Calvinism 101

Calvinism is one of my frequent internet punching bags, and usually the retort from my Calvinist brethren (whom I love!) is that I mischaracterize Calvinism. And I always give them the benefit of the doubt because, well, they would know better than me, wouldn’t they. And caricaturing opponents’ positions is one of the most annoying features of debate, and (honestly, guys) I try to avoid it, even though none of us are immune.

One of my Twitter interlocutors, the very gracious Derek Rishmawy recommended to me the book “Proof”. And it just so happened that the two authors of that book had recently been part of a debate on two essential and controversial doctrines of Calvinism: double predestination, and free will.

And in watching that debate, I found out that…Calvinism is exactly what I think it is.

The proponents of Calvinism in the debate are really quite forthright, mostly don’t object to their opponents’ characterization of the doctrines, rather they defend them on the same terms. At one point one of them says that supposing that man has free will in relation to God is like supposing that dinner has free will in relation to the chef, and I thought “See, if I‘d said that’s what Calvinists believe, I’d never hear the end of it!”

Now of course some will still object that that’s not true Calvinism, true Calvinism is this other thing over there, and please read these 5,000 pages in German before we’ll allow you to opine on it, but I am satisfied. While I don’t want to rob theology of its complexity and subtlety, it is actually possible to state doctrines relatively straightforwardly and briefly, and Calvinism as a currently existing social phenomenon (by which I mean “The doctrine held in common by those who can reasonably be referred to as Calvinist”) does have identifiable doctrines.

In any case I heartily recommend the two videos for those who have time, and it will surprise no regular reader to learn that I associate myself unreservedly with the excellent opponents of Calvinism in the debate–particularly Brian Zahnd, who even quotes David Bentley Hart (!) at one point.