Arguments against Calvinism

This short paper contains a list of common-sense and biblical arguments against calvinism. I am not saying that calvinists are going to hell or anything radical like that.. calvinists are Christians and calvinists and non-calvinist Christians share a multitude of common ideas and beliefs.

My main beef against calvinism is the belief that God predestined certain people to be "elect"; in normal words, calvinists believe that God dictated who will be saved before that person was even born. Now, that in itself is not so radical when you stop to consider how God sees time. But what is outragous is how calvinists believe that man has no free will in the matter. I.e., man does not choose to follow God, God predestines man to follow God and be saved. So they believe that it's not: "Because you have faith in God and follow his ways, God will have mercy on you and save you." Instead, they believe it's: "Because God chose you, you will serve God and be saved."

• Total Depravity/Inability
  • This is saying that man is hopelessly sinful. Man is incapable of being "good." Any "good" deed is truly motivated by something evil. The rest of the four points rely on this point.
• Unconditional Election
  • This is what I find outrageous. Since man is totally evil, man's salvation is completely dependant upon God. This part is somewhat biblical; God chooses who he chooses. No matter how hard man tries, his actions alone cannot get him into heaven; God is the only one who has control. However, I believe that God will save those whose hearts are totally dedicated to Him, thus granting some influence to man. Afterall, God is just. However, calvinists see it otherwise. Calvinists believe that man has no free spiritual will.
• Limited Atonement
  • Since God predestined the elect, Jesus paid only for those few elect.
• Irresistible Grace
  • The elect have no choice about being elect. The elect cannot resist God's grace.
• Perseverence of the Saints
  • The calvinists believe that once you're saved, you're always saved since God had predestined the elect and the elect have no choice about being elect.

Many Calvinists would point out Romans 9:15-18, which state something along the likes of " '[God to Moses:] I'll have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I'll have compassion on whom I have compassion.' [Paul:] So it depends not upon man's will or exertion, but upon God's mercy... So then he has mercy upon whomever he wills, and he hardens the heart of whomever he wills." The calvinists suggest that this is the silver bullet proof that God predestines the elect. However, this is an incorrect interpretation. These verses are simply stating that nothing man can do by himself can get him into heaven. Man needs God's grace and mercy, which only God can grant. God grants mercy to those he grants mercy to, and we can presume from Jesus' teachings that God will grant mercy to those whose hearts are truly seeking God and who follow Jesus' path in heart, mind, and action.

• If God has already elected those who are going to heaven, then why evangelize, seek to be saved, or even follow God's path?
  • Your traditional Calvinist would proclaim, "Because God told us so!"  But if God has already elected those who will be going to heaven, no amount of influence from Christians will change who is elected or not.  Evangelism may be the means of how God saves the elect, but our conscience decision to not evangelize will not affect the elect.
  • The interesting counter-argument would be when Calvinists say to non-Calvinists, "But why bother evangelizing... God already knows if a particular person will ever accept the message or not."  But, as will be discussed below, this is argument is a fallacy due to the lack of comprehension of time.
• If God predestined everything, then there is no use in praying for your friends or family.
  • Basically, God has already predestined the events and no appealing to God will likely change his mind- it has already been predestined and cannot be changed.
• If God predestined everything, then God created sin.
  • This is where Calvinists disagree among themselves.  There are several camps; some that believe every little detail has been predestined, those who believe that God predestined all major events (including salvation), and those who believe that God only predestines those who will be saved.  I suppose this point would address the first camp;  If indeed God did predestined every little thing, then God did create sin.  He caused man to act a specific way knowing in advance what it would lead to.
• If man is totally incapable of good, then man cannot truly be remorseful or repentant.
• If man is totally incapable of good, then man cannot be faulted for his sins.
• If God predestined everything, then there is no such thing as randomness. (Now that's an interesting research topic..)
• If God predestined everything, then why eternally condemn the non-elect? After all, it is not their fault.. they were predestined to be damned!
  • This concept is called double-predestination. The logic is rather simple: if God only allows the elect to be saved, and God predestined the elect, then by default, God predestined everyone else who is not elect to be eternally condemned.
  • Most Calvinists believe it, but there are quite a few who don't. Thomas Aquinas' view was that God does not in fact damn those whose inherent sin would normally be condemning; God simply "passes over" those who he chose to not predestine. While this view is also somewhat arrogant, (how arrogant it is for us to believe we were predestined while our neighbor might not be), it simply doesn't make sense. The bible clearly states otherwise.
  • (never mind that little verse that says "whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life")
• Jesus died for everyone, not just the elect.
  • Calvinists would point out verses such as John 10:11, Acts 20:28, and John 15:13-14, which states that Jesus died for his friends. However, Jesus promptly then states that we are his friends if we obey his commands. Clearly, though, Jesus died for everyone. Verses decribe Jesus as the savior of the world, the savior of all men, and etc. Specifically, 1 John 2:2, which states that "He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world."
• Once-saved-always-saved is a farce
  • One only has to read the very last two verses of James (James 5:19-20) to see why. "My brethren, if any among you strays from the truth and one turns him back, let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins. "
  • Your confused calvinists typically don't have a response to verses like these other than to falsely argue that "well, the sinner must not have ever really been born from above to begin with."
  • It is not unfeasible for someone to be whole-heartedly devoted to God for a majority of their lifetime and then suddenly snap and turn totally against God in his heart. For example, suppose Billy Graham were to all of a sudden denounce God and start worshiping Satan. Calvinists would suggest that Billy Graham must not have ever have been saved whereas any other rational person would say that he once was a great man of faith whose heart was totally devoted to God but then suddenly snapped.

Yes, God is omnipotent and omniscient. He knows what will happen before it will happen. But foreknowledge does not imply predestination. Our problem is that we cannot fathom time the way God knows it. We see time as a constant stream from point A to point B. This is why we cannot fathom that there is no beginning to God and no end to God. God is infinity. God is 1/X as X approaches 0 (hopefully from the positive direction!). God understands time; he is all things at all times. God simply is.

Yes, I believe God predestines many events. Many events throughout the Bible have been predestined.  Jesus' birth was predestined. Jesus' death was predestined. Jesus' resurrection was predestined. Many things in our own lives could very well be predestined. But God certainly does not predestine people to go to heaven or go to hell. It is man's choice to either accept God's path or reject it.