog, like identifying details about other people/churches, or links to websites I don't want to support, or if someone says something hurtful/bad information, or Bible verses in a translation that's copyrighted, etc. But I'll do my best to publish them as is.)
Heather,
DeleteThank you for taking the time to reply to my questions. Concerning Mr. Ham's stance on Calvinism, he put out the following article two years ago:
https://answersingenesis.org/blogs/ken-ham/2023/04/29/ken-ham-calvinist-or-arminian/?srsltid=AfmBOorRWiY6_ex1W7ojVw5Zv_pcJjBWRSoaD3QYj7RhC05rjCQUIWsd
Perhaps you'll find that to be helpful for your records. As for my books, I can email you the final manuscripts so that you won't be charged for anything. Otherwise, you can find them on Amazon:
- Creation Reformation: Returning to the Authority of Genesis (this one isn't about Calvinism but rather creation v. evolution).
- Does Truth Matter? (this is a commentary on 2 John and I do my best to clarify what election means, among other questions pertaining to truth and so on).
Here's my website:
https://biblically-speaking.ghost.io
It's still pretty barebones since I just recently started putting it together, but I'm currently working on a series of posts concerning Calvinism. I'll leave some thoughts in a follow-up comment for your readers (should you choose to publish it).
In Christ,
Angel
Thank you, Angel. I appreciate the offer for emailing the books, but that's okay, you don't have to. I don't share my email address publicly anyway, and so you wouldn't even know where to send it. And it would be too long for the comment section. But at least we all can find it on Amazon now. :)
DeleteAnd I appreciate you sharing your website with us. God bless your efforts and your ministry. And yes, go ahead and share some more thoughts in a follow-up comment. It sounds like you tackle the same kinds of issues I do. God bless!
(Part One)
Delete"Is that grace available to everyone? God's help to be saved?"
Seventeen years ago, a woman asked that question before a panel of three well-known Bible teachers. All three men addressed her query, however, one in particular said the following:
"You mean regenerative grace? No."
(Please know that "regenerative grace" is a man-made phrase that doesn't appear in the Bible and, in fact, contradicts what we do see in Scripture.) This takes us to the subject of Calvinism; what exactly did John Calvin teach and what does it have to with how that Bible teacher responded to that woman? Well, in his famous book Institutes of Christian Religion, John Calvin wrote the following:
"All are not created on equal terms, but some are preordained to eternal life, others to eternal damnation; and, accordingly, as each has been created for one or other of these ends, we say that he has been predestinated to life or to death."
Essentially, he taught that God has created certain people for eternal life and others for eternal damnation. If such an idea is scriptural, then the answer given to that woman's question was spot on. According to Calvinistic theology, it makes sense that only the elect receive this special regenerative grace from God. After all, they are the ones who've been preordained for salvation. If Calvinism is not biblical, however, then that lady was terribly misled (by a leading Bible teacher, no less).
So, let's compare these claims with the plain teaching of Scripture.
(Part Two)
DeleteAre there any passages from the Bible that speak of God's mercy extending toward all people? Consider the following verses from Psalm 145 (a beautiful Psalm about God as the Creator and Sustainer):
- "The Lord is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy. The Lord is good to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works... The eyes of all wait upon thee; and thou givest them their meat in due season. Thou openest thine hand, and satisfiest the desire of every living thing. The Lord is righteous in all his ways, and holy in all his works. The Lord is nigh unto all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth" (Psalm 145:8-9, 15-18).
Clearly, the scope here encompasses all of creation. God satisfies the desire of everything that lives, and no one can operate independently from God's sustaining power (Job 12:10, Acts 17:28). Moreover, Psalm 145:9 says that "... his tender mercies are over all his works." Human beings certainly qualify as God's works (Psalm 139:14, Ephesians 2:10)! Additionally, God is near to whom? "… to all that call upon Him in truth." If you are seeking after the Lord, then you have a promise straight from Jesus that your search will be honored by God (Matthew 7:7-8). God created us in His image and His will is that none would perish (2 Peter 3:8-9).
But let's look at another example in Scripture:
- "And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord" (Luke 2:8-11).
Most likely you're familiar with the Christmas narrative of Jesus' birth in humble Bethlehem. Well, note carefully what the angel who appeared to the shepherds on that special Judean night said: "I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people." If God's mercy is reserved for the elect and the elect only, how could the birth of Jesus possibly be good news for everyone else? After all, Calvinists who believe in a limited atonement would say that Jesus' blood wasn't shed for the non-elect. But according to Scripture, Jesus coming in the flesh is cause for rejoicing for everyone, because He came to die for everyone!
Although there are more examples we could look at from Scripture, I'll end with the words of Romans 5:17-19:
-"For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.) Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life. For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous."
Sin and death came into the world when Adam sinned by eating from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. There was no death or suffering in this world prior to Adam's sin. But we can't stop reading there: "… even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life" (Romans 5:18). How many men did the free gift come upon? All men! Just as Adam's sin affected the entire human race, the sacrifice of Christ was made on behalf of the entire human race. As you've probably noticed, the language used in these passages (e.g., Psalm 145, Luke 2, and Romans 5) is so plain that you have to do some serious theological gymnastics to try and make them say something else. May our thinking be built upon the strong rock that is Scripture instead of the sand that is man's wisdom and rhetoric!
Thank you for sharing, Angel - and for taking a stand against Calvinism, a theology which I too believe contradicts the plain teaching of Scripture. And as you said, Calvinism requires "some serious theological gymnastics to try and make [Scripture] say something else." (As a licensed counselor, Calvinism's mental gymnastics, word games, and manipulation really raise my red flags.)
DeleteHere are some examples of the mental gymnastics Calvinists would use to answer things you wrote (you might know this already, but I'm including it for the other readers):
1. They would agree that God pours His mercy/grace out on all people, but they break up "mercy/grace" into 2 types: a save-your-soul kind for the elect, and a give-you-food-and-water-while-alive kind for the non-elect. So they'll agree that God gives mercy/grace to ALL people - yet they'll hide the "non-saving" type as long as possible so that we don't catch on too quickly to what they really think, because it will alarm/repel us. Their duplicity makes us initially think they're saying the same things we are (when they really aren't) - and so we let our guard down and unwittingly follow them into Calvinism, unaware that they've got a deeper, unbiblical layer that they're hiding underneath the biblical surface-layer.
2. They'll agree that God is near to all who call on Him and that He honors those who seek Him. But they don't think that all people have the inherent ability to call on/seek God, but that the only ones who can seek God are the ones He first regenerated (the elect), giving them the desire/ability to seek Him and call on Him. But the non-elect will never want to seek God because they remain unregenerated, just like Calvi-god predestined. In Calvinism, if you seek God, it's because you are already elect/saved. And no one else can seek. As Calvinist Loraine Boettner said in The Reformed Doctrine of Predestination: "A man is not saved because he believes in Christ; he believes in Christ because he is saved."
3. They would agree that His will is that none perish, making it seem at first like they think (as most of us non-Calvinists do) that if God wants all saved then He must have given all people the ability/option to be saved. But once again, they have "two types": (1) God wills/wants all people to be saved, but (2) He also wants glory when He shows off His wrath/justice by punishing sin/sinners in hell, and so He created reprobates to punish. You see, Calvi-god has two competing wills/wants, which leads him to decree things he doesn't want or not decree things he does want. Calvinists will say "Yes, God wills/wants all people to be saved - and so He'll be sad that people are in hell - but He wants glory for Himself more than He wants all people saved, and so He predestined some people to hell."
Calvinism is one great big Alice-in-Wonderland rabbit-hole. A real "through the looking glass" experience, full of mental gymnastics, word games, duplicity, hidden meanings, etc.. And so we often think they're saying one thing when they're really saying something totally different. But by the time we catch on, it's usually too late because - having let our guards down, trusting they were on the same page we are and were preaching the Bible correctly - we let them slowly and strategically reel us into Calvinism, right under our noses.
But as you said, Angel: "May our thinking be built upon the strong rock that is Scripture instead of the sand that is man's wisdom and rhetoric!"
Amen and amen! Keep up the good work and may God bless your ministry! (I will republish this on my anti-Calvinism blog, but it may take awhile because I have other posts in line already.)
Oh, and one more bit of mental gymnastics: Calvinists will also use the term "all men," but they mean one of two things (neither of which is the same way we non-Calvinists use "all men/all individual people"):
Delete1. They will break up all men into two different types with different characteristics/qualifications/outcomes. Calvi-god loves "all men" but he loves them with two different types of love: a "saving love" for the elect and a "non-saving love" for the non-elect where he merely gives them food and water while they're alive before sending them to their predestined damnation.
2. And sometimes when they say "all men," they mean "all kinds of men/all nations": Calvi-Jesus died for "all men," but not all individual people, just all kinds of people, the elect from all nations.
But of course, we think at first that they're saying "all individual people" (which is how most of us would interpret "all") and so we let our guards down, listen to them more, and let them Pied-Piper us further and further into Calvinism.
The more we study Calvinism and its tactics, the deeper the rabbit-hole goes and the more bizarre it gets.
Concerning the concept of God having "two wills," I appreciate what Sebastian Castellio, a Protestant Reformer, pointed out about the problem with that (and he personally knew John Calvin and was familiar with his theology). He essentially said that God doesn't approve of man being double-minded:
Delete"A double minded man is unstable in all his ways" (James 1:8).
But according to Calvinistic theology, seemingly everything is not what it appears to be on the surface. For instance, God "loves" the world, but "world" doesn't literally mean everybody and His love is categorized into a generic kind of love for the lost and a salvific love for the elect. Isn't that what we'd call being "double-minded?" In fact, the AV1611 KJV dictionary defines "double heart" as "Deceitful; acting two parts, one openly, the other in secret." Sounds like Calvinism to me!
Regardless, I appreciate the opportunity to share some of my observations about Calvinism (especially in light of the plain teaching of Scripture).
Well said, Angel! Especially "But according to Calvinistic theology, seemingly everything is not what it appears to be on the surface." Thank you, and God bless! :)
DeleteMe again. I have more questions about your Calvinist List.
ReplyDelete(1) I see Henry Morris on your list. I am becoming more concerned about the positions of various Creation ministries that I have long supported. Can you provide for me the basis of your including him in your Calvinist list?
(2) In searching out information on Andy Woods I ran across your page on his Neo-Calvinism series. I've only listened to one message so far (007), but in it he mentioned that he is the "President of Chafer Seminary." Lewis Sperry Chafer was a 4 point Calvinist. So now I am wondering about Woods! How can he be anti-Calvinist and at the same time be President of Chafer Seminary?
(3) I am, unfortunately, becoming more and more concerned about the positions of several ministries that I and my parents have supported for decades! These include the Creation Ministries (ICR, AIG, CMI) AND, sadly, The Friends of Israel Ministry! I am finding more and more Calvinists either within their ranks or included as authors of books they are selling. (I had mentioned this before in my comment on your blog post back in February of 2025 when I provided the evidence of Mark Hitchcock being Calvinist.) I am on the verge of pulling my financial support for these organizations, something that upsets me greatly. I cannot, in good conscience, continue to send money to organizations that espouse a false theology - even if every other part of their theology is correct! I have been working on drafting communications to send to key people in two of them to inquire about their stance.
Hi Renee! Those are good questions, thanks for asking.
Delete1. About Henry Morris, I can't remember why I originally included him, but I always try to verify it with a couple sources or get a direct quote from the person. But looking into it again, it does seem hard to find things online about his theological stance. But I did find one source (Evidence for Christianity) which states that he was a Calvinist who believes in predestination and original sin. But this is what someone else says about him, without quotes from him, so it's possible that they (and I) are wrong. (I do not know who runs that site or what their views are, and I can't say I agree with their views on things, but they did say Morris was a Calvinist.) But until and unless I can verify it better, I think I'll remove his name from the list for now. It's possible that I originally found sources that assumed/believed he was a Calvinist, without conclusive proof. (Or maybe I had a different Henry Morris? But I can't tell now because there's no middle name.)
2. That's a good, insightful question about Woods. All I know is that I've listened to a bunch of sermons from Andy Woods, and he very clearly speaks against Calvinism in detail. Maybe there are multiple Chafer schools? Or maybe they hire a mix of Calvinist and non-Calvinist leaders?
3. I agree with you about being more and more concerned about the positions of ministries. I think many churches, pastors, ministries, schools, etc. are becoming Calvinist/Reformed (or at least becoming too friendly with or tolerant of Calvinism) because - in my opinion - Calvinism has hijacked the church and the seminaries, and as more people get trained in Calvinism, they go out and infiltrate everything. And they've often done it covertly, with the intention of converting everyone to their theology because they believe it's "the truth." And the rest of the church has been asleep, unaware that it's happening and ignorant about why it matters and why we should fight it. I think it's becoming harder and harder to find ministries, churches, seminaries, theologians untainted by Calvinism. And I, too, have stopped giving to certain places because they're Calvinist. They might be doing other good things, but I don't want my money funding their unbiblical theology.
It's so great to hear that you are so concerned about knowing who/what you are supporting, that you doublecheck their theological stances, and that you're willing to call them to the mat and take a stand against them, instead of just blindly trusting everyone and tolerating bad theology. If more people did what you are doing, Calvinism wouldn't have taken over like it has. God bless!
Hi Renee,
DeleteAs someone who has been deeply impacted by Henry Morris, I can speak with some knowledge on this subject. Yes, Morris himself admitted that he held to Calvinistic views, albeit in "moderation." You can find the specific quote in the Introduction for his Study Bible. Ironically, though, I noticed that his Calvinistic line of thinking occasionally contradicted his other (otherwise solid) notes on topics like the atonement.
Regarding what you said about various creation apologetics groups compromising on the issue of Calvinism, I have had the same conversation with my wife. We are deeply concerned about this issue, and it's frustrating that otherwise solid ministries like AiG and ICR are yoked with false teachers by association. If you look at the lineup for AiG's 2026 Pastor's Conference, that tells you everything you need to know.
If Heather allows this, I can provide some links to my writings on creation apologetics. I'm deeply passionate about the importance and relevance of Genesis and perhaps you'd find the insights God has revealed to me through studying His Word over the years to be both useful and edifying.
Thank you for your input, Angel. Sure, I'll post the links. Thanks for sharing. :)
DeleteThanks! Here are a few articles that I hope will be helpful and/or informative:
Deletehttps://biblically-speaking.ghost.io/does-the-age-of-the-earth-really-matter/
https://biblically-speaking.ghost.io/did-the-early-church-even-know-about-evolution/
https://biblically-speaking.ghost.io/dragons-arent-real-right/
Thank you, Angel. I thought it would publish your reply with links embedded, so that people could click on it and be taken right to your posts, but it didn't seem to happen that way. But at least people can cut and paste the address to get to your articles. Thank you for sharing.
DeleteThank you, Angel, for sharing your site.
ReplyDelete