[UA] Calvinism Vs. Free Will

[Kevin Mowery]

Kevin Mowery_____________ kemowery at earthlink.net
Mad science comics updated daily at www.narbonic.com
----- Original Message -----
From: "Greg Stolze" <holycrow at mindspring.com>
To: <ua at lists.uchicago.edu>
Sent: Friday, June 15, 2001 10:35 AM
Subject: [UA] Calvinism Vs. Free Will


> >Friday, June 15, 2001, 1:48:07 PM, Nick wrote:
> >
> >NW> One of the more Puritanical sects that founded our contry had such
> >NW> beliefs... I think it was the Calvinists, but could be completely
> >NW> wrong. But money was seen as a reward and sign you were going to
> >NW> heaven.
> >
> >The calvinists were 'odd'.  They believed in predestination, and that
> >only a certain number of people would be saved and thus, due to
> >predestination, were technically already saved.  It didn't matter what
> >you did, because either you were already going to be saved, or you
> >were already going to be damned.  Of course, if you were going to be
> >saved, then you were going to be holy, so doing holy acts made it more
> >likely that you were one of the people predestined to be saved.
>
> My understanding of Calvinism involves the most malevolent image of God I
> can imagine.  I HOPE I'm wrong, but their complete predestination schtick
> works like this.
>
> God makes some people to be saved.  They will be saved.  God makes some
> people to be damned.  They will be damned.  Because human actions are
> meaningless next to the immensity of God's power, only faith can produce
> salvation.  So your actions have NO EFFECT on your salvation.  It only
> matters if you believe at the moment of death.
>
> Some of the people who are born to go to hell are going to lead godly,
holy
> lives but have a moment of doubt on their deathbeds and be condemned to
> eternal torment.  Some of the people who are born to go to heaven are
going
> to be evil shitweeds for 99.9% of their lives, but will have a deathbed
> conversion and will be blessed with eternal bliss.
>
> (I got this from a girl who'd gone to a Calvinist high school.  She said
> the suicide rates were through the roof.)

    It's my understanding that predestination is an outgrowth of God being
omniscient.  If He knows everything, then He certainly knows where you're
going when you die.  The hoops that have been jumped through since then to
reconcile omniscience, predestination, and free will are truly astounding.


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