One thing has always perplexed me about classical Calvinism — it so strongly insists on God’s perfection (I love that theme within the Reformed tradition) and yet it simultaneously insists on a God who is, despite their protests to the contrary, less than perfect. This is not a new criticism, but it bears repeating.
Anselm insisted that God is “that than which nothing greater can be conceived.” But it seems that, in Christian terms, it is easy to conceive of a God greater than the God of classical Calvinism.
Consider: for Christian theology “God is love.” Which, at very least, means that in his very essence God is love. He is not loving by some happy accident but by virtue of being who he is.
Now, if you love someone you desire the best for them. Not necessarily what they think is best for them, but what is actually best for them. So if God loves someone then God will desire what is actually best for them. In a Christian view of things, what is actually best for creatures is for them to be united with God in eschatological glory. That is the fulfillment of the human telos.
Further, if God is loving in his very essence then God cannot not love his creatures without ceasing to be the God that he is—which is, of course, impossible.
So if God is love in his very essence then he must love all his creatures and must desire to actualize what is best for them. For humans that entails a desire to unite them to himself in glory (which, given sin, requires that he desire to save them from sin).
The Calvinist God, however, does not desire to unite all humans to himself in glory, and thus does not desire to save them all from sin. This can only be because he does not love them enough to desire what is best for them. He may love them somewhat (offering them common grace), but not perfectly (refusing them saving grace).
But surely, if love is a divine perfection then loving all creatures perfectly is greater than loving only some creatures perfectly. The Calvinist says that God only loves some creatures perfectly. I can imagine something greater than that. Imagining something greater than God is impossible. So the Calvinist vision of God is, in Christian terms, impossible, because it falls short of divine perfection.
At least, that is how things appear to me.
June 14, 2014 at 4:03 pm
Dear Gentlemen,
Sadly, I find your post “un-loving.” However, I also found it grossly one-sided. The various points that one can make in rebuttal are that GOD is love and holy, GOD loved Jacob, but hated Esau according to Scripture, and the non-doctrinaire Calvinist, Karl Barth, always talked about the freedom of GOD to love. Your short presentation takes an attribute of GOD and turns it into an axiom. Therefore, if you are correct, than none of GOD’s creatures should suffer or go hungry. You should define love by GOD’s standard, not one of our own making.
Thanks, though, for your wonderful publishing business. I do hope that your somewhat shoddy understanding is not translated into an editorial bias.
Thanks,
Scott
June 16, 2014 at 6:27 pm
So the God you imagine loves everybody the same. That’s great, except so many perish in hell. So your God loves people but can’t save them. You haven’t solved the problem. Either he can’t or won’t. If he can’t he is useless. If he doesn’t, its because he has his reasons.
June 26, 2014 at 1:21 pm
of course like your web-site but you have to check the spelling on quite a few of your posts.
Many of them are rife with spelling issues and I find it very troublesome to inform the reality however I will certainly come again again.
Here is my web blog Cleanse Fx Reviews
July 26, 2014 at 1:44 pm
For example, in Word Press, there is a specific way to get into the meta
data. That isn’t to say that having an inexperienced person help out with SEO
is a bad thing, but much like the example of
a kitchen, in most cases their help should be limited to assisting
the chef, not directing the operation. Through the SEO
website audit, the status of the site as evaluated by search engines can be assessed.
My blog post :: web site
July 31, 2014 at 10:25 am
It’s actually very difficult in this full of activity life to listen news on TV, so I just use
web for that purpose, and get the newest information.
My webpage: Avis de mistral Télécharger
August 1, 2014 at 6:19 pm
Hello would you mind letting me know which webhost you’re using?
I’ve loaded your blog in 3 different browsers and
I must say this blog loads a lot faster then most.
Can you recommend a good hosting provider at a reasonable price?
Cheers, I appreciate it!
my homepage Nu Cambogia Extract Reviews
August 1, 2014 at 6:42 pm
Peculiar article, just what I was looking for.
For the best informative review please view this blog what is an electronic cigarette
August 2, 2014 at 12:53 pm
I usually do not leave a response, however I looked at some of the responses on this page The imperfect God
of classical Calvinism |. I actually do have 2 questions for you if you tend not
to mind. Is it only me or does it appear like some of the remarks appear as if they are written by brain dead folks?
😛 And, if you are posting at additional places, I’d
like to follow everything fresh you have to post. Would you list of all of all your social pages like your Facebook page, twitter feed,
or linkedin profile?
For an incredible review please take a look at this amazing site :: yoga for weight loss
August 2, 2014 at 5:18 pm
It is not my first time to pay a quick visit this website, i am visiting this website dailly and obtain fastidious data from here daily.
My website; osmosis skin care
August 4, 2014 at 7:53 am
Hey! This is kind of off topic but I need some help from an established blog.
Is it difficult to set up your own blog? I’m not very techincal but I can figure things out pretty
quick. I’m thinking about creating my own but
I’m not sure where to start. Do you have any tips or suggestions?
Thank you
For a wonderful detailed explanation please jump over to this website – muscle Building
Blog (hockequip.ca)
August 21, 2014 at 4:57 pm
Thanks for the good writeup. It if truth be told was a entertainment account it.
Look complicated to far introduced agreeable from you! By the way,
how could we be in contact?
My web site maritim hotel wurzburg germany
August 25, 2014 at 5:30 pm
Very energetic post, I liked that bit. Will there be a part 2?
Feel free to visit my web blog; slim garcinia review
August 31, 2014 at 5:37 am
My brother suggested I might like this website. He was entirely right.
This post actually made my day. You can not imagine simply how much time I had spent for this information! Thanks!
Feel free to surf to my web page … garcinia cambodia
September 1, 2014 at 2:17 am
I know this if off topic but I’m looking into starting my own blog and
was curious what all is needed to get set up?
I’m assuming having a blog like yours would cost a pretty
penny? I’m not very internet smart so I’m not 100% certain. Any
tips or advice would be greatly appreciated.
Many thanks
Check out my weblog – sensitive skin care
September 20, 2014 at 1:18 am
Quality articles or reviews is the secret to attract the people to visit
the web site, that’s what this site is providing.
Look into my blog … advanced mind power
September 20, 2014 at 1:56 pm
There are some good ways to create a password so that you can. And to
make sure only the subject knows what to say, SMS is
used so hackers can. Digital natives wonder how anyone ever
got by before computers existed.
My site; bangbros password
September 20, 2014 at 5:59 pm
The government can take your fingerprints, and the government can tell you
to put your index finger somewhere; and that is OK.
All successful people claim that imagination is the most important ingredient in success.
If to find out if my girlfriend is cheating on Facebook
is your goal, then you have to know that it can be easily achieved.
Look at my website; realitykings accounts (Edwardo)
September 21, 2014 at 3:55 am
re able to identify yourself using out of band two
factor authentication. I know it and I won’t tell you until you buy
me” then you have a couple options:. Users can add another layer of protection to their accounts by using a different password for each of them.
my homepage: password for brazzers
September 21, 2014 at 10:28 pm
That might mean different things in different working situations.
Remote spy key logger software provides facility to mail log files to specified email address or upload using FTP server settings.
Other stuff that will be discussed will be: Guest accounts, Administrative
accounts, and User accounts.
Also visit my blog … digital playground pass
September 22, 2014 at 2:10 pm
It has been less than a year since Microsoft released Windows 7 to the world, but rumors and apparent leaks
of the next Microsoft operating system are already surfacing on the
web. Choosing a password for a new account is usually an easy
task for many people, since it has been proven that the average
computer user simply uses the same relatively simple password for every website they go on. Program
has Shareware status and is distributed as Demo-version which has the only limitation – number of hashes to import for
check is 1, while licensed version doesn’t limit this number.
With a PIN, your options are typically more limited, usually
to four numbers. This is the power to control what computer
information you reveal about yourself and to control who can access this personal information.
My webpage; ftvgirls password
September 22, 2014 at 4:04 pm
The beauty of this integration, is that if you root and flash your phone, or you have problems that
cause the total loss of your phone, getting all of your passwords back is as
easy as logging into the app again when you get your phone repaired or replaced.
If you don’t want to spend money for folder password protection offered by
the third-party tools, and if you neither intend to purchase or upgrade to the Windows 7 flagship
edition then you may to check out True Crypt, a powerful free
encryption suite; the current version of True Crypt does
support Windows 7 of course. You will then interrupt the boot process and change the configuration register value to prevent the appliance from
reading its stored configuration at boot. You can sync both ways and import from Firefox,
e – Wallet, Kee – Pass, Roboform and more. Cisco routers
will not show asterisks or any other character when you
enter a password; in fact, the cursor doesn’t even move.
Also visit my site … x art account
September 23, 2014 at 1:15 pm
Great website. Plenty of helpful information here.
I’m sending it to a few buddies ans also sharing in delicious.
And obviously, thanks on your sweat!
Supposing you’ve gotten read this far into the article, you will be grateful
to be informed on best top rice cooker at this remarkable learning resource.
October 20, 2014 at 5:22 pm
Hello there! Would you mind if I share your blog with my myspace group?
There’s a lot of people that I think would really enjoy your content.
Please let me know. Thank you