Calvinism – Page 3 – Martin's Mercurial Musings

The Logic of Free Will vs Determinism

As much as I’m troubled by the doctrine of unconditional election, I think I’m even more bothered with the belief that God not only controls but brings to pass everything, anywhere, and at any time with whomever. To believe that God desires abortion … because, after all, it is legal in the United States (and elsewhere) is something I can’t accept. To me, I can only conclude that yes, we as individuals are free to make decisions and carry out actions of our own free will and volition. I recently came across a Facebook forum in which determinism was being discussed and one individual put forth some rather cogent questions and answers.

Q. How did we get free will?

A. God sovereignly decreed that humanity would have the freedom to choose.

Some Thoughts on Abraham Piper – the Son of Prominent Calvinist John Piper

Kids can be challenging. Yet, we love them. We’re concerned for them, and we do the best we can for them. We don’t always like the decisions they make. And so, as a parent who dealt with a challenging teenager, I’m sympathetic to John Piper and what he must be experiencing with his son, Abraham. With our son being as defiantly independent as he was, about the only comfort I took was the hope that in the end, the natural occurring consequences of our son’s choices would bring about enough difficulty in his life for him to decide that just maybe it would be better to make other decisions. I’ve always thought that experience was a very good teacher.

However, in John Piper’s worldview with respect to his son Abraham, there’s nothing that could be hoped for. God has already chosen the path for Abraham. And that path appears completely devoid of God. John Piper is a ‘hard-determinist’ wherein God initiates and controls everything including the final outcome of any event or action. Nevertheless, I have no doubt that John Piper loves and cares deeply about his son. I have no doubt that John Piper wants only the best for his son. But John Piper, believing in God’s absolute determinism and God’s decreeing of all things which are to come realizes that there’s nothing that can be done to alter the course of his son’s life. This is most certainly one of the bitter fruits of Calvinistic theology – some people are blessed and given eternal life, and some people are screwed and cast off into the pit of hell. It wouldn’t surprise me for Abraham, having grown up with his father’s extreme Calvinistic teachings to ask himself, “What kind of God is this?”

Sovereignty vs Free Will – A Wretched Discussion with Todd Friel

I’ve seen some of Todd Friel’s videos. He’s the host of Wretched Radio and is VERY Calvinistic in his theological approach to salvation. He begins a short video on determination (noted below) by responding to a letter from a viewer who’s confused as to whether God controls one’s desire for a favorite kind of breakfast cereal. Well, Christan determinism 101 per Todd Friel:

Mrs. Robinson Infers Determinism but Isn’t Determined to Clarify Deterministic Inferences

What Mrs. Robinson posted:

Remarkable passage regarding God’s sovereignty. Exodus 34:24 – “For I will drive out nations from you and enlarge your borders, and no one will covet your land when you go up three times a year to appear before the Lord your God.” Three times a year, every male Israelite, at the command of God, left his home and inheritance, and journeyed to Jerusalem to keep the feasts of the Lord; and in the above Scripture we learn He promised them that, while they were at Jerusalem, He would guard their unprotected homes by restraining the covetous designs and desires of their heathen neighbors. (Excerpt from the Sovereignty of God by A.W. Pink)

Interesting. So, you mean to tell me that God has access to ALL men’s hearts? I thought they had to give Him permission. He could only make that claim to the Israelites if He was sovereign over the reprobate.

“The king’s heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord; he turns it wherever He will.” Proverbs 21:1

I asked:

I understand you to infer here and elsewhere that anything and everything that would ever happen to anyone anywhere in the world is a direct result of God wanting it to happen. That is, nothing happens outside of what God has divinely ordained. Is this an accurate reflection of your beliefs? Would it be fair for someone to consider you to be a divine determinist?

Repent and Believe – Does the Calvinist Actually Believe This Is Necessary?

The conversation with a Calvinist went something like this:

Calvinist: Repent and believe. This is the same message of the gospel that the Calvinists has as the non-Calvinist.

Me: But irresistible grace states people are unable to refuse God’s offer of grace and salvation. Doesn’t an individual’s total depravity preventing him from seeking God? So, how does repent and believe factor in? Where’s actual requirement that the sinner must repent and believe prior to his salvation. Per Calvinistic determinism, God has already ordained the events that will happen. So, the sinner’s repentance and his believing come after he’s already been saved. It happened because God willed it to happen. Repent and believe infers a requirement that an individual must do something which, per Calvinistic doctrine, 1) he’s unable to do and 2) God has already done all that is needed. Therefore, wouldn’t it make more sense for the Calvinist to simply say that one’s salvation is predicated on God’s desire – just wait and see – and you’ll know one way or the other in due time?

The Fear of the Lord

I’ve never liked the phrase – fear of the Lord. And maybe that’s the best translatable word to use. Still, I’ve always felt that the use of that phrase connotates a negative inference as to the nature and character of God. If anything, love and fear appear to be completely opposite constructs.

Can a Calvinist Actually Have Assurance of Salvation?

It’s curious that Calvinists I know and interact with are adamant they’re part of Team Elect and don’t seem to understand those who struggle with assurance of salvation. There’s an interesting tidbit in John Calvin’s Institutes of Religion 3.2.11; God not only reveals himself to those on Team Reprobate but also instills within the reprobate a sense of goodness and mercy where the reprobate believes God loves him and has mercy for him? However, the reprobate is only enlightened with a “present” and not “eternal” sense of grace. Therefore, what the reprobate experiences doesn’t lead to salvation. Afterall, one has to be unconditionally chosen to be saved. Nevertheless, I get the impression that God manipulates or otherwise toys with those he plans to send to hell.

Calvinist Admits God Decrees Evil

This almost sounds like a headline from The Babylon Bee; A Calvinist finally admitting that God, in fact, decrees all manner of evil including such things as rape, murder, abortion, and [name your own evil] because God apparently has reasons for decreeing evil. Who knew?

This is how the conversation went:

An initial question from a non-Calvinist – How could Calvinistic determinism not have God as the author of evil? Logically, it doesn’t follow because you say God decrees all things. So, whatever has happened or whatever will happen is because God wants it?

First Calvinist – Calvinists believe that man cannot do good or evil unless God acts first, since God is the first cause for all things than can happen in existence. The evil is directly committed by the secondary causes such as man, Satan or creatures. Even though God as the primary cause decreed evil actions, God cannot be charged with wrongdoing.

Mrs. Robinson’s Defense of Unconditional Election from Romans 9-11

I’ve never understood Romans chapters nine to eleven to be, per se, about individuals. As I read it, Paul defends God’s intent to “collectively” (some might say corporately) bring Gentiles into the ‘fold’ who’re more open to salvation by faith and do away with the law (which the Jews apparently weren’t so good at keeping). My Calvinist friend, Mrs. Robinson, has sent me a defense for the Calvinist doctrine of individual unconditional election. C. Michael Patton wrote and published the below defense on his Credohouse.org blog in 2019I will respond to each point in due course. Patton incorporated some details for each point which can be found in his article referenced below. But, for now, the twelve points Patton puts forth are:

1. The whole section (9-11) is about the security of individuals.

2. In the election of Jacob over Esau (Rom. 9:10-13), while having national implications, starts with individuals.

Dr. Theodore Zachariades – Determinism – Take Two

When I first viewed the video in which Dr. Zachariades claims that God enables or precludes someone from committing adultery (noted below) I thought, what kind of demented theology does this guy possess? I have always thought that one of God’s attributes is his holiness. Is Christian faith predicated on God who would violate his own moral standards? Can I then infer that God decrees all manner of sin including murder, rape, human trafficking, serial killers, and whatever other horrid act that one can possibly conceive?