The late\u00a0<\/span>Steve Hays<\/a> (1959-2020) was a Calvinist (and anti-Catholic) apologist, who was very active on his blog, called<\/span> Triablogue<\/em> <\/a>. His 819-page self-published book,<\/span> Biblical Calvinism<\/em><\/a> has graciously been made available for free. On 9 September 2006, Hays was extraordinarily charitable towards me (seeing that almost all anti-Catholics have treated me like Vlad the Impaler).<\/span> He wrote then<\/a>:<\/p>\n I don\u2019t think I\u2019ve ever accused him of being a traitor or apostate or infidel. . . . I have nothing to say, one way or the other, regarding his state of grace. But his sincerity is unquestionable. I also don\u2019t dislike him. . . . I don\u2019t think there\u2019s anything malicious about Armstrong\u2014unlike some people who come to mind. In addition, I don\u2019t think I\u2019ve ever said he was unintelligent. For the record, it\u2019s obvious that Armstrong has a quick, nimble mind.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Sadly, two-and-a-half years later, starting in April 2009 and up through December 2011 (in the following quotations) his opinion radically changed, and he claimed that I have \u201can evil character,\u201d<\/span> am<\/span> \u201cactually evil,\u201d an <\/span><\/span>\u201cego-maniac, narcissist,\u201d \u201cidolater,\u201d<\/span> \u201cself-idolater,\u201d \u201chack who pretends to be a professional apologist,\u201d<\/span>\u00a0given to <\/span>\u201cchicanery,\u201d<\/span> one who doesn\u2019t<\/span> \u201cdo any real research,\u201d \u201ca stalwart enemy of the faith . . .\u00a0 no better than [the atheists]<\/span> Richard Dawkins or Christopher Hitchens,\u201d<\/span> with an intent to<\/span> \u201cdestroy faith in God\u2019s word,\u201d \u201cschizophrenic,\u201d \u201cemotionally unhinged,\u201d<\/span> one who<\/span> \u201cdoesn\u2019t trust in the merit of Christ alone for salvation,\u201d<\/span> \u201chas no peace of mind,\u201d \u201ca bipolar solipsist,\u201d \u201csplit-personality,\u201d<\/span> and a<\/span> \u201cbad\u201d<\/span> man. See<\/span> more gory details<\/a>.<\/p>\n I feel no need whatsoever to reciprocate these silly and sinful insults. I just wanted the record to be known, and to show how apologetics can too often descend to such atrocious \u201csoul-reading\u201d ad hominem<\/em> inanities. Hopefully, Hays took to heart his own criticism of some Arminians, from this book (p. 54): \u201cThey are so caught up in the momentum of the debate that they issue intemperate threats which, after a cooling off period, they\u2019d realize are foolhardy.\u201d <\/span>I hope and pray so.<\/span><\/p>\n For my part, I\u2019ve always maintained that Hays was a very intelligent,\u00a0 sincere, and well-meaning man, and I believe that I can<\/em> and have<\/em>\u00a0learned a great deal from Reformed Protestants<\/a>: my brethren in Christ. We have a lot in common, but we also have honest disagreements, and this series will mostly be concerned with those. They can be discussed without acrimony or disrespect. <\/span>This is one of many<\/em> planned critiques of Hays\u2019 book<\/span>. I will be focusing solely<\/em> on Section II: \u201cExegetical Considerations\u201d. It runs from pages 20 to 186. <\/span>See also the 29 installments of my Reply to Hays\u2019 \u201cCatholicism\u201d<\/em> series: listed on my Anti-Catholicism web page<\/a>, under \u201cSteve Hays\u201d. My Bible citations are from the RSV. Steve Hays\u2019 words will be in <\/span>blue<\/span>. Unlike the previous series, I won\u2019t list his subtitles.<\/span><\/p>\n Related Reading:<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n Calvinism & General Protestantism: Catholic Critique web page<\/a> (<\/span>where all of these replies will be listed: search \u201cHays'\u201d)<\/span><\/p>\n John Calvin: Catholic Appraisal web page\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n A Biblical Critique of Calvinism<\/a>\u00a0<\/i>(book: 2012, 178 pages; includes replies to exegetical arguments in Books I-III of John Calvin\u2019s Institutes of the Christian Religion<\/em>)<\/p>\n Biblical Catholic Answers for John Calvin<\/a>\u00a0<\/i>(book: 2010, 388 pages; includes line-by-line replies to Book IV of John Calvin\u2019s Institutes of the Christian Religion<\/em>)<\/p>\n Biblical Catholic Salvation: \u201cFaith Working Through Love\u201d<\/a>\u00a0<\/i>(book: 2010, 187 pages; includes 71 pages of rebuttals of four of the five Calvinist distinctives in \u201cTULIP\u201d; minus the \u201cU\u201d)<\/p>\n 64 Critiques of John Calvin: Introduction & Master List<\/a> (more in-depth replies than what was eventually compiled in my book about John Calvin. Most were completed for his 500th birthday in 2009)<\/p>\n Salvation, Justification, & \u201cFaith Alone\u201d web page<\/a> (contains many articles relevant to Calvinist soteriology and \u201cTULIP\u201d)<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n *****<\/p>\n [pp. 21-53 consists of Bible passages thought to be in favor of Calvinism, and quotes from commentators, with no input from Hays. I won\u2019t interact with the commentators, because I\u2019m answering Steve Hays, not them, but I\u2019ll deal with a number of the Bible passages if I feel that I have a solid response. He never states what Bible version he cites from. I will cite the Bible passages as he presents them, in blue<\/span> font. I have removed his bolding, but retained it for the Bible verse listing, and removed the abbreviated book names]<\/p>\n Genesis 45:5-8; 50:20 <\/span><\/strong>And now do not be distressed or angry with yourselves because you sold me here, for God <\/span>sent me before you to preserve life. 6 For the famine has been in the land these two years, <\/span>and there are yet five years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvest. 7 And God <\/span>sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth, and to keep alive for you many <\/span>survivors. 8 So it was not you who sent me here, but God. He has made me a father to <\/span>Pharaoh, and lord of all his house and ruler over all the land of Egypt.<\/span><\/p>\n 20 As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that <\/span>many people should be kept alive, as they are today. [pp. 21-22]<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n Yes, of course God uses instances of human sin and brings good from them (even in the crucifixion), according to Romans 8:28 (my favorite verse): \u201cWe know that in everything God works for good with those who love him, who are called according to his purpose.\u201d In doing so, He doesn\u2019t wipe out human free will choices, but rather incorporates them into a larger divine plan. In other words (as Hays seems to be arguing [?]), He doesn\u2019t foreordain or predestine sinful acts in terms of making it so that the people didn\u2019t truly choose and simply acted like programmed robots doing God\u2019s supposed will for sin. God doesn\u2019t will sin<\/a>.<\/p>\n If the point is simply noting God\u2019s providence, no one disagrees with Calvinists as far as that<\/em> goes. Calvinists so often wrongly think<\/em> that non-Calvinist [serious, non-liberal) Christians disagree, but we don\u2019t. Joseph\u2019s brothers sold him into slavery of their own free will.\u00a0 God used that sin to bring good (even to the very people<\/em> who committed the serious sin), and so Joseph expresses God\u2019s providence and His working around human sin with the usual Hebrew directness and deep awareness of God\u2019s overriding supervision: \u201cit was not you who sent me here, but God\u201d (Gen 45:8), even though he said three verses earlier, \u201cyou sold me here\u201d (45:5; cf. 45:4).<\/p>\n That might seem contradictory (who sent Joseph to Egypt?). But it\u2019s typical Hebrew paradox, where the same thing can be said to be done by both man and God. The brothers<\/em> \u201csold\u201d Joseph into slavery, and at the same time God<\/em> \u201csent\u201d him to Egypt. It\u2019s the same sort of paradox that we see in Paul: \u201cI worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God which is with me\u201d (1 Cor 15:10). Calvinists don\u2019t resonate very well with biblical \/ Hebraic paradox. They are very \u201ceither\/or\u201d \/ false dichotomy sorts of folks. I will, no doubt, repeatedly point this out in the course of this series, because it\u2019s a serious weakness of the Calvinist position.<\/p>\n Exodus 4:11<\/strong> Then the Lord said to him, \u201cWho has made man\u2019s mouth? Who makes him mute, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Is it not I, the Lord? [p. 22]<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n An article on a site called Re\/Knew<\/em> (probably Protestant), entitled, \u201cHow do you respond to Exodus 4:11?\u201d<\/a> has an excellent explanation for this verse:<\/span><\/p>\n [A]s a matter of hermeneutical principle, Christians should always interpret the Old Testament in the light of the New Testament, not vice versa. . . . Throughout his ministry Jesus came against all infirmities and diseases as things that God does not will. Never once did he ascribe these things to his Father\u2019s will. Never once did he encourage people to find comfort in the notion that these things were part of God\u2019s plan. Rather, infirmities and diseases were consistently understood to be the result of Satan\u2019s activity, which is why he and his disciples delivered people from them. However we interpret this Exodus passage, it must not contradict Jesus\u2019 teaching or his example. . . .<\/p>\n It\u2019s also important to note that God speaks of the human condition in general terms in this verse. As Terrence Fretheim observes, the passage does not imply that God picks and chooses which individuals will be deaf, mute or blind, \u201cas if God entered into the womb of every pregnant woman and determined whether and how a child would have disabilities.\u201d It only implies that God created the kind of world where mortals may become disabled. God created a risky world in which natural processes can be corrupted by free agents with the result that mortals are sometimes \u201cflogged\u201d . . . with infirmities like deafness and muteness. God wanted Moses to know that as the Creator he is able to work around such obstacles in achieving his objectives. In the warfare ministry of Jesus, God went further and demonstrated that the presence of his Kingdom is evidenced by overcoming such obstacles altogether.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n I would add that in the book of Job it specifically states that Satan afflicted Job, with God\u2019s permission: \u201cAnd the LORD said to Satan, \u2018Behold, all that he has is in your power . . . \u2018 \u201d (1:12; cf. 2:6); \u201cSo Satan went forth from the presence of the LORD, and afflicted Job with loathsome sores from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head\u201d (2:7). Job 42:11 refers to \u201call the evil that the LORD had brought upon him\u201d but it is referring to God\u2019s allowing<\/em> of the \u201cevil\u201d in His providence and for His higher purpose: as seen in Job 1:12 and 2:6. All of these relevant passages have to be harmonized, rather than one perspective being ignored, with the result being that a half-truth is promulgated. God allowed the affliction of Job. brought about by the devil himself, in order to provide this story in the Bible, that has comforted many millions of people. He brought good out of it, just as He did in Joseph\u2019s case.<\/p>\n Likewise, when Jesus met the woman \u201cwho had had a spirit of infirmity for eighteen years; she was bent over and could not fully straighten herself\u201d (Lk 13:11), He didn\u2019t say that God had caused this, let alone ordained it from all eternity. Rather, He stated, \u201cought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan bound for eighteen years, be loosed from this bond . . .?\u201d (13:16). Not only did He deny that God caused the infirmity, but directly attributed it to Satan\u2019s wicked opposition. Peter stated the same sort of thing: \u201cJesus of Nazareth . . . went about doing good and healing all that were oppressed by the devil\u201d (Acts 10:38).<\/p>\n Moreover, Paul notes that \u201ca thorn was given me in the flesh.\u201d This appears to be another bodily infirmity (many scholars think it may have been a disease of the eyes). How does he characterize it?: as a \u201cmessenger of Satan\u201d (2 Cor 12:7). So that\u2019s at least four times that the Bible attributes physical ailments to the devil<\/em> as the cause and continued persecutor, and not<\/em> to God. What more is needed to disprove the contrary? God will use the illnesses and ailments and bring good from them, but He didn\u2019t cause or ordain them.<\/p>\n Judges 9:23<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0And God sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the leaders of Shechem, and the leaders of Shechem dealt treacherously with Abimelech [p. 24]<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n This is the same dynamic as in the book of Job: Satan caused the \u201cevil spirit\u201d and God allowed it in His permissive will. Many Protestant commentaries concur:<\/p>\n Similarly, 1 Samuel 16:14 states that \u201can evil spirit from the LORD tormented\u201d King Saul, and many commentaries (e.g., Benson,<\/a> Matthew Henry<\/a>, Matthew Poole<\/a>, John Wesley<\/a>) explain it as another instance of the same dynamic of God permitting Satan to torment Saul.<\/p>\n 1 Samuel 2:25<\/strong> If someone sins against a man, God will mediate for him, but if someone sins against the Lord, who can intercede for him?\u201d But they would not listen to the voice of their father, for it was the will of the Lord to put them to death. [pp. 24-25]<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n There comes a time for judgment and divine wrath as well, and these three boys had apparently reached that point, as habitual fornicators and guilty of \u201cevil dealings\u201d spoken of by \u201call the people\u201d (1 Sam 2:22-23). God \u2014 as our Creator \u2014 has power and the prerogative over life and death. Human beings can rebel against Him to such an extent that He at length (knowing this this from all eternity) decides that their time for judgment and damnation has arrived, after having \u201cgiven them up\u201d (Rom 1:24, 26, 28).<\/p>\n In the New Testament the same thing occurred with Ananias and Sapphira, who \u201clie[d] to the Holy Spirit\u201d (Acts 5:3) and \u201ctempt[ed] the Spirit of the Lord\u201d (5:9). Both were immediately judged by God and killed (5:5, 10). Interestingly, this passage ties in with 1 Samuel 2:25 insofar as both have to do with sinning against the Lord as opposed to against men. Another example of instant judgment from God had to do with Korah\u2019s rebellion, in the wilderness with Moses:<\/p>\n Numbers 16:28-35<\/strong> And Moses said, \u201cHereby you shall know that the LORD has sent me to do all these works, and that it has not been of my own accord. [29] If these men die the common death of all men, or if they are visited by the fate of all men, then the LORD has not sent me. [30] But if the LORD creates something new, and the ground opens its mouth, and swallows them up, with all that belongs to them, and they go down alive into Sheol, then you shall know that these men have despised the LORD.\u201d [31] And as he finished speaking all these words, the ground under them split asunder; [32] and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up, with their households and all the men that belonged to Korah and all their goods. [33] So they and all that belonged to them went down alive into Sheol; and the earth closed over them, and they perished from the midst of the assembly. [34] And all Israel that were round about them fled at their cry; for they said, \u201cLest the earth swallow us up!\u201d [35] And fire came forth from the LORD, and consumed the two hundred and fifty men offering the incense.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n God alone knows men\u2019s hearts. He knows when they are beyond all redemption; when they have committed the unforgivable sin of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit (Mt 12:31-32; Lk 12:10), and so are ripe for just judgement. In this case, they \u201cdespised the LORD\u201d (Ex 16:30). That\u2019s very serious sin, as in the other cases above. In every reprobate person\u2019s life there comes a time when God says to them, \u201cFool! This night your soul is required of you\u201d (Lk 12:20).<\/p>\n 2 Samuel 17:14<\/strong> And Absalom and all the men of Israel said, \u201cThe counsel of Hushai the Archite is better than the counsel of Ahithophel.\u201d For the Lord had ordained to defeat the good counsel of Ahithophel, so that the Lord might bring harm upon Absalom. [p. 25]<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n This is another case of God\u2019s judgment of a person beyond redemption. Absalom, David\u2019s son, had resolved to rebel against his father and become king (2 Sam 15:4, 6, 10, 12-13). It got so bad that David advised his servants to flee Jerusalem with him, fearing that Absalom would \u201cbring down evil upon us, and smite the city with the edge of the sword\u201d (15:14). Ahithophel became one Absalom\u2019s \u201cconspirators\u201d and David prayed, \u201cO LORD, I pray thee, turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness\u201d (15:31). Absalom was trying to murder his father David (16:11; 17:2, 4). After all that, the text states that \u201cthe LORD had ordained to defeat the good counsel of Ahithophel, so that the LORD might bring evil upon Absalom\u201d (17:14).<\/p>\n Absalom met his end by getting his head stuck in the branches of an oak tree while riding a mule (18:9), and then being finished off by David\u2019s allies (19:14-15). God can strike someone dead if He so chooses, or know that a natural calamity will bring about the same end, as in this case. Absalom sealed his fate by opposing David, the \u201cman after [God\u2019s] own heart\u201d (1 Sam 13:14; cf. Acts 13:22) and the prototype of the Messiah and God the Son, Jesus.<\/p>\n 2 Chronicles 18:19-22<\/strong> <\/span>And the Lord said, \u2018Who will entice Ahab the king of Israel, that he may go up and fall <\/span>at Ramoth-gilead?\u2019 And one said one thing, and another said another. 20 Then a spirit <\/span>came forward and stood before the Lord, saying, \u2018I will entice him.\u2019 And the Lord said to <\/span>him, \u2018By what means?\u2019 21 And he said, \u2018I will go out, and will be a lying spirit in the mouth <\/span>of all his prophets.\u2019 And he said, \u2018You are to entice him, and you shall succeed; go out and <\/span>do so.\u2019 22 Now therefore behold, the Lord has put a lying spirit in the mouth of these your <\/span>prophets. The Lord has declared disaster concerning you.\u201d [p. 25]<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n Most people think this \u201cspirit\u201d is an instance of the personification of the spirit of prophecy. It\u2019s definitely not an evil spirit. Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament<\/a><\/em> states concerning the parallel passage in 1 Kings 22:<\/p>\n The spirit (\u05d4\u05e8\u05d5\u05bc\u05d7) which inspired these prophets as a lying spirit is neither Satan, nor any evil spirit whatever, but, as the definite article and the whole of the context show, the personified spirit of prophecy, which is only so far a \u03c0\u03bd\u03b5\u03c5\u0342\u03bc\u03b1 \u03b1\u0313\u03ba\u03b1\u0301\u03b8\u03b1\u03c1\u03c4\u03bf\u03bd \u03c4\u03b7\u0342\u03c2 \u03c0\u03bb\u03b1\u0301\u03bd\u03b7\u03c2 (Zechariah 13:2<\/a>;\u00a01 John 4:6<\/a>) and under the influence of Satan as it works as \u05e9\u05c1\u05e7\u05e8 \u05e8\u05d5\u05bc\u05d7 in accordance with the will of God. . . . \u00a0Jehovah sends this spirit, inasmuch as the deception of Ahab has been inflicted upon him as a judgment of God for his unbelief. But there is no statement here to the effect that this lying spirit proceeded from Satan, because the object of the prophet was simply to bring out the working of God in the deception practised upon Ahab by his prophets. . . .<\/p>\n Jehovah has ordained that Ahab, being led astray by a prediction of his prophets inspired by the spirit of lies, shall enter upon the war, that he may find therein the punishment of his ungodliness. As he would not listen to the word of the Lord in the mouth of His true servants, God had given him up (\u03c0\u03b1\u03c1\u03b5\u0301\u03b4\u03c9\u03ba\u03b5\u03bd,\u00a0Romans 1:24<\/a>,\u00a0Romans 1:26<\/a>,\u00a0Romans 1:28<\/a>) in his unbelief to the working of the spirits of lying. But that this did not destroy the freedom of the human will is evident from the expression \u05ea\u05bc\u05e4\u05ea\u05bc\u05d4, \u201cthou canst persuade him,\u201d and still more clearly from \u05ea\u05bc\u05d5\u05bc\u05db\u05dc \u05d2\u05bc\u05dd, \u201cthou wilt also be able,\u201d since they both presuppose the possibility of resistance to temptation on the part of man.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n ***<\/p>\n Practical Matters<\/em><\/strong>: Perhaps some of my 4,300+ free online articles (the most comprehensive \u201cone-stop\u201d Catholic apologetics site) or\u00a0fifty-one books<\/a>\u00a0have helped you (by God\u2019s grace) to decide to\u00a0become Catholic<\/a>\u00a0or to\u00a0return to the Church<\/a>,\u00a0or better understand some doctrines and\u00a0why<\/em>\u00a0we believe them<\/a>.<\/p>\n Or you may believe my work is worthy to support for the purpose of apologetics and evangelism in general. If so, please seriously consider a much-needed financial contribution. I\u2019m always in need of more funds: especially\u00a0monthly<\/em>\u00a0support. \u201cThe laborer is worthy of his wages\u201d (1 Tim 5:18, NKJV). 1 December 2021 was my 20th anniversary as a\u00a0full-time Catholic apologist<\/a>,\u00a0and February 2022 marked the 25th anniversary of my blog.<\/p>\n PayPal donations<\/a>\u00a0are the easiest: just send to my email address: apologistdave@gmail.com. You\u2019ll see the term \u201cCatholic Used Book Service\u201d, which is my old side-business. To learn about the different methods of contributing, including 100% tax deduction, etc., see my page:\u00a0About Catholic Apologist Dave Armstrong \/ Donation Information<\/a>.\u00a0Thanks a million<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0from the bottom of my heart!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n ***<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/572\/2023\/06\/CalvinTitian2.jpg\")
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