Why I Am Not a Calvinist

To celebrate Calvin's birthday, I thought I would explain I am not a Calvinist.  It basically comes down to the five points known by TULIP.

Total Depravity

Unconditional Election

Limited Atonement

Irresistible Grace

Perseverance of the Saints

1. I accept the doctrine of depravity in that I accept that human nature has been corrupted by original sin.  But what Calvinist normally mean by this is that no one would ever look for God unless they were the elect and God revealed Himself.  What do we do with the fact that there are thousands of people who seem interested in God but never become Christians?  We can redefine seeking and redefine God all we want but people still seem interested in God.  What about what Paul says in Romans?  We must remember that Paul was not writing a systematic theology but was responding to a specific situation at Rome.  He was trying to show that the Jews and the Gentiles were on a level playing field, neither group could meet God's standards.

2. Unconditional election means that God chose at the beginning of time who would be saved, separate from any willingness of the individual to put their faith in God.  Election is spoken of in the Bible and I will confess that I do not fully understand it.  What I do know is that the Bible puts expectations on people to believe and to follow and to be obedient.  The Bible seems to take seriously the need to choose God.  How does this fit with unconditional election?

3. Limited atonement means that Jesus only died for the elect and not the whole world.  1 John 2:2 says "He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only ours but also for the sins of the whole world."

4. Irresistible Grace.  I am not sure what to make of this one.  I am not sure that it takes seriously the biblical command to choose who we will serve.  How can we choose if we don't have a choice?

5. Perseverance of the Saints.  This means once saved only saved.  I am not sure this takes seriously Hebrews 6 which describes the consequences of someone who loses faith.  Calvinists would not deny that there are people who seem to fall away.  Instead they would say that membership in the elect is confirmed by those who remain faithful to the end.  In fact Calvinists and Arminians would say that only those who remain in Christ (whether they were ever there in the first place) receive eternal life.

This is not meant as an attack on Calvinists.  Some of my best friends are Calvinists.  This is only an explanation of where I am in my journey so far.  Who knows?  God may change my mind yet!