S. Michael Houdmann wrote an article for the Christian blog, “Got Questions”, addressing why he believes some people so passionately oppose Calvinism? Houdmann’s last comment was intriguing; “For all you Calvinism haters out there, would it help if I told you that you were predestined to hate Calvinism?” I suspect Houdmann was trying to be cute inferring the deterministic aspect of his Calvinistic belief. But instead, Houdmann hammers home the stark reality that determinism within Calvinistic doctrines dominates all other aspects of that creed.
This sound bite is perhaps the most consistent presentation of Reformed Theology. And perhaps Dr. Zachariades is as true of a Calvinist as there is. Frankly, I admire his passion – and his consistency in being a hard-core determinist and believing that “God works all things after the counsel of his will.” So, Dr. Zachariades, you’re teaching me that God, as manifested through Calvinistic determinism not only prevents someone from committing adultery – but that adultery is ordained to be committed when God wants it to occur? Okay … no ambiguity there.
Like a number of Calvinists, Zachariades denies free will. Per his Calvinist doctrine, man has no free will – zip, zero, nada. God commands everything and therefore is responsible for everything that occurs in the world including evil. Many Calvinists infer God’s command through “compatibilism” which essentially has to do with God bringing about evil but not being responsible for that evil. Nevertheless, Dr. Zachariades blurts out what all what I believe all committed Calvinists believe.
As I see it, theistic determinism within Calvinism is incompatible with the entirety of Scripture if only because Christians are taught to use wisdom – as outlined in Proverbs. So, if we’re to use wisdom, doesn’t that by definition indicate we have to choose to exercise wisdom? Why would God see the need to give us Proverbs if he is, after all, determining everything that will happen? Further, it seems apparent that any direct guidance, revelation and any leadings of God were only given to pivotal individuals in the Old and New Testaments. Moses’ burning of the bush immediately comes to mind which makes me wonder if any guidance actually given from God was only provided through some supernatural revelation?
A question I’ll pose to my theistically determined Calvinist friends; why is there so much angst against abortion in this country? Sadly, I’ve yet to get a satisfactory answer. Wouldn’t it be accurate within the framework of Calvinistic determinism to say that God determined abortion to be the law of the land back in 1973? And since then, God has deterministically decreed that >40M infants should be killed. Why am I not hearing a bunch of hallelujahs from deterministic Calvinists? Can it not be accurately stated, per Calvinistic determinism, that God has brought about all sorts of specific diseases, heartaches, disappointments, financial difficulties, divorce, crime? All for God’s glory, of course! It only seems logical, then, that any attempt to alleviate or otherwise cure some God-given medical malady to be in direct violation of God’s determinist desire?
Well, it’s easy to harp on Dr. Zachariades and what I believe to be his fallacious views. But more to the point, I find precious few Calvinists who wish to distance themselves from the beliefs of Zachariades. And in reality, I don’t think they can. Are not Dr. Zachariades’ statements the quintessential logical outcome in Calvinistic doctrine?
Martin's Mercurial Musings 
Hello Bob
After reading your article about this pastor, all I can say is that you are wrong. Him for taking theistic determinism too far, and you for ignoring the Calvinistic view that God uses “means” quite quite often to work all thing after the counsel of His will. This pastor thinks God “orders” kings to commit adultery, that’s a pretty big error, that, for the life of me, I can not find in the scripture. And Reformed folk like me and ancient Calvinistic theologians have believed and taught that the men do have a freedom of will that is directly connected to their nature. The real issue time and again, that I have seen, is Total Depravity, or has sin done to us and our nature. Evidently in your view it merely messed us up a bit, not killed us spiritually.
Sincerely
Tom
Dear Tom … I appreciate your response and in fact wouldn’t necessarily disagree that I might be ignoring a view that God uses “means” in which God moves about and otherwise does things he wishes to accomplish. I’m pleased to read you believe Dr. Zachariades to be in error. But, to me, given all the prominent Calvinists i.e John Piper, Paul Washer, RC Sproul, etc who have espoused that in essence, God is the author of sin – but is himself not sinful is problematic if only because there is no determinant line (pun intended) in which one can say conclusively that ‘yes, God ordained this and made it come about’ or ‘no, this is not of God.’
As to Total Depravity, I don’t accept that doctrine. Certainly Adam and Eve sinned and were punished accordingly. But I do not believe their sins messed up all of mankind for eternity. God created us freely and allowed us to exercise our own free will and each of us is responsible for the choices we make.
But, more than that, Total Depravity must be taken into context with Unconditional Election. I’m guessing that you agree that God chose certain individuals ‘before the foundation of the world’ to be ‘elected unto salvation.’ That would include infants who die during infancy or even in the womb. No child just born has sinned. Therefore, that child is innocent of sin and ought to be welcomed into heaven. But according to Unconditional Election, assuming that the proportion of those elected is distributed evenly (and I’ll concede that maybe it’s not) God’s wrath and punishment is meted out to innocent individuals. Hence, the unavoidable hole in Total Depravity is that God eternally damns individuals who have never sinned.
So, I reject your notion that Total Depravity has killed humanity spiritually.