9 Marks of a Calvinist Cult: Conclusion and Links
[This series is "The 9 Marks of a Calvinist Cult" split up into smaller, individual posts.]
(Happy New Year, Everyone. FYI, I'm not sure if I'll keep adding new posts to this blog, but if I do, it'll be few and far between. Or I may just update and repost old posts, instead of writing new stuff. I'm sure they could use some refreshing and correction. Either way, God bless, and have a great 2024! And "Amen, Come, Lord Jesus!")
Conclusion:
I think Calvinism does this to people too. I think the longer someone stays in a Calvinist church, the more it will destroy their faith (what should be a simple faith), their relationship with God, their trust of God, and their ability to discern truth for themselves, to understand the Bible the way God meant it to be understood. And if and when someone leaves a Calvinist church, it may destroy their relationships with others and their ability/desire to get involved in a new church.
People leaving Calvinism will be so burned by it that they'll always be on the lookout for it now, always over-analyzing every word and phrase. They will always flinch at good words like "grace" and "sovereign" and "biblical"... always shudder when they hear "high view of Scripture" and "God-centered" and "salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone"... always feel like pastors have an agenda and hidden layers... always distrusting the church and other Christians, afraid of being fooled again and too exhausted to care... and if their church was an authoritarian, legalistic kind, they might rebel against God and all of His rules and truths as a way of breaking free from the legalistic, domineering control of the church leaders (and this can lead to all sorts of heart-breaking consequences in their lives).
A kind of spiritual post-traumatic stress disorder.
You know what, maybe it'd be best to let you hear it right from the people. Here are some stories I found online of the real-life damage that Calvinism has done to people (quoted in my post "Calvinism's Heart-Breaking Destruction"):
From a Reddit post called "Calvinism is disgusting":
"As an ex-Christian who used to be a Calvinist, what alarmed me is that all the fears about satan applied to god... [Calvinists] ascribed so many characteristics to god that could be applied to satan that made them seem indistinguishable." (from 'deleted')
"I remember as I was leaving my faith, I thought 'If God exists, then he let my parents waste thousands on private Christian education, let me be baptized and study his word and be confirmed, let me have periods of doubt and repentance, all when he knew that I would be damned to hell.' Even when I was still a Christian, he knew that I was damned and he never helped me." (Uriah_Blacke) [When you're taught that everything is predetermined by God, that Satan is really just God in disguise, and that you don't really have any control over your choices - not even the choice about whether or not you leave the faith - this is where you end up.]
"My parents used to say 'even the cutest baby is a dirty rotten sinner.' It was somewhat of a joke in our family, but also definitely what we all believed. I’m turning 30 this year and I still have trouble turning down the volume on this narrative about myself. It has led to issues in my friendships, with my partner, and now, with my parents... I have deconstructed to the [point] of agnosticism... This has crippled my emotional growth as an adult in ways..." (foreverlanding)
"The [Calvinist] concept of total depravity is so completely toxic. I'm still unlearning this as well. It does make me angry sometimes thinking about how absolutely f*cked up it is to teach children they are inherently awful just for being... The system is designed to make you feel like a POS [piece of sh*t] just for being a human. I'm 37 now and am agnostic after trying really hard to believe until about 2ish years ago. I feel more hopeful and free without the church." (eab1728)
"Agreed. Total Depravity isn't the "Good News" espoused in Reformed circles... Reformed doctrine never allowed me to truly accept my own self-worth; it robbed me of dignity and replaced it with constant, grating guilt. And it's utterly worthless in the face of real hardship... I am a universalist now, which couldn't be further from Reformed doctrine. And honestly, what a relief." (come_heroine)
"This is a screenshot from an email that I sent to my mom when I was 12 years old, simply titled "distressed". [In the email, the 12-year-old is telling the parent that she (I'll just assume it's a 'she' for now) is distressed because she's praying and reading the Bible, but nothing is happening. She's looking for assurance that she's saved, one of the elect. And the father replies that she should keep asking God to show her the way, that only God can save her, that only God can awaken her dead spirit and make her alive, that she can't do anything to save herself. So essentially, it's "Do something about it, but you can't do anything about it, and so wait to see if God convinces you that you're one of the elect." So confusing. So biblically off-track. And it basically just boils down to "if you're not elect, you can't do anything about it and there's no hope for you." No wonder the kid is distressed!] I'm so angry that I was taught that I was completely bad, simply by being human, and I deserved to be tortured by the Creator for all of eternity, AND I COULD DO NOTHING ABOUT IT. All I could do was pray to God and hope that he had mercy on such a miserable, worthless, depraved wretch such as twelve-year-old me. I lived with a phobia of hell until the cage of my mind opened when I was 22, and I could finally think for the first time in my life..." (why-homo-sapien)
"A few years ago I was wondering why my self-esteem was so crap and then suddenly realised that the people who taught me to hate myself were my parents, through the medium of calvinism :)" (pktechboi)
From the Reddit post (with a few minor spelling and punctuation corrections) called: I have posted on another Group as well. I NEED SOMEONE TO EXPLAIN Calvinism to me because what I understand of it is scaring me!!! : r/Christians (reddit.com): "Okay.... so I have just watched a sermon from Paul Washer (which I thought was one of the most amazing sermons I have ever seen). That man has a fire for Christ that cannot be extinguished. But for the first time, I found out what Calvinism is. And I am scared to death!!! So if I am not elected by God to be saved, I will not be saved??? No matter how much time I devoted to prayer, how many times I have been broken by his feet have, how many hours I spent learning scripture, how many days I "thought" I was talking to my best friend. It was all just a lie??? I come in heaven just to realize I was never elected??? And get thrown into hell because the day I was born I was already doomed from the beginning??? And my whole faith is just one big hoax???" (Dingus_bellator1027) (That's some serious struggling going on right there! And Calvinism can offer no real hope, no real help, no real comfort other than "wait until you die to see if you won the salvation lottery or not".)
From the Reddit post "Verily verily I say unto thee, f*ck this sh*t!" which starts with this quote from Kevin DeYoung (which can also be found in his article on limited atonement): "Jesus did not die for every sinner, but for His own people. The Good Shepherd gives His life not for the goats, but for the sheep":
"This was a huge factor in my own deconversion. Even if this was an actual literal proven fact, there's no way I could love and worship a being who did/does this." (from justalapforcats)
"Welp, that takes a lot of pressure off of me as an atheist. I won't worry about whatever Jesus did, because he didn't die for me anyways." (from chucklesthegrumpy)
Miss_an100 responds to that with "...When I realized our own judicial system treats us better than this sadistic god, I was out. 30 years of my life. Sure, there were good memories. But the weight of it all sure took a toll on me eventually. Thankful I can breath a bit more easy now not worrying if I have committed the unpardonable sin. I’m certain I have 100x over. ;) ..."
If you are raising kids in a Calvinist church, take all of this very seriously. Because this could be them someday:
"I have recently discovered the doctrine of election and I believe that I am not elect. I don't have any spiritual fruit and I hate God with all my heart. My question is, at this point is it right to want to die? Might as well go to hell now instead of later. I do not want to kill myself (I never will hopefully) but I cant see a reason to live when my end destiny will be the same." (from "deleted") (Found in Election and Suicide : r/Calvinism (reddit.com))
(And I can only hope that the last one is a sick joke.)
Is it any wonder that people under Calvinism end up with that kind of despair and hopelessness when this is what Calvinists teach:
John Piper, in answer to the question “Does God Predestine People to Hell?”, says “My answer is yes. God does determine from eternity who will be saved."
John MacArthur: “God's love for the elect is an infinite, eternal, saving love... Such love clearly is not directed toward all of mankind indiscriminately, but is bestowed uniquely and individually on those whom God chose in eternity past.”
Wayne Grudem: “If God ultimately decided to create some creatures to be saved and others not to be saved, then that was his sovereign choice, and we have no moral or scriptural basis on which we can insist that it was not fair... Reformed theologians say that God deems his own glory more important than saving everyone, and that God’s glory is also furthered by the fact that some are not saved.”
R.C. Sproul Jr.: “God wills all things that come to pass… God desired for man to fall into sin... God is as delighted with His wrath as He is with all of His attributes."
John Piper: “Has God predetermined every tiny detail in the universe... and all of our besetting sins?... Yes, every horrible thing and every sinful thing is ultimately governed by God… He controls everything, and he does it for his glory and our good.”
Gordon H. Clark: “... if a man gets drunk and shoots his family, it was the will of God... this view certainly makes God the cause of sin."
Theodore Zachariades: "God works all things after the counsel of His will, even keeping those kings who want to commit adultery from committing so... and when He wants to, He orders those to commit adultery when HE WANTS TO!"
James White, in answer to the question: “When a child is raped, is God responsible and did He decree that rape?”, says "... Yes, [He decreed it] because if not, then it's meaningless and purposeless..."
Mark Talbot/John Piper: “God brings about all things in accordance with his will. It isn’t just that God manages to turn the evil aspects of our world to good for those that love him; it is rather that he himself brings about these evil aspects… This includes God’s having even brought about the Nazi’s brutality at Birkenau and Auschwitz as well as … the sexual abuse of a young child.”
Paul Washer: “If you reject Christ, then the moment when you take your first step through the gates of hell, the only thing you will hear is all of creation standing to its feet and applauding and praising God because God has rid the earth of you. That’s how not good you are."
Kevin DeYoung: "Should Christians rejoice in the doctrine of hell?... in one sense it is appropriate for Christians to say 'I don’t like the idea of hell.' But be careful. It’s never safe to dislike the truths God has revealed. We should actually like what the Bible teaches."
R.C. Sproul: "Don't you know that when you're in heaven, you'll be so sanctified that you'll be able to see your own mother in hell and rejoice in that, knowing that God's perfect justice is being carried out."
Vincent Cheung: “All that God does is intrinsically good and righteous, so it is also good and righteous for him to create the reprobates."
Vincent Cheung: "…man is morally responsible even if he lacks moral ability; that is, man must obey God even if he cannot obey God... man must obey God's commands because God says that man must obey, and whether or not he has the ability to obey is irrelevant."
Vincent Cheung: "God decreed evil ultimately for his own glory... One who thinks that God's glory is not worth the death and suffering of billions of people has too high an opinion of himself and humanity [and] should reconsider their spiritual commitment, to see if they are truly in the faith.”
Vincent Cheung: “The popular position that all infants are saved is wishful thinking, and continues as a groundless religious tradition... Thus [it] deceives the masses and offers them hope based on mere fantasy... if the parents cannot finally accept [the idea of infant damnation], that God is always right, then they are headed for hell themselves and need to become Christians… If someone dies without hearing the gospel, it just means that God has decreed his damnation beforehand... This would mean that those who are unable to exercise faith are all damned to hell, and this would include infants and the mentally retarded... I have no misgivings about this. I have no problem with the idea that all who die as embryos, infants, and mentally retarded would burn in hell... if they all burn in hell, they all burn in hell…”
Calvinism makes me sick.
And I think it's majorly responsible for much of the atheism out there today. Because if this is how God really is (He's not!) - and if people are tricked into thinking that Calvinism and Christianity are one and the same - then it's no wonder people reject God and the gospel. A God like that cannot be trusted and is really no better than Satan. [For more quotes (and the resources where the quotes are from) and for my responses to the quotes, see "A Crash Course in Calvinism (Calvinist quotes)."]
You know what I think? I think there needs to be a taskforce set up to help deprogram people and churches from Calvinism - you know, someone to come in and clean up all the damage Calvinism has done, to help people read the Bible correctly again, to fix beliefs about God and faith, and to help people learn to trust God again and to feel His love again. (I told my husband that even if our church got rid of the Calvinist pastor, I couldn't go back because I couldn't trust the elder board until they were deprogrammed from the Calvinism.)
Calvinists won't realize how brainwashed they were until they start to come out of their Calvinist coma. They won't realize how starved they were for truth and God's love until they begin to feel it again, until they realize it's been missing all this time. And actually, I should say "if" not "until" - because some people don't ever want anything to do with God or His kind of "love" ever again. All they know is the Calvinist god... and too much damage has been done in his name. And consequently, they are too disgusted, tired, or heartbroken to care anymore about even trying to rebuild their faith. They'd rather no God than the Calvinist god. It's sad.
I think one of the hardest parts for those struggling in a Calvinist church is that they are being torn - squashed - between two pains: the pain of staying and the pain of leaving. That's a lot of pain. Not a good place to be in.
And sadly, they'll stay in that tension, in that tug-of-war of pain, until the pain of staying is greater than the pain of leaving. That's a hard place to be in, a hard decision to make, because there's pain on all sides of you.
But if you do leave your church over it (if you can't stay and make a good difference in your church), hopefully, in time, you'll realize that it was worth it to leave, even if it hurt and cost you a lot.
And God-willing, you can help someone else who's struggling with it too. And one by one, we'll help each other find our faith again, a pure, biblical faith.
Trust me, it's worth it!
The end of my story (or is it just the beginning?):
"So," you might be asking, "how did things end up for you after your church was taken over by Calvinism?"
Well, thank you for asking. And here's the quick version: My husband and I and our four sons sat under the new Calvinist pastor for six years - six years of comparing his teachings to the Bible, six years of my husband and me getting angrier and angrier and sadder and sadder, six years of feeling our souls slowly suffocating and our faith crumbling, and six years of feeling so freakish and alone because no one else seemed bothered by the pastor's teachings except a couple of close friends.
And, finally, when we got a good grasp on just how wrong the pastor's theology is... and when we knew we couldn't take one more day of it... and when we knew the elders wouldn't do anything because they all sided with him... and when the pain of staying was worse than the pain of leaving... we resigned from the church that we had been an active part of for 20 years. The church we raised our kids in. The church filled with people we loved seeing. The church we wanted to stay at forever.
Coming from a very broken, dysfunctional family, I always wanted a "forever" kind of place. I'd have been happy to be there forever, to raise my kids and any future grandkids there. To see the same-old friendly faces, week in, week out. I'd have been happy that way.
But we had to leave for the sake of our faith, our kids' faith, the gospel, and the truth. (Another friend left the church too because, as she said, "the heart went out of the place when the new pastor came in.") We could not be a part of spreading the soul-killing, faith-destroying Calvinist gospel. And we didn't even want to risk appearing like we were part of it, like we supported it.
And so after six years, we knew it was time to shake the dust from our feet, say goodbye, and hand them over to what they wanted. And the gap we left filled in quickly and quietly, almost as if we were never there. (If you want to see just how dispensable you are at your church no matter how long you've been there, just leave it over theological disagreements with the Calvinist pastor and watch how quickly it moves on without you, relieved to have the dissenters gone.)
At first, we were so hurt and upset and disillusioned that we decided we wouldn't go to another church right away. I'd even said that I'd be fine if we never set foot inside another church ever again. And so for months, we sat home watching Tony Evans' sermons alone as a family - which, at the time, was just what we needed. It was so great, so peaceful. It fed our souls, started reviving our spirits, and began fanning the dying embers of our faith. (Click here for a few recommendations on "Healing your soul from Calvinism's damage," to help you get back on track.)
[Even though we left that church, our kids still attended the youth group. And so every week when I'd drop them off or pick them up, I'd see our old friends. And I'd see their kids growing up. And I'd get sad thinking about all we gave up, all we're missing out on. And I'd wonder if we could've done something different. If we could've found a way to stay. If the sacrifice was worth it. If we're hurting our kids and their futures. If... if... if...
And so when I sat in the parking lot waiting for my boys, I'd turn my car away from everyone and roll up my windows and put on some music so that I didn't have to hear everyone else having fun together. I didn't need to be constantly reminded of how alone I felt, how left out we were, or how my boys might be affected by our decision. We had made our choice, and I had to trust that it was the right one for us all, even if it hurt.]
And then, after Covid lockdown, we started meeting with another family on Sundays in our own homes to just read the Bible and pray together. It was simple and pleasant, and we did that for about a year and a half. But eventually, for the sake of their kids, they found a "real" church to attend. It was sad for us and left us feeling a bit abandoned and lost all over again, but we understood.
And then not too long after, we found a church of our own to attend. It's bigger and louder than we like, but the sermons are right on track and filled with the true gospel and messages of hope and God's love and healing and help. It's so refreshing to my soul. And as we listen to the truth-filled, hope-filled sermons, all I can think is how those in the Calvinist church are missing out, how they're being spiritually starved to death. It's sad.
[But even though I like this new church and am trusting it more and more, I'm still not ready to get too plugged in yet. And I still flinch when I hear certain words, even from a good church. And I am highly alert for any Calvinist-sounding things. I plan on sounding the alarm very early in this church, at even just a whiff of things going wrong. And in fact, as I mentioned, I already did sound the alarm very early when I heard them using too many quotes from Calvinist pastors. (See "A Crash Course in Calvinism (A letter for pastors) and (Calvinist quotes)." I don't think any warning can be "too early" when it comes to protecting the gospel and God's Truth.]
It's now been over four years since we left the Calvinist church. And only just now is another family starting to realize that something is very wrong with the pastor and his teaching. (And they're even more connected to that church than we were, so I can only imagine how hard it will be on them. They have my deepest sympathies and strongest support.)
So in under ten years (probably even under six), that church went from being non-Calvinist to being fully Calvinist, all because of Stealth Calvinism. And as those of us who disagree with Calvinism leave or get pushed out or get silenced, there will be no one left to sound the alarm. It's sad, but that's what happens when Calvinism takes over.
But at least my family and I got out. (And at least we've been able to use this experience to educate our kids on the dangers of Calvinism and on what the true gospel is, what the Bible really says.) There comes a point when - after doing what you can to try to make a difference - you have to look out for you and your own. You have to do what's best for your family, for the faith of you and your children. And that's all you can really worry about.
And you can't even worry about where you'll end up, where your obedience and sacrifice and efforts will lead to. All you can do is trust and obey (for there is no other way), taking one step at a time as God leads.
Yes, this has been hard on us all and it cost us a lot and it's not the path I would've wanted, but there is a silver lining: I would've never started researching or writing against Calvinism if we didn't go through what we did. I would've never thought to put my thoughts and research online if the elders had listened to me, if I could've helped people in my own church. It's only because no one (but a friend or two) was listening or cared that I got so frustrated that I felt like I had to do something - to put it all online for anyone out there who might actually want my help, to make sure my experience and research wasn't wasted.
[My advice, if you leave your church over Calvinism, is to make as much noise as possible on the way out, alerting as many people as possible to what's going on, encouraging them to research for themselves what the pastor is teaching. That's something we didn't do. We left too quietly, too meekly, allowing an unbiblical theology to take over more people. Maybe if we had made more noise, it wouldn't have taken four years for one more family to be alarmed by what the pastor is teaching. If I could go back and do it again, I would've printed up and handed out cards that said something like "Do you know what Calvinism is and that it's spreading aggressively through the Church? Do you know why it's unbiblical and dangerous? For the sake of your faith and the church, watch some videos at Soteriology 101 to learn what it is, how to recognize it, and why it's a really bad theology."]
Do what you know God is calling you to do - whether that's to stay and fight, or to grab your kids and run for higher ground - and let Him figure out how to work it into His plans, to turn it into something good. He'll straighten your path in the best way possible as you walk in faithful obedience. He'll honor your efforts and sacrifice and faithfulness in whatever way He deems best.
And I have to believe that. I have to believe that the sacrifice was worth it and that it will all be okay in the end.
[And apparently, as I've come to find out recently, there's been a bunch of people who've left the church since he came in, some because of his Calvinism and some because of his personality/teaching style (and some because of both) - his rude, proud, domineering, controlling, ungracious, legalistic, impatient, uncompassionate, unloving personality and teaching style (and his bad handling of certain situations). (My words, not theirs.)
As I said in the very beginning, due to his "it's my way or the highway" attitude, I think he should've been a professor or a book author, not a "shepherd" of hearts and faith.
But maybe that's just me... and all these others who left because of him too. (How many more people have to leave that church over him before the church wakes up and realizes something is wrong?)]
A word to worried Calvinists:
If you're a Calvinist who's getting worried right now because you're thinking "Oh no! I really enjoy Calvinist preachers and my Calvinist church. But now I'm afraid I've been misled this whole time. What do I do? What should I think?," let me just say this:
Just because the deeper layers of Calvinism are unbiblical doesn't mean you didn't or can't get a lot of good teaching from Calvinists. 95% of what they teach in any given sermon could sound great, setting off no alarm bells, because they still do preach a biblical surface layer and have some good practical insights and knowledge about other non-gospel issues. And I think there's enough truth in Calvinism's surface layer that unaware people could still find the Lord through it. God can use anything, good or bad. So it's not all been a waste.
[But when you know what the last 5% is - the bottom-line of Calvinism, the hidden layers they cover up with the 95% good stuff - it all becomes tainted, and you can't listen to even their good points anymore because you know what they really believe, how deceptively they present it, and how very wrong their fundamental beliefs are. And in fact, that 5% is the most important stuff, the issues that matter most: their views of the gospel, sin, salvation, forgiveness, Jesus's death, faith, God's true character, etc. That 5% is so huge and critical that it overshadows and defines the 95%. And so since they get that 5% wrong, it doesn't really matter what lesser issues they get right. They got the most important, fundamental truths wrong, and it taints everything else. (Kinda like if a witness to a murder got 95 details right, such as the color of the clothes the people wore, the time of day, the weather conditions, the weapon used, etc., but they got 5 critical details wrong: the city it happened in, the year it happened, the gender of the victim, and the gender and name of the murderer. These 5 details are so critical that they would obliterate their testimony, far overshadowing the 95 details they got right.) Listening to Calvinists is like drinking a glass of 95% clean water and 5% poison. It might not get you at first, but the longer you drink it, the more likely it is to hurt you, to destroy your faith and your trust in God.]
But if you are just now starting to come out of a Calvinist coma and it's freaking you out, don't worry. And in fact, rejoice - because the true biblical truth is even more beautiful than what you've been told by Calvinists, even more faith-affirming. And the farther you get away from Calvinism, and the closer you get to the plain and simple truth of the Bible, the deeper you are going to dive into God's love, faithfulness, righteousness, trustworthiness, grace, joy, peace, etc.
And not only that, but you'll be able to freely spread it to others because you'll begin to truly understand that what God did for you, He can do for anyone.
In Calvinism, God loves only the elect, Jesus died for only the elect, and God offers salvation only to the elect. And so only the elect can/will be saved. The non-elect have no chance to be saved, no hope at all. And not only that, but "the elect" have no real hope either - because they cannot know for sure until they die if they are truly elect or if they just got "evanescent grace" which only makes them think they are saved for a short time. And so until they die, they always have to worry that they might not really be elect, even if they think they are. And if someone does backslide or "lose faith," it's because God made it happen... and there's nothing they can do to change it. There is no real hope or assurance in Calvinism because no one can know for sure that God really does love them, that Jesus really did die for them, and that God really did give them real faith. What a sad kind of faith to cling to!
[You know, the Bible says that the angels rejoice over every sinner that repents. But in Calvinism, the angels would also be rejoicing over every sinner that doesn't repent. Because both are equally God's Will. Both are equally caused by God. Both bring God glory, equally. As Calvinist Paul Washer says, "The moment when you take your first step through the gates of hell, the only thing you will hear is all of creation standing to its feet and applauding and praising God because God has rid the earth of you." That's sick. And so unbiblical.]
But in the Bible, God really does love all people and want all people to be saved, and Jesus really did die for all sins of all people, and so anyone can believe in Him and be saved. This includes me, and you, and our kids, our family members, our neighbors, our friends, and, yes, even our enemies. We can all know for sure that God loves us personally, that He wants us to be saved, that Jesus died for us, that God offers us salvation, and that we can be saved if we choose to believe in Jesus. Because the Bible tells us so.
And so no one is beyond God's reach, beyond His love, grace, forgiveness, healing, salvation, etc. No one is predestined to hell. No one is hopeless. God loves all, Jesus died for all, and God offers salvation to all - an offer that all of us can accept. And so no matter how far we've fallen or how long we've been running from God, we can turn around and throw ourselves upon His grace, grabbing ahold of His promise to save anyone who puts their faith in Jesus. A promise that's for all people. And we can trust His promise because the God of the Bible (unlike Calvinism's god) is trustworthy. This is where our hope and assurance is found.
The truth of the Bible is so much more beautiful, hope-filled, life-giving, faith-affirming, and "for all people" than Calvinism ever could be. And so don't worry. When you give up Calvinism for the plain teachings of the Bible, you get something so much better!
[Also, you might find encouragement in this 5-part series from Jason Breda at Living Christian: "Why I don't believe in Calvinism anymore." My husband watched it all and said it's one of the best summaries of what's wrong with Calvinism.]
Summing it all up:
I'd like to end this post on a quote from a video called Stealth Calvinism and How it Splits Churches from The Church Split. These guys - Brian and Will - have a lot of great insights to share about the dangers and errors of Calvinism, especially Stealth Calvinism. (And I love Brian's self-deprecating "Hello, heretics" that he often greets us with.😄)
Near the end of that video (starting at the 1:46:36 minute mark), Will said this (I am quoting him with his permission):
"I am not attacking my church, okay. It's just when you see it happen before your very eyes... It can happen anywhere. You think that you're safe, maybe in your church, but you're not, even though you trust the people around you. They're good people around you. They're loving, thoughtful, serving. But because they might not be aware of this particular issue... anyone can bring something stealthy in. You have to just know what that is, right. You have to be aware of the terminology. You have to be aware of what you believe. You have to be aware of precision: 'How can I be more precise in my speech so that I'm very clear in where we stand on things?'... You have to be aware of the issues. Because if you don't, they WILL split your church or you're gonna have a bunch of brainwashed people or you're gonna have a bunch of people so theologically confused that they defunct from the faith or they're no good in their evangelistic efforts because they have a ton of contradictory views."
This is pretty much my whole post condensed into one paragraph. And it nicely sums up my reason for this post and, in fact, for this whole blog. (Thank you, Will!)
[And lastly, here are two worthwhile videos from Kevin at Beyond the Fundamentals: If you don't vehemently oppose Calvinism, you don't understand the Gospel (5-minute clip) and 35 Truths that Destroy Calvinism (11 minutes long, which is warp-speed for Kevin).]
So considering all we've looked at, what do you think? Cult-ish or not? Unbiblical or not?
It's okay if you say not. I won't fight you on it.
[But I might point out that Calvinism may have connections, historically-speaking, with Freemasonry. And apparently, a good percentage of Presbyterian ministers are Freemasons. I'm not sure how true this is, but it might be worth checking out. Here are some resources to get you started, but you'll have to evaluate them for yourselves (I'm terrible at history, got a D in my college history class): Huguenots, John Calvin and Freemasonry, Charles Spurgeon 100% Freemason, Calvinist connections with freemasonry, and Calvinism: More Evidence of Cultic Origins. And I might suggest that you consider the roots of Calvinism as shared in this post: "The Pagan, Gnostic Origin of Calvinism" from 20/20 Scriptural Vision Ministry.]
But if you say cult-ish - if you agree that Calvinism corrupts the gospel and destroys God's character, truth, and people's faith - then what are you gonna do about it? Who are you going to tell? How are you gonna help protect the gospel, God's Truth?
The gospel is at stake here. God's character and Word. People's faith and eternities and their relationship with Him. And if that's not worth fighting for, nothing is.
If you'd like to, watch a couple of these songs and consider what Jesus went through to be able to offer salvation to all people... and then think about how Calvinism destroys that, how it minimizes and demeans Jesus's sacrifice and how it declares the majority of people un-save-able, unlovable, hopelessly damned: Secret Ambition by Michael W. Smith, Sweetly Broken by Jeremy Riddle, Oh, What Love by The City Harmonic, I Am by Crowder, Hallelujah Christmas by Cloverton, and My Jesus by Todd Agnew. (They're all so good!)
And now for the links:
Here are all the links from this post, in order. I hope I got them all. (I marked which are mine and which are videos. And I only list them once, even if I linked to them multiple times.):
In the Introduction:
The Psychology Today article: Understanding Cults: The Basics
(mine) "Are Calvinists really saved?"
(mine) Calvinism is a different gospel: A Tale of Two Gospels
(mine) Can you lose your salvation?
#1 Using deception to get into the church
The Church Infected with Calvinism
(mine) Watching Stealth Calvinism in Action
John Piper's Saying what you believe is clearer than saying "Calvinist"
Piper's "How to teach and preach 'Calvinism'"
Calvinist Thomas Schreiner's YouTube clip
(mine) Is the ESV a Calvinist Bible?
The "how to reform a church plan" from Founder's Ministries: "Walking Without Slipping"
"4 Reasons Not to be a 'Calvinist'"
Faith on Fire video (26 minutes long) of John Piper calling John MacArthur a "closet Calvinist"
Truth Snitch's post about church splits
(mine) "Saint" PJ's deceptions and manipulations"
A.W. Pink, Doctrine of Election
John MacArthur, Robert Morey, and Paul Washer in the video from Discerning the World
Steven Lawson, Salvation is of the Lord
PJ's article "Preach the Bible, Not Calvinism"
Idol Killer's video "What is Sovereignty in Calvinism? - Honest Calvinists conference"
#2 Hidden Agendas
9Marks' plan to reform a church: A Roadmap for Church Reform
9Marks article "Calvinist Pastors and Non-Calvinist Churches: Candidating, Pastoring, and Moving On"
(mine) A Calvinist pastor has problems with Christians who research Calvinism
"The Five Points of Calvinism and Your Church's Sunday Meeting"
Wartburg Watch's article "How to figure out if your non-Calvinist or non-Authoritarian church is being taken over"
Stealth Calvinism in Oklahoma (video, Beyond the Fundamentals, 90 minutes long)
How the Young, Restless, and Reformed Split My Church (video, The Church Split, 1 hour 46 minutes long)
Church Takeover Success Using Strategies from the Calvinista Playbook
Spiritual Abuse in EFCA: Review of Once an Insider by Amanda Farmer
John Piper's article "TULIP: Introduction"
"Dishonest Calvinists (?) and the call for integrity"
Ascol in another Founder's Ministry article, about the recent pushback Calvinist pastors are facing
Christianity Today article "The Reformer"
Baptist News Global article about Mohler
#3 Multiple layers for maximum deception
(mine) The Calvinist's Big Ugly "But"
(mine) "Why is Calvinism so dangerous? #12 (Predestination, election)"
Pastor Search Committees and Stealth Calvinism (video, Soteriology 101, 80 minutes long)
Stealth Calvinist Strategies (video, Beyond the Fundamentals, 70 minutes long)
Stealth Calvinism's New Brand: 3 Dot Theology (video, Beyond the Fundamentals, 100 minutes long)
Calvinist Infiltration Prevention Resolution (video, Beyond the Fundamentals, 48 minutes long)
#4 The Fun Stuff (Strategic Tactics)
(mine) Calvinist Bad Logic #7: False Dichotomies
(mine) When Calvinism's "bad logic" traps good Christians
(mine) "Things My Calvinist Pastor Said #2: You're like a 'dead body'"
(mine) MacArthur's Manipulations
(mine) "Is faith a gift God gives (forces on) us?"
(mine) "Predestined for salvation? Or for something else?"
(mine) A Quick Study of Calvinism's favorite words
Calvinism's Proof Texts Examined
Calvinistic Proof Texts for Determinism (video, Soteriology 101, 1 hour 24 minutes long)
"Answering Calvinist Proof Texts" (article)
(mine) "Exposing Calvinism: 'Anyone' can believe and be saved"
(mine) "Exposing Calvinism: The 'Non-Elect' can come to Christ? Really!?!"
(mine) A not-so-imaginary conversation with a Calvinist
(mine) "Calvinism 101: 'Free-will choice" is not really 'free-will' or 'choice'
(mine) "On Spurgeon's 'Calvinism is the gospel'"
(mine) "Derek, the 10-point Calvinist!"
Founder's Ministries article: "Reformed by the Word: One Church's Journey"
"The Subtle Secrets of the Gospel Project"
Beyond the Fundamentals video series on the errors of 9Marks:
Part 2d: Biblical Theology - Sovereign God
#5 Information Isolation and Control
(mine) Why is Calvinism so Dangerous? #3 (Free-Will Choices?)
(mine) For Alana L (foreknowing vs predetermining)
(mine) Calvinist Bible translation: A Random Verse that destroys Calvinism (And "Is the ESV a Calvinist Bible?")
Article by Roger E. Olsen at Patheos about another person's experience with Calvinism taking over their church
(mine) "Satan vs. Calvinism's god"
9Marks article, "Church Reform when you're not (necessarily) the pastor"
(mine) "Is 'Accept Jesus in your heart' unbiblical and dangerous?"
(mine) "Calvinists, Altar Calls, and Evangelism"
10 things to know about the psychology of cults
#6 Fear and Coercion
(mine) Predestination Manipulation
John MacArthur's God's Absolute Sovereignty
R.C. Sproul's God's Sovereignty
"Why do some people so passionately hate Calvinism"
"3 Reasons People Reject Total Depravity"
A.W. Pink's Doctrine of Man's Total Depravity
John Calvin's Institutes... book 1, chapter 18
"What I learned when I preached the doctrine of election"
(mine) "When Calvinism Infiltrates Your Church"
(mine) "Why is it so hard for Calvinists to get free from Calvinism?"
"Predestination is Biblical, Beautiful, and Practical"
Divine Providence: The Supreme Comfort of a Sovereign God
(mine) Does God cause childhood abuse?
(mine) Exposing Calvinism: I love my grandchild but God might not
Listen here to Calvinist James White say child-rape has to be decreed by God or else it would be a meaningless, purposeless evil
(mine) Why am I so harsh towards Calvinism?
#7 Mind-Control, Thought-Reform
(mine) Calvinist Bad Logic #1: Never Let a Calvinist Define the Terms!
(mine) "Is Calvinism's TULIP biblical?"
Michael Heiser's The Unseen Realm (video, 72 minutes long)
(mine) Why is Calvinism so dangerous?
"Covert Calvinism" sermon series
(mine) "Calvinism: False Gospel or True (but warped) Gospel?"
9Marks' article Build Fences Around Your Flock
(mine) "A Crash Course in Calvinism (A letter for pastors)"
(mine) "A Crash Course in Calvinism (Calvinist quotes)"
#8. Silencing the members' inner voices
"Should we talk about Predestination?"
(mine) Exposing Calvinism: Causing evil isn't sin for God
Tim Keller's 3 Objections to the Doctrine of Election
Calvinistic Compelling Truth article: What is the doctrine of predestination?
The Crossway article Help! I'm struggling with the doctrine of predestination
Soteriology 101's post You don't understand Calvinism
(mine) Things my Calvinist pastor said #6: God has no problems with these 'truths,' but we do
The Sunday School teacher who "cleverly" used "mystery" but not the word Calvinism: "Sneaky Calvinism (Calvinism on the Sly in Action)"
Lady asks the question most Calvinists don't like to answer (Soteriology 101 video, 15 minutes long]
John MacArthur's "Is the Doctrine of Election Biblical?"
John Piper's "Pastoral Thoughts on the Doctrine of Election"
Crossway's article "Straight Talk About Predestination"
J.I. Packer "Divine Sovereignty and Human Responsibility"
(mine) "Non-Calvinism is DISGUSTING and IMMORAL"
#9. "Cults are authoritarian (disagreeing with or opposing the leader is not allowed)"...
Billy Graham Evangelistic Association article: "How do cults differ from Christianity?"
The Calvinist article against non-Calvinist Dave Hunt: "What Theology is this? Dave Hunt's Misrepresentation of God and Calvinism"
My review of the article against Hunt: "My review of a Calvinist review of an Anti-Calvinist book.")
On Calvinism's trap of intellectual pride: "Origen's Revenge"
(mine) List of Calvinist preachers, authors, theologians, websites, etc.
(mine) 12 Tips on how to think critically about Calvinism
I share my deleted predestination comment here: Letter to our elders regarding Calvinism growing in the church
my response about the "babies in hell" sermon: Things my Calvinist pastor said #14: Babies die as unrepentant sinners
my belief about the age of accountability: Do babies go to heaven if they die? A Critique of Calvinism's answer
Excommunicated for exposing stealth Calvinism (video, Beyond the Fundamentals, 2 hours, 16 minutes long)
Cult Leaders are Malignant Narcissists:
The MacArthur and adoring fan clip (go to the 2:30 minute mark), from a video from Jordan at The Great Light Studios: Leaving Calvinism after 19 years with Alana L (1 hour 21 minutes long)
Alana shares her story in these videos on her YouTube channel: "In and out of Calvinism, part 1: Finally, the whole story" and "Shunning in the church: My story: Where I've been and where I am now, part 2"
9Marks' article: A Church Discipline Primer
The Wartburg Watch articles about signing church membership covenants, about church discipline gone wrong, and about how to resign from a church
From other people who also think there are huge problems with Calvinism, that it's cult-like, or that there may be something "off" with Calvinist pastors:
Calvinism and Narcissism Link Examined (Beyond the Fundamentals video, 1 hour, 50 minutes.)
Pulpit Narcissism vs Godly Women (video from Faith on Fire, 13 minutes long)
Christian Apostacy & Cults: Calvinism, Mormons, Jehovah's Witnesses) (video from Faith on Fire, 26 minutes long)
Narcissism + Christianity = Calvinism
Extraordinary Christian testimonies that expose John MacArthur's church as a mind control cult
Just how "healthy" is the 9Marks organization?
What makes 9Marks churches so unhealthy?
What should we do about 9Marks and other abusive churches?
Conclusion:
(mine) "Calvinism's Heart-Breaking Destruction"
Reddit post: "Calvinism is disgusting"
Reddit post "Verily verily I say unto thee, f*ck this sh*t!" (which starts with a quote from Kevin DeYoung's article on limited atonement)
Reddit post: Election and Suicide : r/Calvinism (reddit.com)
(mine) "A Crash Course in Calvinism (Calvinist quotes)"
(mine) Healing your soul from Calvinism's damage
5-part series from Jason Breda at Living Christian: "Why I don't believe in Calvinism anymore"
Stealth Calvinism and How it Splits Churches (video, The Church Split, 2 hours)
If you don't vehemently oppose Calvinism, you don't understand the Gospel (5-minute video clip)
35 Truths that Destroy Calvinism (11-minute video)
Huguenots, John Calvin and Freemasonry
Charles Spurgeon 100% Freemason
Calvinist connections with freemasonry
Calvinism: More Evidence of Cultic Origins
The Pagan, Gnostic Origin of Calvinism
Secret Ambition by Michael W. Smith
Sweetly Broken by Jeremy Riddle
Oh, What Love by The City Harmonic
I Am by Crowder
Hallelujah Christmas by Cloverton
My Jesus by Todd Agnew
