Your Calvinism is Showing

I’ve attended many Bible Study Groups over the years, and one thing is for certain, there will be a point during one of the discussions where I’ll be labeled as a Calvinist. Early on,. I had no idea what that meant, I thought I was just reading the Bible and understanding it as it was plain and simple. Turns out there was a man named John Calvin who came up an acrostic called TULIP which after reading it made me super concerned that people would label me as such.

Fast forward, now I really don’t mind if people label me as such. It just show that people just don’t understand things. Do some research and understand for yourself. I guess the more concerning thing is that Xians throw out labels as pejoratives.

Big picture: Calvinism emphasizes that salvation is 100% Godโ€™s work from start to finishโ€”humans donโ€™t initiate it, earn it, or keep it going. Itโ€™s all about Godโ€™s grace and sovereignty.

๐ŸŒฑ T โ€“ Total Depravity โ†’ โ€œDead Batteryโ€

๐Ÿ”‹ Imagine a phone with a completely dead batteryโ€”it canโ€™t turn itself back on.

  • Weโ€™re spiritually dead, not just weak. Only God jump-starts the heart.

๐ŸŒค U โ€“ Unconditional Election โ†’ โ€œAdoption Papersโ€

๐Ÿ“œ Parents donโ€™t adopt based on a childโ€™s achievements. They choose out of love.

  • Godโ€™s choice isnโ€™t based on our goodness, but His mercy.

๐ŸŽฏ L โ€“ Limited/Definite Atonement โ†’ โ€œTargeted Rescueโ€

๐Ÿš A rescue helicopter doesnโ€™t just circle overheadโ€”it lowers the rope for specific people.

  • Jesusโ€™ death doesnโ€™t just make salvation possibleโ€”it guarantees it for His people.

๐Ÿงฒ I โ€“ Irresistible Grace โ†’ โ€œMagnet Pullโ€

๐Ÿช™ A strong magnet doesnโ€™t force metalโ€”it naturally draws it in.

  • God changes our hearts so that we freely want Him.

๐Ÿ›ก P โ€“ Perseverance/Preservation โ†’ โ€œTight Gripโ€

๐Ÿค If it depended on us holding Godโ€™s hand, weโ€™d let go. But Heโ€™s holding usโ€”and He never drops His children.

Theories on Jesusโ€™ Death: Exploring Controversial Claims

Jesus merely fainted on the cross and was revived later

  • Romans were good at killing people
  • Beaten, Scourged (which most didnโ€™t survive)
  • Nailed to a cross
  • The spear pierced his heart

    It does account for the empty tomb. Fails to explain Jesusโ€™ death. Fails to explain why enemies of Jesus saw him, but I doubt the disciples would think Jesus had defeated death, looking like he did.

Jesus had a twin brother who took his place

  • The twin would have had to hide all of his life
  • Only to die for Jesusโ€™ manipulation and deceit
  • This is the opposite of the rest of his teachings
  • Luke makes no mention of the twin in the birth narrative

Doesnโ€™t explain the empty tomb
If Jesusโ€™ brother were dead, he would be in the tomb

Hallucination Theory – Amid their profound grief, the disciples experienced private and corporate hallucinations. Giving everyone the same experience

  • Perception of objects with no reality usually arises from disorder of the nervous system or in response to drugs
  • An unfounded or mistaken impression or notion: DELUSION
  • The possibility of several different people having the same exact hallucination in the same way at the same time is improbable
  • Remember, Jesus appeared to over 500 people in 40 days.
  • Doesnโ€™t solve the problem of the empty tomb


Wrong Tomb -The followers of Jesus simply went to the wrong tomb

  • Mary Magdalene and โ€œthe other Maryโ€ were at the tomb when Jesus was buried
  • The disciples recorded that women discovered the tomb, even though women were not considered reliable witnesses.
  • Pilate placed several Roman soldiers to guard the tomb
  • The oldest argument against the resurrection, which assumes that the correct tomb was visited
  • Doesnโ€™t explain why friends and enemies saw Jesus after he died

The Alien Theory -Jesus was from another planet because:

  • Knowledge of Science and Medicine
  • Psychic abilities
  • Had the ability to heal himself in the tomb and escape unnoticed
  • Locate the disciples telepathically and transport himself there
  • It proves too much
  • Any objection can be dismissed by invoking Jesusโ€™ alien nature
  • Everything looks supernatural to us, but is just common for his race
  • No way to prove right or wrong because itโ€™s unfalsifiable
  • Commits the โ€œconfirmation biasโ€ fallacy. Proves so much that it proves nothing

Legend

  • Christ was never taken down from the cross
  • Left to rot and eaten by wild animals.
  • Apostles didnโ€™t care what happened to the body; they could carry on the ministry
  • Everything recorded in the Gospels about the burial and resurrection was invented to convey greater spiritual truths (via parables)
  • This was done to vindicate their slain leader
  • Doesnโ€™t account for the Jewish claim of the Stolen body and the Empty tomb
  • There are so many historical details at the time that there would be plenty of evidence to counter the apostle’s claims