Arguments Against Calvinism
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Sovereignty examined
Claim:
Requiring meticulous determinism for God is characteristic of a less sovereign God than one who allows free will choice.
Refuting Calvinism:
- Refutation
-
A ruler who can rule if and only if all his subjects cannot make any free choice, vs a ruler who can rule a group of people who can choose to oppose him - which is more powerful, wiser, more skillful, more intelligent, greater - more capable? The one who can rule people that have free will.
If the only way the king can rule to accomplish the goal is to completely control everyone - that indicates a ruler who is not very capable; this is the way Calvinism portrays God.
Consistency of Calvinism
Claim:
Calvinism, in spite of possible other problems, is at least internally logically consistent.
Refuting Calvinism:
- Refutation
-
One argument in favor of Calvinism is that it is internally consistent.
Listed below are some of the inconsistencies in Calvinism:
NOTE: many of the claims of Calvinism below may seem horrible; they are NOT being stated as true claims of truth or reality; rather, they are false claims of Calvinism!
Calvinism insults God
Claim:
Calvinism insults God
Refuting Calvinism:
- Refutation
-
Calvinism claims that God seeks glory by sending most people to hell. Love does not do this; speaking of charity or love, 1 Cor 13:5 tells us that love
Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil;
Calvinism says that God does what love does not do. This insults God, portraying God as not loving.
2 Tim 2:13
Claim:
The scripture says that God cannot deny himself. 2 Tim 2:13.
Refuting Calvinism:
Zeal
Claim:
The argument for Irresistible Grace, that when rejecting Salvation, man is stronger than God, is not valid.
Refuting Calvinism:
Paul wrote of having a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. This reminds one of Calvinism. The zeal for God seems misdirected in both cases. In Calvinism, micro-manipulative control is magnified beyond love, and also beyond scripture. However, the Bible tells us that God exalts His word higher than his name. This seems to imply that what God says should take precedence over how we feel regarding glorifying God's name. Also, the Bible says God is love - it does not say God is control.
Patrideus the Sovereign
Claim:
The video below depicts Calvinism accurately.
Refuting Calvinism:
- Refutation
-
TBA (to be added)
Trauma of Calvinistic Doctrine
Claim:
The negative impact of Calvinism is examined by Leighton Flowers.
Refuting Calvinism:
Hosea 11:8
Claim:
Hosea 11:8 does not support Calvinism. God is shown to not be impassible in this verse.
Refuting Calvinism:
- Refutation
-
Impassibility is a theological doctrine that God does not experience emotion due to the actions of people. 1 ,2
Num 13-14
Claim:
Num 13-14 refutes Calvinism.
Refuting Calvinism:
They said, We're all gonna die! 1
Israel said that God brought them out of Egypt to die in the wilderness:
And all the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron: and the whole congregation said unto them, Would God that we had died in the land of Egypt! or would God we had died in this wilderness!
Col 2:12
Claim:
Col 2:12 refutes the Calvinistic claim that regeneration precedes faith.
Refuting Calvinism:
Col 2:12 says that being risen with Christ is through faith:
Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead.
Does being risen with Christ come first, and then enable one to then have saving faith?
Or does faith come first, then through that faith one becomes risen with Christ?
This verse looks like it is through faith that one is raised with Christ, that being raised with Christ (salvation) is through faith.
Eph 2:8-9
Claim:
Eph 2:8-9 does not support Calvinism. It does not teach that faith is the gift of God.
Refuting Calvinism:
For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
Not of works, lest any man should boast. - Eph 2:8-9
This does not claim that faith is the gift of God. William Lane Craig explains this.
Language looseness
Claim:
Calvinism relies on a double standard with respect to language looseness.
Refuting Calvinism:
Calvinism does this
- The word all is loosely interpreted to mean not all, when such meaning would support Calvinism.
- When such looseness does not support Calvinism, it is rejected, as in the case of God's not repenting in the book of 1 Samuel, in which the extremely literal meaning is applied, ignoring all context.
John 17
Claim:
John 17 does not support Calvinism.
Refuting Calvinism:
Below is part of John 17.
The issue is those whom the Father gave to Christ. Verse 2 says Jesus should give eternal life to those the Father gave him.
We will call these the given.
But, who are they?
17 These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee:
2 As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him.
What is the issue?
Claim:
The key issue of Calvinism is not whether God is fair, or whether man has free will, etc. - but whether God's word is true.
Refuting Calvinism:
Calvinism might claim sola scriptura, that Calvinism is based on the truth of God's word. However, presumptions seem to predominate in interpretation, turning supposedly exegesis into eisegesis.
All of the other issues - free will, sovereignty, fairness, etc. can be analyzed from what the Bible, sola scriptura, says. The problem is that Calvinism brings these ideas in as starting points, and then tries to find interpretations of the scripture to fit those ideas.
2 Pet 1:10
Claim:
2 Pet 1:10 does not support Calvinism.
Refuting Calvinism:
Per Calvinism, election cannot be changed by people; God elected people before they were born, and they themselves can not affect such election.
However, Peter suggests differently, contradicting Calvinism's portrayal of election as being to salvation.
Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: ... - 2 Pet 1:10
This verse refutes election as being to salvation. For it tells people to try to make their own election sure.
Psalm 58:3
Acts 22:14
2 Thess 2:13
Claim:
2 Thess 2:13 does not support Calvinism.
Refuting Calvinism:
In 2 Thess 2:13, "from the beginning" could refer to the beginning of Paul's ministry. The scripture does not say "from the beginning of creation" so to claim such is to claim something not in scripture - not "sola scriptura."
Martyn Lloyd-Jones and non epistemic ranking criteria
Claim:
A statement by Martyn Lloyd-Jones on Calvinism is analyzed and found to involve non epistemic ranking criteria.
Refuting Calvinism:
Cognition errors