The Anti-Calvinist Rant

Such a great sermon, one we can all learn a lot from and be encouraged by (it doesn't relate to Calvinism, but that's okay): "Encountering God's Process"  by Tony Evans (And here's a great 10-minute video from his daughter, Priscilla Shirer: "We're Desensitized to our Blessings."   It just seemed to speak so well to the crazy world we're living in right now, maybe because now seems like the perfect time to dig through all the distractions around us to find Jesus.)  And it's funny because just the other day, I was updating and typing up a "Bible Study/workbook" thing I wrote years ago, called  "Through the Refining Fire: Your 'Sweetly Broken' Journey,"  and the stuff Dr. Evans was saying in the beginning was almost exactly the stuff I had just typed up, about how God usually has to break us to rebuild us, how it's part of the process of spiritual growth.   I am sending this "Through the Refining Fire...

To make it easier to find, I compiled the links to all the posts in the "Things My Calvinist Pastor Said: We Left Our Church Because of Calvinism" series.  (That's right ... I'm not letting him or Calvinism off easy, not with the damage they do to God's Truth!)  We Left Our Church Because Of Calvinism (Things My Calvinist Pastor Said)  - the whole series in one post Now broken down into smaller posts,  "Things My Calvinist Pastor Said" ... #1: We Can't Choose #2: You're Like A Dead Body #3: Even Babies Are Wicked #4: God's Love Saves Some But Not Others #5: God Ordains Wickedness #6: God Has No Problem With These "Truths" But We Do #7: You Have To Accept Predestination #8: Man is Oblivious to Sin, Lydia wasn't a Believer #9: God Shows His Justice By Predestining People To Hell #10: God Only Really Cares About His Glory #11: God Ordains Child Abuse #12: Depression is a Sin, Job was a Dimwit #13: God's Doesn't Love Everyon...

(A repost, taken from this post .) I just watched a video of one Calvinist preacher who said it's unbiblical and dangerous to tell people they can "accept Jesus into their hearts."  He says to his congregation, in a very creepy, wide-eyed, mouth-hanging-open, stilted way (paraphrased), "Shouldn't it bother us that we tell people to do this but that the phrase 'accept Jesus into your heart' isn't in the Bible anywhere?"   (Honestly, it was very creepy, almost like "the lights are on but no one's home."  Or like he wasn't really in control of his own mind.  H ere is a   link to that clip featuring David Platt .   Doesn't it seem like there's something wrong here?  Can't you almost feel it? )  Here's his exact words in part of that clip: "I'm convinced that many people in our churches are simply missing the life of Christ, and a lot of it has to do with what we've sold them as the gospel, i.e. pray this...

Understanding God's Will #22 (final post in series): So what is the Will of God, according to the Bible?    And how do I find the next step in His plan for me?                  Well, I’m glad you asked.    But do you really want to know?    Because once you know then you have a decision to make: obey or disobey.    And doing God's Will is not a simple, quick thing.    It’s a life-long, life-altering discipline.    And that’s part of the problem because we want simple jobs with quick and massive rewards.    We want to put in the least amount of effort and get the most benefits possible.    We want Him to open the doors, but we don’t want any responsibilities.    We want freedom, but no consequences.                But that is not God’s way.  ...

(All memes made with IMGFLIP ) ( click here  to hear what White actually said)

Understanding God's Will 19 - 21  (no Calvinism stuff added to this post):  #19.    What if what I’m praying for is not God’s Will or plan for me?    What do I do?    Like the Israelites begging for and getting meat ( Numbers 11 ), could I end up getting what I ask for as sort of a punishment?                 I wondered about this one, too.    If I was asking and asking for something that God didn’t want to give me, would He end up giving it to me because I begged so much, but then there would be a punishment attached to it?    That’s how I felt as I pleaded with God for a house.   Would He give us a bad house just to shut me up, as punishment for begging too much, for not "trusting" Him enough and not being happy with what I had?   I mean, that’s like what happened to the Israelites, right?    Or is it?       ...