"We are the Lord's elected few, let all the rest be damned; there's room enough in hell for you, we won't have heaven crammed!"
(Actual Calvinist song as documented in The Other Side of Calvinism
by Dr. Laurence Vance)
by Dr. Laurence Vance)
This article is not meant to mock Calvinists. There are many God loving people who have held to Calvin’s system of soteriology, not the least of whom was Charles Haddon Spurgeon. On the flip side, there have always been very good Christians who’ve held to the opposite view, Armenianism, such as John Wesley.
Pointing out the errors in doctrine is not the same as demeaning those who believe it.
That being said, Calvinism, if taken to its logical end result can be very harmful. Those who take it there are called hyper-Calvinists, and they tend to spend their time in groups muttering about the elect, eternal decrees, and doing everything but soul winning. Thankfully, Charles Spurgeon was not a hyper-Calvinist and he actually spoke out against them.
Regardless of whether your beliefs lean towards Armenianism or Calvinism, it’s important to take a step back and examine them. I’ve seen many Calvinists accuse those who do not adhere to their doctrine as being lazy, unwilling to study the scriptures, and taking the easy way out. If you are a Calvinist, I hope you will hold yourself to the same standard of diligence that you hold others to as we take a look at the five points of T.U.L.I.P, starting with Total Depravity.
