My View on Calvinism

by David Cox

I view Calvinism as a perversion of Scripture, a serious and dangerous threat against Fundamental Christianity. I reject it wholeheartedly.

I have been a missionary for 20+ years now, and even though it means absolutely nothing to most people, I have a confirmation of my beliefs with my own personal life. I have to testify that my experience seems to be pretty consistent against Calvinism. As a missionary involved in advancing the Gospel of Jesus Christ around the world through evangelism, I have had bitter and bad experiences with Calvinists. This opinion is from my perspective of course.

First of all, the more pastors and churches get into Calvinism, the less they are concerned and deeply motivated (understand this to mean here sacrificial giving, dedicated prayer, and they themselves getting off their duff and doing something like going) about (1) evangelism, (2) preaching against sin that would lead to salvation, (3) missions, and (4) prayer to change the reality around them. All of these things seem to be against the nature of a strong Calvinist. Oh sure some here and there may make a pretense to these things, but their heart is not in it. Even in their disobedience to God (which is in believing and practicing Calvinism), even so they still have that thing in the back of the conscience that tells them they must do these things even though futile for them as Calvinism concludes them to be.

If God has truly decided every single human being's eternal destiny without any chance of changing things, then certain conclusions have to be:

(1) You cannot change anybody's eternal destiny - Why witness? Why preach the gospel? Why go out of your way to see somebody change from unsaved to saved? The bottom line here is that the Calvinist understands that his position leads him to apathy (never what God proposes in His word), but if he does this he will be punished here on earth for that. So he does something, but however so little. It has been my fortune (disfortune?) to meet some Calvinistic (Reformed Baptist) missionaries. My take on them is that they do not preach the gospel of Jesus Christ but the doctrines of Grace. This being the case, they shy away from telling unsaved people where they live and work the gospel, and they preach Calvinism. As such, their best fishing spot is in other good churches that have really saved people in them. They seek fellowship with us "pagans" (non-Calvinists) so that they can steal the most promising sheep from us. This is their evangelism. If this doesn't work, then they go head over heels into printing ministries (of course all Calvinistic authors promulgating Calvinism).

I note that election and predestination are doctrines taught to the church, and not mentioned once in the presentation of the gospel to the unsaved. In truth, Calvinists understand this, and thus they really have little to say to the unsaved, until after somebody else leads them to the Lord, and they are not ripe for the doctrines of Grace (i.e. Calvinism). I will concede that in most Calvinists is at least some decency, and they will when placed in the situation explain the gospel. My point is not that they cannot do so, but rather that it is not their goal, their thrill, their drive in their life and ministry. Calvinistic churches don't usually have strong evangelism programs, and if they do, they have conflict with the die-hards among them that have fully embraced Calvinism, and they (rightly according to the precepts of Calvinism) see it as inconsistent with their beliefs. Thus most Calvinistic pastor have to back off of Calvinism or their churches would never grow. This is where the majority of preachers are, "I'm 2 point, 3 point, (etc) Calvinist." In actuality, you have to accept the entire package or none of it. But they through bitter experience understand Calvinism is a defense of their apathy, and they have to do something sometimes or they are out of a job as pastor.

(2) Prayer is useless - At the bottom of Calvinism is an apathy that God has predecided everything, and we cannot nor should change things. This ignores that God perhaps has decided that the instrument of this will of His may be you knocking on a door to witness to the unsaved. Prayer is based in a belief that God has allowed men and the world to do "their thing" which always turns out against God's will as a rule, and that if a child of God implores God long enough, and hard enough, it is possible (not a rule though) that God may overrule these forces and do something to change what is. We who reject Calvinism live in prayer daily to change our lives and the lives of those around us. For the die-hard Calvinist, it is hard to accept the finality and futility of God's will in other matters and it not invade our prayer life to destroy it.

(3) God is evil - Calvinism answers the age old problem of theodicy (origin of sin). To them, God is the author of sin, because God has not allowed any other will other than His own to exist. There can be nothing that does not trace itself back to God as its author. Sin, eternal punishment, human willful resistance are all place on God's lap, not man's. We have to see that God created something in His image, and the part that is like God is that man has a will which becomes independent of God upon creation. God is not responsible for what man or angels do. They become agents causing sin or doing righteousness and are responsible each individual for their own actions and decisions.

THE GOOD IN CALVINISM

Let me not leave the reader at this point with all bitterness in his mouth. As a student of Church history, I have to admit that in general I prefer Calvinist authors over most other authors. Where as Pentecostals don't think but emote (concentrate on emotions and experiences), and Catholics look to mysticism, and on and on, the Calvinist thinks. This is his strong point, and in truth most Christian schools, institutes, and seminaries have a heavy representation of Calvinists on their teaching staff because they are the few ones out there that seem to be able to think through an issue. On Calvinism I disagree with their assumptions and conclusions, but at least they are thinking. I use (and prefer) Calvinist authors for most things (always taking the key issues of Calvinism with a grain of salt). This really isn't a compliment to the Calvinists out there but is a condemnation against all the rest that produce nothing of value. Just surf the web among Christian sites and you will see anything serious is usually made by a Calvinist. Hopefully my website will be an exception!

since February 2006