9 Marks of a Calvinist Cult #5 (isolation, control)
[This series is "The 9 Marks of a Calvinist Cult" split up into smaller, individual posts.]
Cults use isolation, control, fear, coercion, mind-control, and thought-reform to enslave the members to the cult. The members' "inner voices" are suppressed.
5. Information Isolation and Control
Of course, Calvinists don't physically isolate members in a commune or anything like that, as more extreme cults have. But Calvinist pastors do practice various forms of "mental" isolation by controlling the information and resources.
From the very beginning, Calvinist pastors set out to carefully control the information we get, the resources we have access to, the verses we hear, who's in charge, etc.
Verses: Calvinists will ignore verses that contradict or disprove Calvinism, but highly favor those that can be twisted/interpreted to support it.
For example: Calvinist pastors fill their sermons with verses that appear to fit their view that God preplans, causes, controls everything, such as Job 42:2 "... no plan of yours can be thwarted" and Proverbs 21:1 "The king's heart is in the hand of the Lord; he directs it like a watercourse wherever he pleases". [Notice that these verses record Job and Solomon's words about God.]
But they ignore verses that contradict their Calvinist views, such as Jeremiah 19:5 "They have built the high places to Baal to burn their sons in the fire as offerings to Baal - something I did not command or mention, nor did it enter my mind" and 1 Kings 20:42 "He said to the king, 'This is what the Lord says: 'You have set free a man I had determined should die.''" [Their response to a verse like this would be the ridiculous - and possibly blasphemous - "God decrees that people break His decrees." (And notice that these verses record God's own words about Himself.)]
Calvinists use a verse like "no one can thwart God's plans" to support their idea that God plans everything that happens and that everything that happens is because God planned it to happen that way. But they are reading that verse through the lens of their unbiblical definition of "sovereignty," that God must preplan, cause, control everything or else He can't be God. And with this definition of sovereignty in place, they make a huge, unbiblical leap from "God makes plans" to "so therefore God plans everything that happens."
But if they would look at verses that show that God planned things that didn't happen or things happened that He didn't plan, they would have to rethink their definition of sovereignty.
Calvinists cherry-pick verses to support their views and ignore verses that contradict them. And to make these cherry-picked verses appear to support Calvinism, they take them out of context, read them through the lens of Calvinism (their unbiblical presuppositions and definitions), or take them to unbiblical extremes (going beyond the plain understanding of Scripture). And then they misapply them, read other Bible verses through them, and convince you that the Bible clearly teaches Calvinism when it doesn't.
So while it might look like they have big lists of verses that back up their theology, it's all smoke and mirrors. If you go one by one through those lists and examine each verse in context and with proper definitions of words and in light of the plain, commonsense understanding of Scripture, you'll believe in Calvinism less and less.
[Calvinists base a lot of their theology on verses like Proverbs 21:1 about God directing the king's heart, turning it into hard-core, literal, bottom-line theology through which to interpret the rest of the Bible.
But if Calvinists are going to take Proverbs as hard-core, literal, bottom-line theology, then they can't pick and choose which Proverbs to do that with. They must do it with all of Proverbs. And this would include "and put a knife to your throat if you are given to gluttony" (Proverbs 23:2) and "Punish [your child] with the rod and save his soul from death" (Proverbs 23:14, which - if Calvinists take Proverbs as literal theological teaching - would have to mean that salvation comes not just through Jesus but also through beating your child with a rod).
But... here's the thing... Proverbs was never meant to be hard-core, literal, bottom-line theology. Proverbs are principles, not promises. Proverbs are bits of good, practical advice from a wise man, not theological, doctrinal truths on which to build your beliefs of God and faith and salvation or through which to interpret the rest of the Bible.
And so if Calvinists do try to convince you that the Proverb about God directing the heart of the king is hard-core, literal, bottom-line theology - if they use it to try to "prove" that God controls the thoughts and actions of all people - then you remind them of those other Proverbs (and more like it).
And point out to them that if they want to take Proverbs 21:1 literally, then God only directs the heart of the king - and no one else - because that's what it literally says.]
[For more on this, see Why is Calvinism so Dangerous? #3 (Free-Will Choices?) and For Alana L (foreknowing vs. predetermining.]
Resources: Calvinist pastors will flood the church library with Calvinist books, weeding out those that don't support Calvinism. They will publish their recommended reading lists, filled with Calvinists. They will give away Calvinist literature and require staff to study it and use it in their groups. They will encourage everyone to use their preferred Bible translations (the Calvinist ESV or a MacArthur study Bible, etc.). They will quote extensively and almost solely from Calvinist authors during sermons. And sometimes, they won't even mention that there are other views out there or that Calvinism has been debated for centuries. because they don't want you to realize that maybe you should be questioning it too.
They present their Calvinist theology as the only "biblical" one, and everything they do and say funnels us to it.
Here's a section from an article by Roger E. Olsen at Patheos about another person's experience with Calvinism taking over their church (sounds similar to our experience): "The church recently called a new pastor... During the search and interview process he did not reveal... that he is a five-point Calvinist. Hardly anyone in the church has been a five-point Calvinist and he knew very well that it would be controversial. After he was called and accepted the call, he began pushing Calvinism in a very heavy-handed way. He gives books by Wayne Grudem and Mark Driscoll to adult teachers to use in preparing their lessons. He unilaterally removed books from the church library he considered unbiblical or unorthodox from a Calvinist perspective... He is preaching and teaching Calvinism as if it were the one and only truly evangelical theology... [Many] Calvinists are sneaking into pastoral positions in [non-Calvinist] churches... By 'sneaking in' I mean they don’t ever mention it even if asked if they have any beliefs that might be a problem for the church. They become pastor and only then, when they feel firmly ensconced, begin to preach and teach Calvinism as the one and only biblical view."
Yep, that's how it goes.
Of course, there's nothing deceptive, nefarious, or particularly cult-like about recommending books we like and theologians we trust. It's what we do when we think something is good and biblical, helping lead others to what we think is "the truth."
But a Calvinist pastor ends up highly skewing everything in the church and in his sermons and in your personal reading towards Calvinism. And if he's a Stealth Calvinist, he does it deliberately but hides that he's doing it. He saturates us and the church in it until it's so ubiquitous that it appears more popular, accurate, and acceptable than it is.
This is how people throughout history subjugated the people they conquered, by immersing the conquered people in the culture, practices, religion, and education of the conquering people.
Saturation leads to slow and subtle subjugation.
[Sidenote: The Calvinist pastor said that wrestling with the deep, difficult "truths" in those big, meaty Calvinist books will "strengthen" our faith.
But I wonder how many people's faith and trust in God will, instead, be destroyed when they start wrestling with Calvinist ideas like these: God predestined people to hell for His glory... He "ordains" all sins, wickedness, and unbelief but punishes us for it... He is glorified by evil (not in spite of it, but by it)... He commands us not to do things He then causes us to do (sin), and He commands us to do things He then prevents us from doing (repenting and believing, for the non-elect), and yet He holds us accountable for it, etc.
Would this stuff strengthen your faith? Your trust in God? Or would it destroy it? Would it blur the line between God and Satan? (See "Satan vs. Calvinism's god")
Do you know why I think Calvinists have to "wrestle" so much with Calvinist teachings?
Because IT'S NOT BIBLICAL!
It's a horrible mess, a total contradiction of God's Word, and it destroys God's character. And people know this deep down - and so they have to wrestle and wrestle in order to silence the doubts, red flags, and disgust, and to force themselves to think that Calvinism fits into Scripture, and to convince themselves that they need to accept it.
They wrestle so much not because they are struggling with deep, difficult spiritual "truths," but because they are fighting the Holy Spirit and the clear teachings of Scripture. And it takes a lot of struggle to do that.
Whereas when you read something like Tony Evans' theology book Theology You Can Count On (read it, it's good!), everything makes sense and fits with the plain, clear teachings of Scripture. And so you don't have to wrestle too hard to accept it or manipulate yourself into believing it. It fits. It makes sense. It's biblical. It's truth.
I also think that - even though most Calvinists truly want to be humble and to honor God - their "wrestling" is often an unconscious virtue-signaling, like a "Look at what a good, intelligent, humble Christian I am to struggle so deeply with these 'deep, difficult spiritual truths' until I accept them, even if I don't like the way it sounds and can't really understand it."
I think it appeals to a sub-conscious level of pride, convincing Calvinists that they reached a higher level of spiritual knowledge than the average Christian and that they were "so humble" to believe in things that sounded so terrible, confusing, and contradictory, things that other "lesser" Christians couldn't believe in.
It's Satan using their desire to be humble to trap them in pride. It's pride in humility's clothing.
If the teachings of Scripture were plain enough, simple enough, and palatable enough that anyone could understand them and accept them, then Calvinists couldn't feel ultra-"humble," ultra-"intelligent," or ultra-"God-honoring." They couldn't feel special. Elite. Calvinism needs the difficult, confusing, distasteful (self-created) "mysteries" to have something profound to wrestle with, to set itself above the rest.
(It's no wonder Jesus warned us not to be like the prideful Pharisees whose lofty education inflated their egos and status so much that it blinded them to the simple truth. It's no wonder Jesus said we need to become like little children to enter the kingdom of heaven.)]
Leadership: Not only will a Calvinist pastor control the information and resources to control our thinking, but he will try to control who gets on the elder board. He will seek out and surround himself with "yes men," with fellow Calvinists who will help reform the church, or with those he can educate into Calvinism by taking them through small group studies of something like Wayne Grudem's Systematic Theology, as our pastor began doing after he was hired.
From the 9Marks "reform a church" plan, under tip #4: "Get some help. You can't do a reform alone... Look for men you'd nominate as elders if you could. They need to be not just big voices, but peacemakers and persuaders..." (added emphasis). This is essentially just "find people who agree with you and who can talk others into Calvinism too."
And tip #3 is similar, essentially just "reform key people first so that they can reform others." In their own words: "get to know the gatekeepers. Every church has pressure points of authority, people who are in key positions of leadership, whether formal or informal...In order to reform a church, then, get to know those people. Spend time with them before you offend them, and find out what they value, how they communicate, and how they can be persuaded. It’s helpful to know which of those people can influence others of them, and where those people are going to be helpful to you at different points in the reform."
Does it not disturb you to see how much thought and effort they put into pushing their agendas through, how they're spending so much time thinking of strategic ways to get people to buy into their particular brand of theology?
Here's something from a different 9Marks article, "Church Reform when you're not (necessarily) the pastor" (from point #5), and it's kinda revealing:
"Church reform does not happen in business meetings. If church reform goes like you want it to, business meetings are just the moment of formalizing a congregational decision that has already been made... All the actual work of reform happened before the meeting—in conversations. That’s how church reform works. You change people’s minds and shape people’s views in private–over coffee, a good book, and a Bible. [To Calvinist leaders, we're not fellow believers as much as we are projects of theirs, minds to be conquered.]... So make it a point to try to meet with as many people as your schedule will allow, and do it regularly. Read through [Calvinist] books with people and talk about them. Mark’s [Mark Dever, big Calvinist!] Nine Marks of a Healthy Church would be a good place to start... You’re also going to have to be strategic in deciding who to try to meet with. Unless you’re in a really small church, you’re just not going to be able to meet with everyone. So try to figure out to some degree who the church’s opinion leaders are, who are the people most likely to spread enthusiasm for reform among other members, and who would really cause a congregational sigh of relief if it turned out that they agreed with the reform. [In the eyes of a Stealth Calvinist, we're either brainwashable sheep or tools to brainwash others.] Then meet with those people, over and over and over. Be a friend to them, care for them, and at the right time, start asking questions and teaching about the nature of a Christian church. In time, you may find that you have more allies in reform than you thought—or, perhaps even better, you may find that you’ve created some..."
And from point #6: "Reforming a church is a long process that requires a whole lot of conversations, a whole lot of persuasion...Once you’ve been recognized as a leader in your church, the next step is to work on discipling other men who could also be recognized as leaders, and who, eventually, could join you in forming a majority of the leadership that wants to press for reform..."
Membership: But Calvinist pastors don't stop there. They will also try to influence prospective new members into Calvinism before they become members (tip #5 from the 9Marks "reform a church" plan):
"Make membership meaningful. This is one of the first things you can do in a reform, and the good thing is that most pastors will be able to do at least part of this without any formal change to a rule... Even if you’re culturally required to keep letting people into membership after they 'walk the aisle' of the church, most pastors will at least be able to make a case that it would be good for him to speak with prospective members before they’re allowed to join. Then, when you meet with them, you can make sure they understand the gospel and are actually Christians."
If you read between the lines here, you'll see that this is basically just "talk prospective members into Calvinism before letting them join." And it's reminiscent of this aspect of a cult leader: "Cult leaders take advantage of the vulnerabilities of the recruits." But in this case, it's "take advantage of the naivete of incoming members." (And how long will it be until they make the Statement of Faith totally Calvinistic and require members to agree to it?)
And notice this part: "Even if you’re culturally required to keep letting people into membership after they 'walk the aisle' of the church..."
Do you realize what this is saying?
It's essentially saying that we who "walked the aisle" - we who went up during an altar call and prayed a "sinner's prayer" and chose to accept Jesus into our hearts as Lord and Savior - are not necessarily saved in the eyes of Calvinists and so, therefore, are not necessarily qualified to become church members.
I mean, can't you hear it? Doesn't it sound like "Take heart, Calvinist pastor, because there's still something you can do even if your church requires you to keep letting those 'aisle walkers' into the church - those people who deceived themselves into thinking they're saved because they 'accepted Jesus into their heart' during an altar call. There's still something you can do to make sure only Calvinists get in: You can meet with them individually to educate them into Calvinism, to make sure they understand the Calvinist gospel and became Calvinist Christians before they become members. And you can do this without the congregation's permission. There! Problem solved."
[For more on this, see "Is 'Accept Jesus in your heart' unbiblical and dangerous?" and "Calvinists, Altar Calls, and Evangelism".]
And I have a question for all the Calvinists who say that it's dangerous to believe in free-will, that it's dangerous to tell people they can "choose to ask Jesus into their hearts" because it might supposedly trick them into thinking they're saved when they're really not. And here's my question:
What difference does it make?
If you think about it, Calvinists shouldn't have any problem with anyone believing in free-will or praying the sinner's prayer or walking the aisle because none of that should affect a person's elect or non-elect status - because, according to Calvinism, God elects us to heaven or hell not based on anything we do or don't do. And surely this would include believing in free-will or thinking we're saved because we walked the aisle and prayed to ask Jesus into our heart.
In Calvinism, if you're elect, you're elect. If you're not, you're not. And it doesn't matter what you think about yourself or about salvation or if you prayed a prayer or not. Whatever will be, will be. So there's really no point in Calvinists attacking the idea of free-will or aisle-walking or the sinner's prayer... unless they want to admit that what we do or don't do does affect our so-called "election."
Calvinism totally shoots itself in the foot here.
Church laws: And then after the Calvinist pastor has saturated the church in Calvinism - surrounding himself with Calvinist elders, filling the church with Calvinist resources, and educating new members into Calvinism - he can then set about to change the church's rules and by-laws (tip #6 from the 9Marks' "reform a church" plan), making Calvinism the official rule of the church.
You know, I really wouldn't have such a problem with Calvinists if they were fully upfront about everything from the beginning. If they were honest about their views/agendas and if people flocked to them anyway because they wanted Calvinism, I would just be like "Well, the people chose it. They knew what they were getting into, and they got what they wanted. So be it."
But it's the stealth take-overs, the deception, the manipulation, the hidden agendas, and strategic tactics that really get me. And to me, it's a massive mark of a cult and a cult leader. And it needs to be exposed and fought. (Is this how God works, with stealthy deception? Or is it a hallmark of Satan?)
The sad part is that many Calvinists themselves don't realize that they've let a Calvinist put Calvinism glasses on them - that a Calvinist took advantage of their desire to be humble, to grow in biblical knowledge, and to honor God - and now they can only read the Bible through Calvinist lenses. They themselves are trapped in it but don't know it. And they won't realize that Calvinism is strangling their faith, destroying their trust in God, and slowly suffocating their spirit... until it's too late.
Calvinism is a very slow and subtle poison, working from the inside out over many years.
It's like what the article 10 things to know about the psychology of cults says: Cult members don't know they're in a cult. And so only those outside the cult can see clearly enough to help. Yet Calvinists (like all cult-ish members) are taught to distrust those outside the cult, to look down on us, to think that we just don't get it or that we're not really Christians or not spiritual enough or not biblically-educated enough or not humble enough.
And so why would they listen to us?
And that brings us to...
