Glen Shellrude’s article, “Calvinism and Problematic Readings of New Testament Texts Or, Why I Am Not a Calvinist” powerfully demonstrates how incompatible the NT is with Calvinistic determinism. It examines numerous texts and themes in the Bible that simply cannot be made to comport with the basic assumptions of Calvinist philosophy. The conclusion is that Calvinist determinism cannot provide a workable hermeneutic for understanding the word of God. Below is an excerpt:
…theological determinism conflicts with the natural, intuitive reading of so many Scriptural texts. A good hypothesis is one that accounts for the largest amount of data with the fewest number of residual challenges. It is not the case that reading the New Testament within the framework of theological determinism creates the occasional tension that may require a somewhat counterintuitive interpretation of scattered texts. The challenges are monumental in that a Calvinist reading requires counterintuitive and ahistorical interpretations of thousands of texts and many different kinds of material.
A Calvinist reading of the various kinds of New Testament material discussed in this paper is in the end an exercise in eisegesis on a grand scale which in turn generates an enormous amount of textual destruction. One must impose a deterministic theological framework on texts through the use of consistently counterintuitive and ahistorical interpretive strategies.
Be sure to check this important article out.
Filed under: Calvinism, determinism |
Excellent article, thanks for pointing it out. I liked the examples in point 4 of the conclusion. The revealed/secret will thing is one of the biggest problems of Calvinism, and (as he illustrates) is primarily used as a means to discount scripture.
[…] Below is a link to a good article that argues that the philosophical assumptions of Calvinism are inconsistent with the New Testament. HT: Arminian Perspectives […]