If You Are Rejecting God ... (and "What is Calvinism?")

If you find yourself rejecting God because of some of the terrible or confusing things others tell you about Him, and you don't want anything to do with Him because you don't think you can trust a God like that ... it might just be that they are telling you about the Calvinist God.  It might be that you are simply rejecting Calvi-god, because you sense that something's very wrong with him.  

 Well, I say that you're right.  Something is very wrong with him.  And he is not the God of the Bible!



Calvinists will say that Calvinism IS the Gospel, that they are one and the same.  (For more on what Calvinism teaches and why it's wrong, see some of the links to other people's Anti-Calvinist writing, farther down the list after the links to mine, in "Links to other Anti-Calvinism Posts".)   
But do you want to know my brief answer to "What is Calvinism?"...

 It's Satan disguised as Light.  It's a wolf in sheep's clothing.  It's cleverly-packaged lies, twisting Scripture so subtly that people aren't even aware they are being led astray.  It's so willingly accepted and easily spread because it makes people feel like they are being truly humble, like they are honoring God, if they accept that twisted theology without any questions or push-back.  It's using God's Word against God.  

 It is demonic!  
And it does enormous damage to God's Truth, God's character, Jesus's sacrifice, and people's faith.  In fact, I think Calvinism bears some of the blame for the atheism that's out there today.  Because who wants to get close to a "god" like that!?!  Who can trust a "god" like that!?!
(See "Calvinism - A Different Gospel" and "Why is Calvinism So Dangerous?" and "If Calvinism is true, then God is a liar!")



But before you reject God altogether, I suggest getting to know the God of the Bible first.  Yes, the God of the Bible can still be scary and a bit confusing.  But even when He's hard to understand and His ways are hard to accept sometimes, He makes sense.  And He can be trusted, if you get to know Him for who He really is. 

 Throw out Calvi-god, and read the Bible to see who God really is.  (And I would say start with the New Testament, so you can see what God in the flesh (Jesus) is like, before trying to understand the God of the Old Testament.)  

 Do not lose your chance for eternal life by letting someone convince you that Calvi-god is the God of the Bible.  "But I didn't like the God of Calvinism, and so I rejected You altogether" will not be an acceptable excuse when you stand before God and give an account for why you didn't believe in Him.  Throw out the Calvinism, and take the time to find out who God really is.  It's worth whatever time it takes.  Because your eternal soul depends on it!

 See: 
"Starting your own relationship with Jesus Christ (And Why We Need Him!)"
"'Why is the God of the Old Testament so angry?' is the wrong question"



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List of Calvinist Preachers, Authors, Theologians, Websites, etc.

I  found a lot more names to add to my list of known Calvinists (found in my various "How to Tell if a Church, Pastor, or Website is Calvinist" posts).  [FYI: I added a note at the bottom of this post on May 5, 2021.]    And so here it is, a "master list" of known Calvinists to help you be careful and discerning about who you listen to and where you get your theology from.  There are plenty more Calvinists out there, but these are just the names that I ran across the most.   These are either definite, self-professed Calvinists or "most likely Calvinists," in my estimation.  (I haven't heard of most of them, but it's good to know their theology before I do.)   After finding these names in various places online, I looked up each person to see if they are Calvinist.  If they did not self-identify as a Calvinist, I tried to figure it out based on the statements of faith of the groups/churches they belong to, the books they write, the t...
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Because it  appears  to teach biblical truth while actually teaching  the opposite  - while using  manipulation and cult-like tactics to suck you in!  And it's spreading.  Stealthily, fast, aggressively. (We watched it happen firsthand in our church, which is why I wrote this blog.  See  "What's the best way to make people agree with your Calvinist views?"    Sadly, we ended up  leaving that church , a place we attended almost 20 years.) [ I updated this November 2022 to try to shorten it.  I failed.  But I hope it's more readable and streamlined at least.   If you only read one anti-Calvinism post of mine, I think it should be this one.  But I'm warning you, this post is long.  Very long.  So pack a lunch and bring a sleeping bag.  But it has to be long because Calvinism is so deceptively convoluted that it takes time to peel off the layers so that you can see it for what it really is.  ...
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[Finally, the much-shorter version - I said shorter, not short😉 - of my "But predestination!" series.  The longer version - full of many more Calvinist comments, my Calvinist ex-pastor's sermons, and my replies to them - can be found by  starting here .  But in this simplified version, I'm simply sharing the basics.  And I'll do a tiny version soon too, cutting out almost all quotes and memes.  But, oh, they add so much that it's hard to cut them out. ] At the heart of Calvinism is predestination and God's sovereignty (among other things, like "total depravity"), which according to Calvinism essentially amounts to: "God preplans and controls everything, even sin and evil and all our decisions, and so He pre-picks who goes to heaven and who goes to hell.  He causes the 'elect' to believe in Him and be saved, but He made sure the 'non-elect' have no chance or ability to believe and be saved because He predetermined they'd ...
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(For just the "Is the ESV a Calvinist Bible" part of this post, click here .) In my normal Bible reading today, I came across a verse about "singleness vs. marriage" that destroys Calvinism in a few short words: "But the man who has settled the matter in his own mind, who is under no compulsion but who has control over his own will, and who has made up his mind not to marry the virgin - this man also does the right thing."   ( 1 Corinthians 7:37, NIV ) When you get past all the layers Calvinism wraps itself in to disguise the bad parts, it ultimately teaches - at the heart of it all - that God causes/controls  everything , even controlling our wills and causing our sins.  (But He then punishes  us  for the things He caused us to do, which would make Him unjust, no matter how much Calvinists try to deny it and cover it up.  See  this post  for some links about that.)  Calvinism ultimately teaches that everything we do is because God p...
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"But Calvinists don't say God causes sin and evil!"

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If you point out to Calvinists that Calvinism's view of sovereignty - that God fore-ordains and orchestrates everything that happens and we had no ability to do anything differently - makes God the cause (and truly the only  voluntary cause) of all sin and evil, they'll probably respond with something like "That's not what we're saying.  You're putting words in our mouths.  And you don't understand Calvinism."   When they do that, show them a few of these quotes -  Ca lvinists' own words about their beliefs of God's sovereignty and how He preplans, will, ordains, orchestrates, directs (code words for "causes")  everything  that happens.  And then ask them if they still think you're really misunderstanding them.  (Bold emphasis added) [And before reading the quotes, here's a great, satirical 4-minute video that I think everyone should see:  Hitler and Calvinism .  Awesome!] 1. R.C. Sproul Jr.  ( Almighty Over All) :  ...
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The Cult of Calvinism

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