Calvinism
Where Calvinism Leads
Tim Warner - 10/2003
http://www.pfrs.org/calvinism/calvin09.html
When the philosophy that drives Calvinism is projected to its logical
conclusion, even Satan's activity is an extension of God's
sovereignty. God sovereignly controls Satan's every move. This makes
God the author of everything evil, and the most wicked sinner of all.
Some Calvinists actually admit this, and seek to defend it from
Scripture. If ultimately God sovereignly is in control of everything,
and if free will of man, angels, or even Satan, is ultimately under
the control of God, then the responsibility for all wickedness and
evil must be placed at the feet of God Himself. Are Satan's actions of
his own free will? If so, then God has obviously limited His
sovereignty regarding Satan's activities. He allows Satan free will.
If Satan's actions are ultimately under the control of God, then Satan
is merely God's puppet, or "dark side."
The God of the Bible does not resemble this kind of god.
I John 1
5 This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare
unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.
James 1
17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh
down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither
shadow of turning.
We must keep in mind that Satan's ultimate ambition is to usurp God's
position, (Isaiah 14:13-15, 2 Thes. 2:3,4). Satan cannot make himself
holy, but, he can make God appear to be unholy, closing the gap
between man's perception of God and Satan. Satan simply assumes the
dark side of God. This philosophical merging of God and Satan in
effect fulfills Satan's ultimate aspiration.
The danger for Christians, however, is that only one baby step
separates the Calvinism, taught in mainstream Evangelical churches,
from the logical philosophical conclusion, that God is both good and
evil. Ultimately, God is Satan and Satan is God. In the last days this
philosophy will facilitate Christians worshipping the Beast.
I am very troubled by the logical implications that the Calvinist
philosophy forces Christians to embrace. And also the image of the
Christian "God" presented to the world.
Calvinism, when consistently taken to its logical conclusions, implies
all of the following:
1. God's offers of salvation to "whosoever will" are insincere. God is
not completely honest in Scripture.
2. God offers to save the non-elect IF they will do what is utterly
impossible. God taunts the damned.
3. God created most people for the purpose of torturing them forever.
God is cruel and sadistic.
4. God CAN save all, and DESIRES to save all, but chooses to damn many
for no apparent reason. God is insane.
5. God controls Satan's every move, and every wicked act of the most
vile sinner. God is the source of all evil.
The bottom line is that Calvinism, when carried to its logical
conclusions, implies that God is a lying, taunting, sadistic, insane,
wicked, tyrant who demands our worship! One could substitute the word
"Satan" instead of "God" in most of the above 5 statements, giving a
more accurate portrayal of Bible doctrine. For the fortunate few on
whom Calvinism's God has arbitrarily decided to bestow every good
thing, God is a pretty cool dude! They have their ticket, and no
matter what they do, they are destined for eternal bliss. To hell with
the rest of mankind. Calvinism seems pretty attractive to those with
an elitist mentality. But, what kind of God are Calvinists presenting
to the rest of mankind? I strongly believe that Atheism thrives
largely because of the Reformed - Calvinist model. That is,
Calvinism's portrayal of God is one of the major reasons that many
thinking people reject God. They are rejecting the Calvinist's God.
While I do not agree with all of Dave Hunts' points in his book, "What
Love is This?", I think his title is far too tame!
I have received a fair amount of "hate mail" from Calvinists because
my expressing the concerns in this article. Usually they accuse me of
equating Calvinism with the Occult. But, that is not what I have
written. Unfortunately, in most cases, they have misunderstood my
point. I am NOT saying that Calvinists actually teach God is wicked,
or a sinner, or even directly responsible for sin. Most Calvinists
stop short of drawing those conclusions. I am saying that this is the
logical outcome when you project Calvinism's philosophy to its logical
conclusions. And let's be frank. If the logical outcome of a
particular philosophy is impossible, then the system is illogical.
The real mistake of Calvinists is elevating God's sovereignty at the
expense of His holiness. They have failed to see that sovereignty does
NOT demand God's micromanaging all His creatures. That God has the
power to control everything is without question. But, His purpose in
creation would not be realized if He did so. Free will and allowing
natural consequences to follow human choices is a major component of
what God is accomplishing with His creat
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