Of The Problems With Calvinism and Secular Calvanism

                     John Calvin was a pastor, theologeon, and reformer that lived in Geneva during the Reformation of the sixteenth century.  The reformation started when Martin Luther issued his ninety- five thesis's most of which criticizing the Catholic practice of selling indulgences.  Indulgences were sold by the Catholic Church to people, so that they could get a relative out of pergatory (hell) sooner.  The practice does not exist in the modern era.  Martin Luther was still Catholic and he did not believe that it was neccessary to seperate into different churches.  However, John Calvin disagreed with the basic teachings of Catholicism and perpetuated two main ideas.  These ideas being "total depravity" and "predistination".  Some modern calvanist say that predistination merely means that it is predetermined that humans will eventually die.  However, others believe that it is predetermined whether we become good or bad people.  This means that some Calvanist believe that if an infant dies before it can live out its life then God will send the infant to heavan or hell.  People cannot be punished for a crime that they did not yet commit even if the person was planning to commit the crime.  For instance, if someone was on their way to rob a store, but got hit by a bus on the way there.  He would be rushed to the emergency room not a jail cell.  Even after he recovers from his injuries he would not go to jail assuming he doesn't have a weapon on him and did not make any threat prior to being hit.  According to Catholic teachings, God desires the salvation of every man, woman, and child.  While some Calvanist beleive that God predetermined some individuals to recieve salvation.  In other words, if God had intended for everyone to receive salvation it is illogical to assume that he would predetermine some individuals to be evil and thus unworthy of salvation.
                  The idea of total depravity means that humans have no good qualities in them from the time they are born and that they are incapable of performing good acts apart from God.  Many Calvanist will assert that if someone who is an athiest were to help someone else it would be solely to glorify himself.  Although some people may do good to glorify himself, one has to admit that when someone goes out of their way to help someone that person is sacrificing any possible gains attainable by using that time to do something that would increase his or her material gains.  Also, this assumes that athiests or people that are not Christians lack human qualities such as care for others.  Another probem with the idea of total depravity is that the "spark of the devine" is in each and every one of us.  This means that because we are created in the image of God and God is everywhere, a small part of the devine is in everyone.  This does not mean that humans are devine, rather that everyone has some goodness within them.  The spark of the devine has its origins to mysticism.
                  Some Calvanist believe in total incapibility which means that people unable to receive gospel truth or believe that God is real.  The bible does not state this, nor does it sugges that even non Christians are incapable of recieving information about God.  However, it does say that people who are dead in their sin may not be able to believe gospel truth at first.  This leads to efficacious grace which is the belief that God approaches the sinner and changes them, so that they can recieve gospel truth.  This happens before someone hears any biblical information and the person involved is entirely passive throughout the whole process.  These three bible verses suggest a different process.

                     "He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures" (James 1:18). "For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God" (1 Pet. 1:23). Jesus says, "no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit." (John 3:5)

                      According to these versus, when someone is begining to believe in God and become a Christian he or she must hear or read the scripture.  In order for the scripture to have any effect the person involved must process the verse in his or her mind.  In the last verse, when Jesus says, "unless he is born of water." He is referring to baptism.  Baptism is not a passive process for the beleiver.  It requires the new Christian to understand the profound implications of being baptized and the meaning of becoming part of the church.
                      After the last three centuries secular calvinism has emerged in western culture.  This is evident in the work of Roseau.  Roseau suggests that mankind began in a "state of nature" in which there was shared goodness and equality.   When humans started living in a society together they become corrupted by materialism and competition for spouses.  He believed that a collectivist system in which everyone submits to the "general will" was needed.  I am by no means a collectivist I believe that individual freedom is neccessary to allow people to reach their full potential.  Thomas Hobbes had a similiar theory.  He believed that mankind was basically selfish and had to kept in line by a monarch.  Within several decades, John Locke argued that because God gave humans the ability to reason then mankind should utilize it to govern themselves.  Trasncendentalist, Henry Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson like Roseau believed that mankind was good in its "state of nature" then was corrupted once society develop.  Also, they were environmentalists who believed that humans were a threat to nature.  I disagree with the official narrative on climate change.  The climate is always changing and there are natural cycles within the Earth's atmosphere.  Humans are not helping the situation, but they are not the cause of global warnming as this is the result of a natural cycle.  The most recent form of secular calvanism can be found in political correctness and GMOs but I will not go there in this rant.

References

"Calvinism Critiqued

by a Former Calvinist"

by Steve Jones   

http://www.auburn.edu/~allenkc/openhse/calvinism.html#Grace

"The Problem of Predistination: Reformed and Catholic Theology In Dialogue"

by George Aldhizer

https://conciliarpost.com/theology-spirituality/the-problem-of-predestination-reformed-and-catholic-theology-in-dialogue/

"Secular Calvinism?"

https://losthunderlads.com/2010/02/26/secular-calvinism/