Lance wrote: > ... I appreciate Calvin. He is, I believe, one of > Christianity's important men of God. Have you read > him? Do you "know" the content of his work? If you > do please substantiate your apparent dislike of > him/his work. If you don't then please refrain from > the "shots".
Hi Lance. I like your attitude here of, "substantiate your dislike" or "stop taking shots at him." I believe, like Arminius did, that Calvin's view of predestination makes God out to be an evil monster, personally responsible for every wicked act of man on the face of the planet. He views every rape, every murder, every vile act of man as being done by God Himself, who created his creatures to act this way. Calvin's view of predestination attacks God's virtue. Calvin basically said that we simply can't understand why God does what he does, but we should just accept that if he does it, then it is right. He refers to God's judgment on the wicked as incomprehensible (see Institutes, Book III, Chapter XXI, Paragraph 7 [toward end of paragraph]). Besides attacking God, Calvin's view removes all sense of vice or virtue from the actions of man. If man acts wickedly, God made him that way and decreed that he should operate that way. If man acts righteously, God decreed that he should operate that way. In effect then, man is but a robot, a computer, that is acting as God has programmed him to act. How can man be responsible for his actions, or how can he be judged for his decisions, if everything he does has been predetermined by God? Calvin does not have an answer. From Calvin's perspective, it is incomprehensible, but that is the way it is, so it must be good because we know God is good. Sorry, but I reject Calvin's theology. It makes no sense and it justifies wickedness in the lives of the wicked because it is God who created them to act that way. Christians under his system join the club of the elect, and the sin they continue to do has been preordained of God before they were even born. Of course, they are predestined to be without sin, but that must come later, because Calvin himself did not experience this grace of Christ. Under Calvinism, man has no power to do what is right or to do what is wrong. Under Calvinism, man is what God has made him. It is a form of fatalism that has no place in the life of a believer who would seek to please God and grow further in holiness. I meant to give you some actual quotes that bother me, but the phone is ringing a lot and I am not going to be able to get to it right now. I think you can understand the gist of what I perceive to be wrong with Calvinism from what I have just said. I think Jacobus Arminius does a much better job of pointing out the problems with Calvinism, so read his works to understand the problems with it. If I get some time later, and you seem interested, I will try to post some quotes from Calvin for you. Peace be with you. David Miller, Beverly Hills, Florida. ---------- "Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer every man." (Colossians 4:6) http://www.InnGlory.org If you do not want to receive posts from this list, send an email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] and you will be unsubscribed. If you have a friend who wants to join, tell him to send an e-mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] and he will be subscribed.