Calvinist Bad Logic #1: Never Let A Calvinist Define The Terms!
I want to share an
important warning when talking with Calvinists. And I'll do this by
giving you an example, calling it "Bad Logic #1 (Numbers are in no
particular order, though):
(And they say He will only do it for the "elect." And the non-elect can NEVER find Him because He won't cause them to find Him because He predestined them for hell.)
They compare spiritual death to physical death, saying that a spiritually-dead person is as dead as a dead body, and that since a dead body can't do anything but helplessly lay there all dead then God has to be the one to cause the dead person to seek Him and believe in Him. Because "dead bodies" can't do anything on their own.
(Yeah, well, if they can't do anything ... then they can't sin or rebel against God either. And so Calvi-god – my name for Calvinism’s god - is really punishing them in hell for doing nothing!)
And they say that since He is "sovereign," God is in control of who gets saved and who doesn't, and everything that happens is the way God planned it to happen and caused it to happen. (Because, according to them, a "sovereign God" HAS TO control everything ... or else He's not God.)
Warning: If Calvinists can convince you to agree to their definitions of "depraved" and "dead" and "sovereign" - if you don't question them - then they've already got you beat!
But what you should be asking yourself is: Where is this in the Bible? Where is the verse which says that losing the ability to make decisions was a consequence of the Fall? Where is the verse that says "dead" means you can't think on your own, or seek God, or want God? Where are the verses that confirm their definitions of "depraved" and "spiritually dead" and "sovereign"?
(They will find verses here and there, taken out of context and mis-applied, to support their views. Sometimes they will even “verse bomb” you with many verses, causing you to be so overwhelmed that you simply give up, shut down, and fall in line. But you need to always look at the verses in context, look up words in the concordance, find the assumptions and presumptions they are basing their interpretation on, and ask yourself "Is this what the verse really, clearly, plainly says? Or are they inferring things from what the verse says?")
Never let a Calvinist define the terms or convince you of their definitions of things.
Whoever defines the terms dominates the conversation!
You MUST question every term and every verse a Calvinist uses.
You MUST look for the "hidden layers" that are underneath what they say, the things they really mean but that they hide under more acceptable-sounding ideas.
You MUST compare it all to what the Bible plainly says. (Which do you really think is the more accurate one: What God plainly says … or what the Calvinist tells you God meant to say? Does God mean what He says or not? Does God say what He means or not?)
And you MUST take Calvinist teachings to their logical and natural conclusions to see how wrong they are, how damaging it is to Truth and to God's character.
(But Calvinists will try to stop you from looking into it more deeply by accusing you of questioning God or the Bible, of "talking back" to God, of being unhumble, of worshipping free-will, of wanting to be in control over God, etc. They are very cult-like in their attempts to manipulate and control you. But you won't notice it as manipulation, because it comes across as simply helping you be a better, more God-honoring, more intelligent Christian. And what good Christian doesn't want that? And therefore, many will want to be convinced of this stuff, and they'll never see the need to question what they're being taught. But you must question it. You must consider where their teachings lead to, in order to find out what they're really saying. And ... just wondering ... but if Calvi-god supposedly controls everything we do, then how can we "talk back" to him anyway?)
Okay, so let's examine in this series some more "bad logic" from Calvinists (and this is just a taste of it). The kinds of things that trap good Christians. The Calvinist ideas that, if you accept them, have already defeated you and sealed your fate in becoming a Calvinist. (Some I'll explain more fully than others.)
One of my greatest goals in writing about Calvinism is to expose their bad logic, where their bad logic leads (the damage it does to truth and God's character), and the ways they manipulate people, so that you can know when and how you're being manipulated. And knowing ... as they say ... is half the battle. (But Calvinists won’t see it as manipulation. They’ll just see it as “boldly speaking the Truth” and “being true to the Word”.)
(For all the posts in this series, see the "Intro ..." Or look for "'Calvinist Bad Logic' Series" in the labels on the side-bar. Or find the whole series in one post, "When Calvinism's 'Bad Logic' Traps Good Christians.")
