Just as in physics there is a debate about material determinism vs. human free will, so rages the same debate in theology. To label the arguments, it is known as Calvinism vs. Arminianism.
The discourse
I will risk oversimplifying here for the purposes of clarity. Know that this topic has actually been discussed, debated, and argued about for over a 1000 years, so there is no way for me to reduce it all down to one blog post in a manageable way without oversimplifying.
Calvinism
Calvinism is a theological position of determinism. It asserts that God is sovereign over all existence, that He is all-knowing, and that therefore He must know all things, past, present, and future - including all future outcomes of the present.
Put another way:
P1: God is all-knowing.
P2: To be all-knowing, God must therefore know everything that has happened, that is happening, and that will happen.
C1: If God knows everything that will happen, then He must know who will turn to Him and who will not.
The Calvinist (or Reform Theologian) will go on to assert that, therefore, God chose and elected those who would come to Him beforehand. There are a number of Scriptural passages they use to defend this position but I'll let you do your own homework with that.
Arminianism
Arminianism is a theological position of free will or free choice. It asserts that Humankind has a certain free will granted by God to either choose to believe in Him and accept the gift of grace that He offers through Jesus Christ's sacrifice on the Cross... or not.
The position was declared heretical in early Christianity but never died because of how attractive it is philosophically to assert the free will of human beings.
It is seen as a contradiction to call myself progressive/post-modern and be a Calvinist.
For reasons as to why this is, you should check out this blog post.
But despite all of the self-reflection and deconstruction that I've been doing, I still would call myself a Calvinist. I do not see it the way Benjamin L. Corey does.
Reason 1: Reformed Theology's focus is on what God does in the world.
I consistently hear from critiques of Calvinism that it creates an image of an evil God who picks his favourites. But a careful look at Reformed Theology in no way supports this assertion at all - leading me to believe that critics have been unknowingly fed a straw man that they can easily refute.
Reformed Theology focuses on the idea of God's sovereignty over the whole universe and the plan that He generated to ensure that ALL of us could be saved. On that point, Calvinists and Arminianists agree. But because SOME Calvinists believe that God hand picks who goes to heaven AND hell, Arminianists argue that CALVINISM therefore states this. If you're the type to be reading my blog, I'm pretty sure I don't have to explain where that breaks down.
Reason 2: Reformed Theology is focused on how God is the SOLE SOURCE of salvation, the SOLE CENTRE of theology.
As much as I would love to believe that I'm so important that my decisions complete the act of my salvation, I cannot but agree with the assertion of the depravity of humanity and our general inability to save ourselves. Humanity has given me no reason to trust that, as a whole, we have any idea what we're doing in this universe or that we'll figure it out.
Reformed Theology provides a coherent, Scriptural basis for establishing the mechanism of this salvation and access to it. Our understanding of the nuances continue to develop as we learn that we got some parts of Reform Theology wrong or realize that some parts of Reform Theology should be discarded because we're starting to understand that everyone's been misinterpreting this thinker or that passage. It does not stand to follow that because it is sometimes wrong, it is therefore never to be trusted. I find no reason to throw out the baby with the bathwater.
Further, I find the heretical danger of the Arminian position to be that such Christians believe that one can, after having received the gift of grace, then lose it. I find that denominations that centre themselves around this idea become so concerned with NOT losing their faith that they establish convoluted systems or rules of behaviour so that your faith will not be in jeopardy. They fall into the trap of putting HUMANS at the centre of theology when GOD is supposed to be at the centre. (Example: In the Pentecostal Church, a very popular Arminian denomination, it is often said that if you do not "speak in tongues" that you must not be a Christian.)
Reason 3: Reformed Theology produces far more vigorous methodologies when analyzing Scripture.
Because of the Reformed Theologians obsession with "getting the theory RIGHT", I find reading and studying Reform Theologians far more intellectually stimulating and objectively useful. Post-evangelicals have a terrible habit (IMO) of trying to attach good feels to all the theory, but the reality of Scripture is that Christianity is really not a religion of good feels.
The bare bones truth of Scripture is that reality as we know it is terribly depressing. The Earth is the realm of Satan, human beings are stuck, trapped, often even UNABLE to see or detect the spiritual battle in play over the souls of humanity.
And if it stopped there, yes. Nobody should follow this religion. Why would you?
The REASON we call God good is because instead of just leaving the created situation as is, throwing His hands up in the air, and saying "Fine Satan. Take the damn pottery creations with you", he instead put into play a Grand Plan - to reincarnate the Son as God-Man, who lived a literal perfect life, who did NOT need to die to be saved, but died anyway so that the requirements of the law may be fulfilled and that our relationship with him may be restored.
Unfortunately for us, God does not see fit to explain too much of this. In fact, he subtly, in a number of different places, suggests to us that we wouldn't understand it even if we tried because of our mortal and physical limitations.
Kevin Smith suggests that our head might just explode if God tried. ;)
Redux: What Calvinism means for me:
For me, Reform Theology reminds me that God is good and that I am not. Reform Theology reminds me that God is powerful, and that I am powerless. Reform Theology reminds me that I NEED Jesus, and not that I can choose Jesus because hey I'm a self-defining existential being thank-you-very-much.
Reform Theology shreds any pride or arrogance that I can have about being a Christian for I have done nothing to have received the gifts and understandings that I have. And, contrary to asserted belief, Reform Theology makes room for you to believe that you can receive these gifts and understandings as well!
Final thoughts and sympathies:
I believe in a Sovereign God. Where I have to choose between keeping any shred of my self-importance and trusting in this Sovereign God, the man with the plan (as it were), I trust God and not myself.
In Arminianism, I see a subtle pride. A pride that allows the Christian to say, "I'm important because I got to be a part of my salvation process."
However, when I see people get down on Reform Theology and Calvinism, I get it. I really do. I really do understand the arguments that are put into play (Corey's blog post articulates them very well).
Yes, many Calvinist preachers come across as toxic and self-righteous. Why? Because Calvinist preachers will ALWAYS remind you of how sinful you are. The truth is not about feelings. The truth doesn't bandy about with emotions. It just says it like it is. So the challenge that I would put to the subject that feels put down upon when encountering a Calvinist: Are you really just projecting your revulsion against being told you are a bad person on your critic?
Yes, many Calvinists pat themselves on the back for being "the elect", "the Chosen", etc. It's all garbage and pomp and EVERYONE is right to get down on such people. They are not that way because of their Calvinism... their Calvinism merely enables their narcissism.
Yes, many Calvinists and Reform Theology proponents harp on and on about rules and right living being determined by a practice of self-shame and emotional self-flagellation. It stems from the absolute importance that Reform Theology puts on the Goodness of God and the utter Depravity of Humanity. Like any good theology, if you don't stop to consider how you are putting your theories into practice, you're going to go down a weird path.
So the next time you think "My God a Calvinist, I want to gouge my eyes out," perhaps one needs to stop and think, "Why do I feel so angry about this?"
I might suggest that it is because from theory to application, as in any philosophical discipline, people are going to take the theory in different directions and you're not going to like a lot of it. And Calvinism as a theology has a number of inherent heretical tendencies that come into play if you don't stop to think about how you are living out your faith as a result of how you think about your faith.
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