The Calvinist ESV: "Refuse to Believe/Obey"

I am breaking the "A Random Verse That Destroys Calvinism (And 'Is the ESV a Calvinist Bible'?)" post up into shorter segments so that each verse (or two) gets it own post.



 #45-53:  I pointed out earlier several times when the ESV changed "believe" (verb) to "believers" (noun), making it less about what someone chooses to do and more about who they are (or as Calvinists would say, "who God predestined them to be").

Well, the ESV also makes the same kind of change in Romans 15:31, where it changes it from "them that do not believe" (KJV) to "unbelievers."  This also changes it from people doing some thing, having the responsibility/choice over whether they believe or not, to them being some thing, a non-believer (one of the non-elect, in Calvinism).  Since "them that do not believe" is more about people doing the action of not believing - and since Calvinists think we don't really have a choice about if we believe or not - it makes sense that the ESV would prefer instead to say "unbelievers," because the noun "unbelievers" is more about who they were created to be (the non-elect) instead of what they do.  It's a teeny, tiny, microscopic step from "unbeliever" to "non-elect."

The interesting part of this is that when I looked up the Greek for this verse, it says that the phrase "do not believe" is actually "refusing to be persuaded."  And when I looked it up in the concordance, the definition did indeed show not just that someone doesn't believe or doesn't obey (as if they have no ability to), but that they refuse to believe or obey.  This, to me, is a much greater indication of "free-will" than "Calvinist predestination," because we can't refuse something unless it's legitimately offered to us, available to us, possible for us.  You can only "refuse" a gift if it was offered to you and possible for you to accept it.  You can only refuse to do something if it was possible for you to do it, if you had the chance to do it.  If it wasn't truly available to you or possible for you, then it wouldn't be "refusing" it.  

In Calvinism, the non-elect are non-believers not because they choose to reject the gospel and the offer of salvation (despite Calvinists who try to make it sound like they believe in free-will), but because salvation was never truly available to them because they were created by Calvi-god for hell.  They never truly had the option of believing because they were predestined to (forced to) be unbelievers.  Therefore, they are not really "refusing" to believe or refusing the gift of salvation, because it was never really offered to them to begin with.  And so it's no wonder we see no reference to "refuse" in this verse in the ESV.  

The funny thing is, this word for "refusing to be persuaded" is also in the following verses (among others I'm not listing), but the ESV (and many other translations) leaves out any indication of "refuse."  And leaving out the "refused to" downplays personal responsibility and the control we have over our choices, allowing Calvinists to read the verses in a more Calvinist way. 

John 3:36 (ESV): "Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life ..."  (But it's not just that they do not obey, as if they were one of the non-elect, forced/created to "not obey"; it's that they "refused to obey/believe," meaning that they rejected a legitimate offer/chance to obey/believe.)

1 Peter 2:7-8 (ESV): "So this honor is for you who believe, but for those who do not believe, 'The stone that the builders rejected has now become the cornerstone,' and 'A stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense.'  They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do."  [It would be so much less Calvinistic to say "but for those who refuse to believe" and "because they refuse to obey the word."  And yet that's what it should be!  Note: While Calvinists might say that this verse means the people were destined to disobey because they were non-elect, I think there are two other, better, more biblical ways to read this.  First option: It's not that they were destined to disobey as if they were non-elect; it's that there were destined to stumble because they disobeyed, because they rejected Jesus, the cornerstone.  Here's how the KJV ends verse 8: "... even to them which stumble at the word, being disobedient: whereunto also they were appointed."  Maybe others won't agree but, to me, the KJV shows that they are destined to stumble because they are disobedient, whereas the ESV makes it sound like they were destined to disobey and stumble.  I think it makes more sense to say that all those who choose to live in disobedience, to reject Jesus, are going to (appointed/destined to) stumble, not that God destines certain people to be disobedient, which would turn Him into an unjust, untrustworthy God.  Second option: This verse is a reference specifically to the Jews who rejected Jesus.  God foreknew they would reject Jesus, and He allowed them to be destined for that end, working their self-chosen unbelief into His redemptive plans.  Both of these still support free-will and personal responsibility.]

Acts 14:2 (ESV): "But the unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers."  (More accurately: "But the Jews who refused to believe ...") 

1 Peter 3:20 (ESV): "because they formerly did not obey God ..."  (No, they "refused to obey God.")

1 Peter 4:17 (ESV): "For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God?"  ("... for those who refuse to obey the gospel of God?")

Hebrews 3:18 (ESV): "And to whom did he swear that they would not enter his rest, but to those who were disobedient?"  ("... to those who refused to obey?")

Romans 10:21 (ESV): "But of Israel he says, 'All day long I have held out my hands to a disobedient and contrary people.'"  (Not just "disobedient," but "those who refused to obey.")  

Romans 2:8 (ESV): "but for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury."  ("... for those who refuse to obey the truth!"  In Calvinism, the non-elect do not obey the truth because it was never possible for them to obey the truth.  But as the Greek says, it's that they refused to obey the truth, meaning that it was possible for them to obey the truth but that they rejected it.  There are no non-elect people who are predestined to hell with no chance of believing or being saved.  There are only those who had the chance to believe and be saved but rejected it.)

What a difference "refused to" makes!  And no wonder the ESV leaves it out.  All those missing "refused to's," all those "who did not believe" (verb) changed to "unbelievers" (noun), all those "who believed" (verb) changed to "believers" (noun) make the ESV a lot more Calvinistic than a Bible translation has any right to be!  

I'm just sayin'.



A note about the ESV vs King James:

            If you really want to get into the nitty-gritty, read these articles about the men who wrote the Greek texts that the ESV is based on: "Westcott and Hort: Translator's Beliefs" and "Westcott and Hort and the Greek Text."  The ESV is based on the RSV, which is based on the Greek Texts of these two men (who, it sounds like, rejected the infallibility of Scripture, despised evangelicals, questioned Jesus's divinity and an eternal hell, did not believe Genesis and the creation story was literal, affirmed Darwin and evolution, etc.), which is based on two corrupted manuscripts which differ from the majority of the more reliable manuscripts that the KJV is based on.  

            So when something says that the ESV has only made 6% changes, it means "from the RSV," meaning that it's 94% the same as the RSV it was based on, a translation which was based on two corrupted manuscripts that disagree with the majority of the manuscripts available.  It would be like if a journalist interviewed 100 people about an event ... and 95 of them said the exact same thing, but 5 told a different story ... and the journalist decided to side with the 5 and print their story as fact.  Raises some red flags, doesn't it?

            In the course of researching this issue, and after not knowing for decades what to think of the whole "which translation is most accurate" debate, I now side with the King James.  I mean, I have several other translations, and I think different ones are good for different reasons, such as readability, compare and contrast, to hear God's Word in a fresh way, etc.  But when having to decide which one is more reliable and accurate, especially considering the significant differences like those above, I have to side with the KJV (not the New King James, just the King James).  And I've never been more sure of it than now, after all this research. 

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