Tackling TULIP

Unless you have been hiding under a rock for the past few years, you are probably aware of the resurgence of Calvinism. Men and women, but especially men, have become enraptured by the theology of French Reformer John Calvin, although they rarely learn about this theology from Calvin himself. Those who accept these controversial doctrines often become quite dogmatic and seek to convert everyone they know to this new revelation. Calvinists themselves recognize this reality, warn against it, and label anyone guilty of this as experiencing a phenomenon known as “cage-stage Calvinism.” Nevertheless, in spite of Calvinists’ warning against this obnoxious attitude, many of the young, restless, and Reformed  continue to disrupt local congregations with their persistence in championing this theological system and converting whosoever will believe the message.

                Why has Calvinism undergone a resurgence? Well, if Calvinism were true, it would be a mystery, since the God who has determined all things has also determined for a majority of his children to not embrace Calvinism. This makes no sense, except to those who have accepted the theology of John Calvin. Assuming, then, that Calvinism is not true, we believe that Calvinism has resurged due to the tremendous job of its primary spokespersons in spreading this theology. John Piper, John MacArthur, R. C. Sproul, James White, Ligon Duncan, Al Mohler, Kevin DeYoung, and Mark Dever- to name a few- have filled the bookstores with their books and have saturated the airwaves with their sermons and lectures.

                Jerry Walls, in his book Does God Love Everyone?, acknowledges that “Calvinists have done a better job getting their message out through both scholarly and popular books.”  He tells the story of taking a trip to Brazil to teach theology at different Assemblies of God churches and colleges. During his trip, he “visited two large Christian bookstores in Brazil, and was struck by the number of books by noted Calvinist theologians and biblical scholars that had been translated into Portuguese.”  This phenomenon even occurred at one of these Assemblies of God bookstores. Indeed, Wall’s experience in Brazil is not limited in scope to Brazil. One of the primary reasons for the increase in popularity of Calvinism, both in America and around the world, is that Calvinists have done a great job of spreading their message.

                Furthermore, Calvinism is an attractive alternative to the weak, water-downed theology offered by most American pastors and preachers. Walls and Dongell observe, “Part of Calvinism’s attraction is surely that it represents a stark alternative to the superficial, seeker-sensitive theology that predominates in many churches in America.”  Young Christians, desiring to get a deeper understanding of the Scriptures, are confronted with the alternative of Calvinism through a book by Sproul, a sermon by Piper, or a lecture by White, and are unprepared to respond to the arguments presented by these Calvinists since they have been fed a diet of sermons that more closely resembles an inspirational pep talk than genuine biblical exposition. When a young Christian encounters Calvinism for the first time and compares it to theology he has been taught for his entire life, thinking that these are the only two options available, he chooses Calvinism because it offers a more robust, thoughtful theology.

How should we respond, then, to this resurgence of Reformed theology? First, we should provide careful biblical answers. Generally, but not always, Calvinists become Calvinists because they honestly think that this is what the Bible teaches. Of course, we don’t think that the Bible teaches Calvinism, but simply asserting that the Bible doesn’t teach Calvinism will do little to convince a Calvinist that he is wrong. We must seek to understand what Romans 9, John 6, and Ephesians 1 actually teach, not avoid these passages of Scripture. Avoiding election, predestination, and sovereignty will only serve to reinforce the subconscious Calvinist notion that those who reject Calvinism are just rejecting the Bible. However, by providing biblical responses to the arguments and proof-texts used by Calvinists, as hopefully this book has accomplished, we at least show that the only alternative to Calvinism is not the weak, shallow theology of contemporary American Christianity.

                Second, we should respond with love, not denigration. Although our opinion is that Calvinism distorts the character of God and undermines the necessity of human responsibility, we do not advocate treating Calvinists with contempt. We are commanded, as followers of Christ, to love our enemies (Matthew 5:44), including our theological “enemies.” We should not call Calvinists offensive names for believing Calvinism, even if we think Calvinism damages God’s integrity and threatens the holiness of the church. We should speak the truth in love. Our approach ought to be to expose the errors of Calvinism gracefully and to model ourselves after Christ, who was “full of grace and truth” (John 1:14).