{"id":36817,"date":"2014-09-19T05:00:00","date_gmt":"2014-09-19T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/redeeminggod.com\/?p=36817"},"modified":"2017-10-24T14:29:08","modified_gmt":"2017-10-24T21:29:08","slug":"3-tactics-calvinists","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/redeeminggod.com\/3-tactics-calvinists\/","title":{"rendered":"3 Tactics Calvinists Use Against Non-Calvinists"},"content":{"rendered":"
In my current series on Calvinism<\/a>, I have had several Calvinists leave comments about their areas of disagreement with what I have written.<\/p>\n I fully expect and invite disagreement. Please … if you are a Calvinist and disagree with what I am writing, let me know, and present your views!<\/p>\n However, I have noticed a trend in the comments that have been left by Calvinists thus far. There seems to be three main tactics or approaches that Calvinists have used in their attempts to defend their ideas and disprove mine.<\/p>\n It always surprises me how quickly some Calvinists turn to name calling as a way to defend their ideas. If you are not a Calvinist and seek to teach your views, be prepared to be called a heretic, a reprobate, a mouthpiece of Satan, and a fool. Some Calvinists may simply say that you are stupid, ignorant, or\u00a0spiritually blind.<\/p>\n When I was in grade-school, I never understood why some kids thought they could win arguments by calling other people names, and I still don’t understand it today.<\/p>\n Very rarely \u00a0is there any\u00a0proper place in serious theological discussion for cajoling, slander, vilification, and the mocking of others.<\/p>\n If you are a Calvinist and you believe that I am stupid, ignorant, and the mouthpiece of Satan because I am not a Calvinist, show it by the weight of your exegetical arguments; not by calling me silly names.<\/p>\n Along with name calling, Calvinists seem to think that everybody would become a Calvinist if they would just “read their Bible.” I often find that when Calvinists disagree, they think they can settle the argument by telling the person to go “read their Bible.”<\/p>\n Of course, I find this tactic used by many various groups within Christianity. Most people seem to think that what they believe is exactly what the Bible teaches, and if people would read the Bible, they would come to the same beliefs.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n What many Calvinists do not seem to grasp\u00a0is that reading the Bible is one thing; understanding it is another.\u00a0Even highly educated and well-respected scholars and Bible teachers disagree with each other about the meaning of the text.<\/p>\n Do I read and study the Bible? Of course! I have been reading and studying it for decades. In fact, it is exactly because<\/em> of my reading and studying that I eventually abandoned Calvinism<\/a>.<\/p>\n Often, along with inviting non-Calvinists to just “read the Bible,” Calvinists like to type out longs lists of Bible\u00a0quotes which the Calvinists thinks proves and defends the Calvinistic system of theology.<\/p>\n Their approach goes like this:<\/p>\n You heretic! If you had simply read the Bible, you would know that you are filled with the lies of the devil! Here’s proof:<\/p>\n Bible Quotation 1<\/p>\n Bible Quotation 2<\/p>\n Bible Quotation 3<\/p>\n etc …<\/p><\/blockquote>\n In fact, one classic book on Calvinism (The Five Points of Calvinism<\/em><\/a>) contains little else but pages upon pages of Bible quotations.<\/p>\n1. Name Calling<\/h2>\n
2. Scripture Quotations<\/h2>\n