Why I am NOT a Calvinist

Andy Osenga of Caedmon’s Call wrote his own response to Dr. Olson. (Dr. Olson referenced a song by Caedmon's Call in his article.) In Andy's response, he started out by saying, "The band and I consider ourselves Christians, with a Presbyterean/Reformed viewpoint. We do not consider ourselves Calvinists."

I sympathize with Andy. For years I have fought the label "Calvinist." I always preferred to think of myself as a biblicist who was heartened to find that in many cases John Calvin saw Scripture like I do. Of course, it's a losing battle, and rightly so, but I thought I'd explain it once, just to be clear.

John Calvin is credited with starting what is referred to today as "Calvinism". Of course, Calvinism as we know it came about years after Calvin died when followers of Jacob Hermann, better known as Jacobus Arminius, brought forth complaints (called "Remonstrances") to the Church of their day. They had five basic disagreements with the standard theology of their day. (Think of it ... only five.) The Church took up their challenges, met at what was called "the Synod of Dort", and ended up with what we refer to now as "TULIP" or the five points of Calvinism. Funny thing -- neither Calvin nor Arminius were involved. Oh, well. Today we have "Calvinists" that agree with the Synod of Dort and "Arminians" who almost never call themselves "Arminians" but still disagree with the outcome.

Truth be told, Calvin didn't originate Calvinism or its synonym, Reformed Theology. To suggest such a thing is simply to ignore the facts. Calvin and Luther and many others in this line of thinking got their theology from the Bible. Both Calvin and Luther drew a great deal from Augustine, but it wasn't Augustinianism; it was biblical. To call it "Calvinism" would be a disservice. It was biblical theology. You may disagree with their understanding, but it is still unfair to call it anything but biblical theology.

As for me, I was raised Arminian. Oh, I didn't know it. I was taught that you couldn't lose your salvation, so I considered myself "Calvinist" while those pesky "Arminians" taught that you could. As it turned out, I was a four-point Arminian. But it wasn't John Calvin that forced me from my pleasant perch. It was Scripture. I read that we were all dead in sin and I was forced to conclude that we were all dead in sin. I read that the mind set on the flesh is hostile to God and I was forced to conclude that we were all hostile to God. I saw the multiple references to the concept of "the elect" or "the chosen" and was forced to conclude that there were those who were "elect" or "chosen." So I was dragged, kicking and screaming, from my Arminian roots to Reformed theology by Scripture long before I gleaned anything from Calvin.

As I surrendered, piece by piece, my original positions to the authority of the Word of God, I found something very interesting was happening. Things started to make sense. Puzzle pieces started to mesh. Scripture aligned with Scripture. Rational thinking became the friend of the Bible reader rather than the enemy. I didn't have to make leaps from the pages of my Bible to make it reasonable. It lined itself up in orderly, straightforward fashion. I liked that. And I ended up with a view of God's grace and sovereignty that far overshadowed anything I had carried around before. I really liked that.

It would, admittedly, be very difficult to tear myself away today from the understanding I now have of Scripture. I have seen it make sense in the Word. Then I found that it has been a common belief throughout Church history. And, oh, by the way, other greats such as Martin Luther, John Calvin, Jonathan Edwards, John Knox, George Whitefield, Charles Spurgeon and many, many more have agreed. No, there is too much weight on this side of the teeter-totter to make it very easy to sway me now. But it wasn't Calvin. I have never read Calvin. No, to be honest, I got an abridged version of his Institutes, but I never even got halfway through that ... and that was long after I came over to this side of the fence. So I'm likely stuck with terms like "Calvinist" and "Reformed theology" as the most common shorthand for what I believe and the easiest way to transmit that in brief. But I'm not a follower of Calvin or the Reformers. It's just what I found in my Bible ... and frankly I'm not sure why everyone else doesn't see it as clearly as I do.