I'm not a Calvinist, although many of my friends are. Even though we don't agree on some aspects that have been included in the Christian faith, we still remain friends which is an indication of spiritual maturity.
    I am a First Century Christian. I try to practice an organic Christianity with no additives. Unfortunately many of the doctrines that have adhered themselves to the church were never part of the original message of the Scriptures. I believe that the Gospel according to Calvin is one of them, and this is why I have decided to include the following piece to the Cafe Logos menu. It is a way of providing some helpful dietary information for others like myself who want to know what is contained within the doctrines we are ingesting.

I recently attended a lecture by a professor at the University of Complicated Theology. He was lecturing on John Calvin and his doctrine of predestination, which is known as Calvinism. He used a lot of big words I didn’t understand and I was having a difficult time trying to comprehend his line of thought.
     What I could eventually glean from his discourse was this – Calvinism teaches that God has already predetermined who is to be saved or not saved before a person is born and free will is not a factor in someone’s salvation.
     When the professor was finished, there was a brief discussion period. Timidly I raised my hand.
     “Doesn’t Calvin’s version of predestination negate John 3:16 – ‘For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life’ and that God wants all men to be saved?” I asked innocently. ( I Timothy 2:4).
     The professor cleared his throat before he answered and began with a sweeping gesture across the pulpit that inadvertently sent all of his notes cascading onto the floor. He quickly dived after them, and as he was scrambling to retrieve his scattered thoughts, a bell rang, we were dismissed for lunch and I never received the answer to my question.
     I continued meditating on the subject as the day waned and dissolved into the following weeks. Not wanting to rely solely on man’s opinion for my theology, (I always strive for the purest type of Bible based first century faith I can acquire – organic with no additives) I thought my understanding of the whole subject might be enlightened if I delved into the history of the origins of the doctrine. I wanted to know if I was being fed something that might have any non-Biblical additives.
     I discovered that the doctrine of predestination was originally introduced to the Christian church through Augustine in the fifth century. Augustine is revered by many as a “father” of the church, even though he was not an apostle. He was in fact a Platonist as history attests and actively sought to incorporate the pagan Greek philosophy of Plato into Christianity, something that the Apostle Paul had foreseen through the Holy Spirit and had warned the church about hundreds of years previously. “Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ (Colossians 2:8). Mingling pagan doctrines was never considered kosher by God as Biblical history teaches us and always incurred severe consequences upon God’s people.
     One of the many philosophies that abounded in Augustine’s day was determinism. Determinism teaches that all things, events of history, human actions etc., are determined by preceding events and therefore human freedom is an illusion. All modern day psychologists, however, will attest to the fact that every human being is born with the ability to choose his own actions.
     John Calvin, (1509-64) further developed and refined Augustine’s original concepts into what is known today as Calvinism. The Catholic Church at that time branded the doctrine a heresy. Calvin caused many people to be put to death who were not willing to conform to his version of Christianity.
     James Arminius (1560-1609) eventually rose up to counter Calvin’s doctrine asserting that salvation was a gift to all who repent and believe the Gospel. Arminius preached for thirteen years from the book of Romans and that was the basis for his argument against Calvinism. His doctrine was christened Arminianism.
     Okay, so who is right? What do the Scriptures actually teach, Calvinism or Arminianism? The word of God has to be the final authority. If John Calvin and James Arminius were faced off in a boxing ring today, who would win the match and emerge the triumphant winner?
     It’s been a tough match. Calvin and Arminius have been exchanging blows for centuries. Some of the Apostles are seated in the audience watching with a considerable amount of grief and consternation as the repercussions of this debate echo through church history, sometimes with violent results.
     The Apostle Paul is sitting there with his head in his hands moaning “Oi vey.” Peter is glowering, more than a little annoyed. John is weeping softly.
     Finally, Peter can stand it no longer. He rises to his feet and shouts – “I said, ‘Elect according to the foreknowledge of God' – FOREKNOWLEDGE!" (I Peter 1:2).
     Calvin was about to deliver another blow to Arminius, and he stopped suddenly with his boxing-gloved fist suspended in mid-air. He stared back at the Apostle somewhat annoyed at being interrupted.
     Paul nods his agreement with Peter. He rises also and states with majestic apostolic authority –"‘For whom He did foreknow he did predestinate to be conformed to the image of His Son.’ (Romans 8:29). I am truly sorry you misunderstood me.”
     I had been munching on some popcorn and it was if I had suddenly been struck by a bolt of theological lightening! Foreknowledge! The Scriptures teach that Biblical predestination is based on foreknowledge! According to the Apostles, foreknowledge precedes predestination! And foreknowledge is included in God’s Omniscience, which is His ability to know all things, past, present and future. Therefore He knows what our response will be to the Gospel and He calls and chooses us accordingly, but He does not predetermine that response. Eureka!
     In the afterglow of the initial strike that opened my understanding, there remained a glimmering ember of thought that caused me to ask Paul- “Would you repeat what you just said one more time for me please, the whole verse you mentioned?”
     The Apostle Paul smiled and spoke graciously, “For whom He did foreknow He also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn of many brethren.”
     Suddenly it was as if I was on an archeological dig among the teeming ruins of ancient theology. There among the rubble I was on my knees carefully clearing away all the dirt and mud that had sullied the meaning of Paul’s words. When the multiple layers of grime were finally removed, I held in my hands a glimmering jewel of Truth.
     I turned to show it to Calvin.
     “Do you see what this means?” I asked him. “The purpose of predestination is to conform us to the image of Christ. It’s all about real holiness; Christ-likeness. We’ve been so busy arguing about this, we’ve missed the punchline. He knows who are His…”
     “…And whoever names the name of Christ let him depart from all iniquity.” (II Timothy 2:19). Paul finished the sentence for me.
     The Apostle John was now standing by my side. He looked at Calvin and spoke gently, “No murderer has eternal life abiding in his heart” (I John 3:15).
     Calvin looked as if he had been struck, as all the lives that he had caused to be extinguished flashed before him in the light of that jewel of Truth.
     “Maybe God never predestinated you,” I said to him. “If your doctrine is correct and there is no choice involved, you have no hope of salvation…”
     Calvin abruptly descended to his knees. His body began convulsing as it yielded to great heaving sobs of remorse as he begged for God to forgive him. James Arminius pulled off his boxing gloves, knowing the match was finally over. He came up to his opponent and tenderly placed his hand on the shoulder of the humbled, weeping fighter.
     Repentance is such a beautiful event, I thought. It allows salvation to come to anyone who chooses to receive God’s loving gift of eternal life.
     Calvin’s tears swiftly became a river that carried me back through the hallways of my thoughts to the gates of the University of Complicated Theology. I looked at its walls, these formidable barriers that had been constructed through the ages by the ideas and philosophies of mere men, scholars who, like mad religious scientists have tampered with the pure DNA of God’s word to create a church filled with theological monsters.
     I thought of the multitudes of innocent souls who had literally perished in the jaws of those beasts. How do we defeat them?
     We have all been given the gift of free choice. We simply have to choose to love one another.

Related article - Preferring the Precepts of Men

copyright 2009 by H.D. Shively