John Calvin (1509-1564) was a French theologian whose teachings gained a strong foothold in the Protestant movement very early on. Calvin's teaching stressed a system of salvation that was completely monergistic (only God involved in the salvation process, with free will playing absolutely no part). Terms associated with or synonymous with Calvinism include: Reformed Theology (because of the great number of Calvinists in the early Reformation period), Covenant Theology, and Augustinianism (due to Augustine of Hippo's similarity to and influence on Calvin).
The theology of John Calvin stresses divine determinism to the point of man having no free will with regards to salvation (some Calvinists claim with regards to everything). Though there has been a system laid down known as the "five points of Calvinism," I feel those are inadequate to describe the doctrine to its fullest, but we'll start there anyway. The five main points spell the cute little acronym TULIP, they go as follows:
Total Depravity - Calvinists call this one 'original sin,' though the term 'total inability' describes it better. This is the belief that men are so wicked and spiritually dead that they are unable to come to God to be saved unless they are born again first (yes, you read that right).
Unconditional Election - Goes right with the Calvinist version of predestination. The belief that God chose His elect (see Election) before before the world began with no regard whatsoever to the person being chosen.
Limited Atonement - The belief that Christ died for only the elect, not all mankind. Note that it it sometimes called Definite Atonement, because the elect have no possibility of not being atoned for.
Irresistible Grace - The practical side of predestination, the belief that God's chosen cannot resist God's grace and will all eventually be saved.
Perseverance of the Saints - See also the Lordship Salvation version of 'eternal security.' The belief that all true believers invariably endure to the end, with no chance of apostasy.
Other underlying doctrines in Calvinism include:
Determinism - The belief that God controls everything (at the least, everything to do with salvation), and that free will plays no part in the salvation process (acceptance, perseverance, etc...).
Federal View of Sin and Righteousness - The idea that all men are not only tainted, but innately guilty of Adam's sin; whereas all elect are innately righteous when they believe in Christ. The latter view has some merit (it is also called positional or imputed righteousness), except it is often misapplied.
Unconditional Atonement - A belief among many Calvinists is that the elect are atoned for unconditionally. This is evidenced by their arguments against unlimited atonement, in which they argue that if Christ's death were for all men, then all men must be saved (clearly untrue). Such a line of reasoning logically requires that one believe that atonement is not conditioned upon faith in Christ.
The doctrine John Calvin taught was Christian at its core, but has many tertiary beliefs that tend to breed strife within churches and give rise to heresies like the so called 'Free Grace' ('Cheap Grace' being a better term for it) movement. Many of Calvinism's mistakes are true ideas stretched beyond their actual meaning. Election, predestination, and imputed righteousness are all concepts taught in the Bible, but proper study of the passages that relate to them do not yield the conclusions that reformed theology teaches.
The following articles are written to refute the erroneous doctriness and arguments in Calvinism and affirm the truths the Bible teaches. Articles on general topics are bullet-marked, with bullets beneath them indicating objections, rebuttals, and additions to the individual article.
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Calvinism
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God's Sovereignty and Man's Free Will
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Chosen From the Beginning: The Doctrine of Election
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A Closer Look at Romans 9
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Objection: Does 'foreknowledge' mean 'foreordination?'
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Objection: When the Bible Says 'Foreknow,' Does it Mean 'Forelove?'
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Objection: Does Election According to Foreknowledge Mean That We Are Post-Destinated?
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Objection: If Our Actions Are Inevitable, Do We Really Have Free Will?
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Objection: Is it Impossible for God to Know the Future If He Didn't Write It?
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Objection: How Can Election be Based on Foreknowledge if There is Nothing Good to Foreknow?
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The Security of Salvation
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Calvinism's Claims About John 6
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The Final Warning of Revelation 22:18-19
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This passage is not speaking about believers
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This refers to loss of rewards, not salvation
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This could never really happen, it is just a warning to keep it from happening
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This is simply John's wish, God would not really do that, because the majority text renders it "May God take away..."
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Revelation is not a didactic book
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Is the warning in Revelation only addressed to the unsaved in covenant with God?
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God will only take away what they seem to have
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God's foreknowledge necessitates that Revelation 22:19 be non-literal...
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