The Anti-Calvinist Rant

The next bunch of posts will show interactions between Calvinists and non-Calvinists from the comment sections of various Soteriology 101 posts (but they will be interspersed with my "Understanding God's Will" series).  It's interesting and informative to see the actual things that Calvinists themselves say about the Gospel and God.  (I made minor edits for clarity.) This interaction is from "5 Reasons Why I Stayed Out of Calvinism" : A non-Calvinist, Graceadict, made this comment: "Calvinism creates a god that is NOT a god of love….” And Calvinist Jtleosala responds:  1. Then, your claim that God loves all humanity is a “decoy love,” after all not all humanity goes to heaven. 2. In Calvinism, God is love because He did not decide to let all humanity come to perish.  Instead, He choose to pick for himself a people of His own…  Then Graceadict replies: Regarding the topic: Is God a God of Love who authentically loves ALL of His...

(This is taken from How to Tell if a Church, Pastor, or Website is Calvinist , with some additions.  Remember that this is only my opinion, my assessment, and my suggestions, based of what I've learned about Calvinism so far.) A church's Statement of Faith tells you a lot about the theology of that church.  But some Calvinist churches are careful to hide their Calvinist views because they know it's controversial and might scare people off.  So they might be very careful with their wording and will not clearly identify themselves as "Calvinist" or "Reformed."  Sometimes it takes reading between the lines - being able to identify the "covert Calvinism" - to know if the church is Calvinist or not.  1.   First off, pay attention for one or more of these kinds of words and phrases:  election, predestination, decree, ordains or fore-ordains, sovereignty or sovereign control, "doctrines of grace," covenant theology, reformed theology ...

This is a bit off the topic of Calvinism, but oh well ... I have been feeling fragile lately.  Too many heartbreaks.  Too many losses.  Too many feelings of "Bad things always happen.  Where is the hope?  Where is the peace and joy?"  I wake up with anxiety in my stomach (and I have for years), and it takes time and lots of conscientious, biblical thought and prayer to subdue it.  And because of this mental and emotional overload, I have been unable to write much.  I know I need to write less for now, even to think less, and to instead just spend time in the Lord's presence and in the Word, being filled instead of trying to fill others.  (So bear with me as I repost things and share links to other people's writing.  I just can't write new stuff myself right now.)  I am working on wrestling my anxious mind, to take my thoughts captive (long-term, ingrained, negative thoughts and fears) and to replace them with God's Truth.  I...

(I updated this February 2023.  I simplified it, got rid of the fluff and the things I covered in other posts, and added more verses.) I'm just gonna come out and say it ...  If Calvinism is true, then God is a liar. Here are a few of their teachings in a nutshell (without the sugarcoating or deceptive layers Calvinists wrap them in)  ... The Bible says God does not cause sin.  But Calvinism says God causes everything, even sin.   [But they hide the word "causes" under other words - like "ordains, decrees, sovereign control" - so that you don't know they mean "causes.")    The Bible calls us all to believe in Jesus, and it places the responsibility to believe on us.  But Calvinism says it's up to God whether we believe or not, that He blinds the non-elect so they cannot believe but He causes the elect to believe.   [But they talk in such a way that, for as long as possible, you think they believe in free-will.] The Bible says God wants a...