The God of Calvinism is Like Shitty Friends Who Could Care Less About You

Dear Calvinist,

What I find most evil about Calvinism is the duplicity. Let me explain.

The way you [Calvinist] describe your god is that he irresistibly imposes salvation on some and others let's them wallow without any grace. In other words, at no point in their lives did they have any opportunity to be saved. So they were literally born for Hell. Not only that but your god made them way (ultimately he did because they were made for Hell). It is not the person's fault he was born into sin, but it is his fault if he doesn't receive the solution to his condition which is the cross. If he is not given prevenient grace to have the free choice to accept what Jesus did then the blame lies in your evil god. Because you [Calvinist] can't sense this is evil I know you are not born-again and that you are going to Hell if you remain as you are.

Now consider your own duplicity which should bring you to hate your god. Let's say you are drunk. You were out all night. You are so drunk it would almost be certain you would get into a car accident. But your friends DON'T CARE. They don't do anything and just watch you go off in your car possibly to your death. I am fairly sure you would want your friends to stop you and you probably would want better friends than that. But that's what your god does. Your god glories in watching you get into the car off to kill yourself in an accident on a high speed freeway. Jesus is the friend of sinners quite unlike your friends.

This is a major contradiction between how you [Calvinist] would like to be treated and how your god treats people, and to me it is utterly evil. I would drop those friends in a heartbeat. Your god is not consistent with your own desire for friends to protect if you become incapacitated in a drunken slumber. Think of your alcoholism as your sin nature. Of course, I am assuming you are not a masochist that you would not want you friends to save you.

Of course you can resist your so-called friends and still take the car, but true friends will do everything in their power to stop you from hurting yourself.

Wow this was a great thought.

The god of Calvinism is coercive power not loving power. Zeus is in man's image and the god of Calvinism is Zeus on steroids determining everything.

"But to Israel he saith, All day long I have stretched forth my hands unto a disobedient and gainsaying people" (Rom. 10.21). Why would God keep stretching out His arms if they are irresistibly damned? Makes no sense.

"That is true. They were broken off because of their unbelief, but you stand fast only through faith. So do not become proud, but stand in awe" (Rom. 11.20). Because of their unbelief they were hardened. If the god of Calvinism made them not believe what is the point of hardening them further when they are already damned irresistibly? Makes no sense. What is happening in this verses is that God is hardening in the hopes them come to Him.

The clay in Romans 9 is not about separating two groups, but it is about the Potter's flexibility and how responsive He is in reworking the clay. Romans 9 is about Jeremiah 18. It's not about how God determines everything. It's about how God is flexible and responsible.

[Jer 18:1-5 RSV] 1 The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD: 2 "Arise, and go down to the potter's house, and there I will let you hear my words." 3 So I went down to the potter's house, and there he was working at his wheel. 4 And the vessel he was making of clay was spoiled in the potter's hand, and he reworked it into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to do. 5 Then the word of the LORD came to me:

[Jer 18:6-8 RSV] 6 "O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter has done? says the LORD. Behold, like the clay in the potter's hand, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel. 7 If at any time I declare concerning a nation or a kingdom, that I will pluck up and break down and destroy it, 8 and if that nation, concerning which I have spoken, turns from its evil, I will repent of the evil that I intended to do to it.

[Jer 18:11 RSV] 11 Now, therefore, say to the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem: 'Thus says the LORD, Behold, I am shaping evil against you and devising a plan against you. Return, every one from his evil way, and amend your ways and your doings.'

God has mercy on those who have faith, and hardens those who don't.

Lesson:
1. Start with Christ crucified.
2. Pay attention to the context.
3. Notice the summary.
4. Look at the context of OT analogies.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=akmIf4WIWs0&t=0s

Greg Boyd said, "Fatalism is one of the worst demonic diseases that ever infected the human mind. You find it [determinism] throughout world religions. Fatalism completely dehumanizes, makes us puppets. There is nothing you can do about. It totally disempowers us to be decision makers. It's a complete lie. Decisions are the whole point of things. I rebuke it in the name of Jesus. [Calvinism] damns children from birth to go to Hell. It undermines our trust in God. [Calvinism] is monstrous and terrifying." There is no such thing as good Calvinism and bad Calvinism -- all Calvinism is bad, evil to the core, from top to bottom.