If Calvinism is True, Then God is a Liar! (updated)

(I updated this February 2023.  I simplified it, got rid of the fluff and the things I covered in other posts, and added more verses.)

I'm just gonna come out and say it ... 

If Calvinism is true, then God is a liar.

Here are a few of their teachings in a nutshell (without the sugarcoating or deceptive layers Calvinists wrap them in) ...

The Bible says God does not cause sin.  But Calvinism says God causes everything, even sin.  [But they hide the word "causes" under other words - like "ordains, decrees, sovereign control" - so that you don't know they mean "causes.")  

The Bible calls us all to believe in Jesus, and it places the responsibility to believe on us.  But Calvinism says it's up to God whether we believe or not, that He blinds the non-elect so they cannot believe but He causes the elect to believe.  [But they talk in such a way that, for as long as possible, you think they believe in free-will.]

The Bible says God wants all people to come to Him and wants no one to perish.  But Calvinism says God withholds salvation from most men because He wills them to perish, for His glory somehow.  [But to downplay this, they'll say God really does "want" the non-elect in heaven, but He still predestined them for hell.  "Because," they'll say, "God has two Wills: a revealed one where He said He wants all people saved and a secret one where He really wants people in hell for His glory."  They are always trying to make their contradictions sounds biblical.  If they can find me one verse that clearly says God predestined people to hell for His glory, that it's His secret Will, then maybe I'll start to believe them.  Just one verse.] 

The Bible says God loves the world and so He sent Jesus to die for us so that we might live.  But Calvinism says God loves only the elect and that Jesus died only for the elect.  [Some Calvinists honestly admit that Calvi-god does not love all people, that he created the non-elect just so he could hate them and send them to hell for his glory.  But most Calvinists will try to cover this up by saying that he does "love" all people, just in two different ways.  He loves the elect by saving them and the non-elect by giving them food and water while they are alive on earth (before sending them to eternal torment for being the unbelievers he caused them to be).  Lesson: Question everything Calvinists tell you - every verse, every term, every "truth".  It's never what it seems.  There's always a deeper, unbiblical layer underneath the first layer that sounded good.  And they want you to accept the first layer without question.  They want you to think that's the bottom-line of what Calvinism really believes.  But don't fall for it.  Keep digging to get to what they really believe.  And you'll see that the bottom-line contradicts/negates what they first told you.  It's sick.] 

Calvinism - when you simplify it - completely contradicts the Word.  And the only way it can sound somewhat believable is when they hide what Calvinism really teaches underneath multiple (contradictory) layers, redefined words, convoluted explanations, non-answers that seem like answers, twisted verses taken out of context, etc. 

But, I wonder, does God say what He means and mean what He says, or not?  Does He really need Calvinists to teach us what He meant to say in His Word, as if His Word isn't clear?  Do we need to spend months studying Calvinist books in order to understand the Bible?  How is it that men couldn't properly understand God's Word until John Calvin came along in the 1500's?  Does Calvinism make sense of God's Word, or does it make a mess of it?  Does Calvinism uphold God's good, righteous, holy, loving, just, gracious character, or does it destroy it?  



[A warning to Calvinists:  If you are going to change Jesus's sacrifice for all people into a sacrifice for a "few prechosen people," and if you are going to say that God doesn't love all people the same, and if you are going to tell others that they can't seek God when the Bible tells us over and over again to seek Him, and if you are going to say that God predetermines most people will go to hell for His pleasure and glory ... you had better be absolutely sure that your theological view has rock-solid support from the Bible!  Do not just trust what your Calvi-pastor or some Calvi-theologian tells you, not when this much is at stake!  

Because the Bible clearly and regularly teaches something far different than Calvinism.  And I don't think saying "Oh, but there's a deeper, hidden meaning underneath what the Bible says" is going to be an acceptable excuse for changing what God clearly says in His Word.  And I don't think saying "Oh, but it's what my pastor taught me" is going to work either.  

If you are going to change the clear, consistent Gospel Truth that much, you had better be absolutely sure you are right.  For you will be held accountable for spreading Calvinism to others.  And for those who are just nominal Calvinists, who blindly support Calvinism without really knowing what it teaches, you had better find out.  Because you also will be held accountable for the people you affect when you say, "I'm a Calvinist."  For holding up Calvinism as Gospel Truth.]   


Question: If you read the Bible (or maybe just the New Testament) from beginning to end, without any Calvinist theologians telling you what to think or how to read it, would you be more likely to conclude that God loves all people and offers salvation to all, and that we are responsible for our choices and actions and beliefs ... or would you be more likely to conclude that God causes everything that happens, even sin and unbelief, that He really doesn't love all people and that Jesus didn't die for everyone, and that the calls to believe and obey are phony because He's already pre-decided where we all go and how we will behave?  (Try it and see.)  

(And for the Calvinists out there, did you become a Calvinist from reading the Bible on your own?  Or did you become a Calvinist only after being taught how to find Calvinism in the Bible by Calvinist theologians, only after being told that "Calvinism IS the Gospel" and that "humble Christians accept this" and "humble Christians accept that God is sovereign" and "humble Christians don't talk back to God"?  Just wondering.  See "Predestination Manipulation" for more on this.)

And if you're unsure at all, wouldn't it be erring on the side of caution to assume that if God said He loved all people and Jesus died for all people, He meant all people... and when He says "seek Me," it means we can and should seek Him... and when He says "whoever believes," it means anyone can believe, that salvation is offered to all... and when He says we need to choose between obeying and disobeying, it means we can choose between obeying and disobeying?  

(I think one of the best things a Calvinist can do is, first of all, pray and ask God to show you the Truth, even if it means showing you that you've been wrong all this time (and really mean it, because if you don't mean it, you'll only see what you want to see), and then read the Bible from beginning to end, with fresh eyes, with no Calvinist glasses on, and see how He acts, what He says, and how He interacts with people.  See "12 Tips on How to Think Critically About Calvinism.")  

For the record, I have been a Christian for over 30 years.  I have been reading the Bible since I was a preteen (I am now in my mid-40s).  I am currently on my 6th or 7th time reading the Bible from beginning to end.  And I know how to study.  I have a Bachelor's Degree and a Master's Degree in Psychology (which is why I like exploring the psychology behind Calvinism so much, the manipulative tactics and hidden layers, listening for what they hide, etc.).  So I know how to study things deeply and carefully.  I don't want anyone to think I am some sort of newbie at reading the Bible.  I have been doing it for many years.  And although I leaned toward Calvinism in my late teens because I was led to believe it was truth and because I wanted to accept the "truth" like a "good Christian," I have been deeply studying it for several years now, due to our new Calvinist pastor.  And the more I study it, the more messed-up Calvinism gets.  The more wicked it gets.  And the more I have to speak out against it, to help all those who are unwittingly led into accepting it too, because they've been told it's "truth" and that they have to accept it to be a good, humble Christian.  

(And for the record, the only thing Calvinism and I agree on is that true Christians can't lose their salvation.  But I don't necessarily see it the same way they do.  Here is a post I wrote on that.  And here are some more you might like: "Why Is Calvinism So Dangerous?" and "When Calvinism's 'Bad Logic' Traps Good Christians" and "Is Calvinism's TULIP Biblical?" and "Calvinism 101: 'Free-Will Choices' is not really 'Free Will' or 'Choices'")  

So let's take a look at some of the verses where God has to be considered a liar ... if Calvinism is true.

(A note for Calvinists: Take off the Calvinist glasses, toss out the complicated Calvinist explanations, and read Scripture plainly, as it was written, to see what it really says.):



1.  2 Peter 3:9:  "[The Lord] is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance."  

Calvi-god wants most people in hell, for his glory.  How then can he say he wants no one to perish?  And if he himself causes the elect to believe, how can he say he's patient with us?  It's nonsense.  He's not being patient with us, but with himself.  What silliness!

Calvinists explain this away, though, by saying that God can emotionally want one thing but decree another, as in "He can emotionally want all people to be saved but still decree that most people go to hell for His glory."

But ... if Calvi-god is only concerned about his glory (as Calvinists say), if he always does what brings him the most glory possible, and if he's predestined most people to hell for his glory, wouldn't Calvinists then be saying that Calvi-god actually emotionally desired to do the thing that would bring him less glory?  How can Calvi-god want to do anything that would bring him less glory, if he is all about and only about his glory?  It's messed up.  

I agree that God can want something but decree another ... but not in the Calvinist way of wanting one thing but causing the opposite ("God wants all men to be saved but predetermines most will go to hell").  That is illogical and contradictory.  

But I believe it's like this: "God wants all men to be saved, but He doesn't force it.  He lets us choose."  This is how God can logically, biblically want one thing but decree another.  And it fits with His character, with His desires, with Scripture, with logic, and with man's responsibility and accountability to the Gospel.



2.  Deuteronomy 4:29:  "But if from there you seek the Lord your God, you will find him if you look for him with all your heart and with all your soul." 

The Bible repeatedly makes it seem like we have the choice to seek God or not, to believe in Jesus or not.  But Calvinism says that we can't seek God unless He makes us seek Him, that we can't believe in Jesus unless He causes us to.  So which one is wrong?  

Amos 5:4: "Seek me and live ..."  Calvinists say that we are "dead people" who can't seek God or want God, unless and until the Holy Spirit regenerates us (the elect only), causing us to seek Him.  "Dead people can't seek," they say.  But in this verse, the seeking comes before the living.  So if they are not yet "alive," then they must be "dead."  God Himself is telling spiritually-dead people to "seek" Him because He knows we can.  Being dead in sin doesn't mean our brains don't work; it means we are separated from God.  And since our brains still work, God expects us to use them to seek Him, to find life in Him.  This contradicts the Calvinist view that "dead" people can't seek God and that He has to make you alive first before you can seek.  God Himself tells dead people to "seek Me and live."



3.  Romans 5:18 ("... so also the result of one act of righteousness [Jesus' death on the cross] was justification that brings life for all men.") and 1 Timothy 2:6 ("who gave himself as a ransom for all men ...") say Jesus's death was for all men.  But Calvinism says Jesus's death didn't cover all men, that it only covered the "elect."  They say that God really meant "only the elect" or "all kinds of men" when the Bible clearly and consistently says "all men," over and over again.

So who is lying?

If Calvinists can find one verse that clearly says Jesus died only for the elect - as clearly as the Bible says that Jesus died for all sins of all people - then maybe I'll start to believe them.

4.  Titus 2:11:  "The grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men."  But if Calvinism is true, grace leading to salvation appears only to the elect.  And so then God would be intentionally misleading people, making it sound like we all have the chance to be saved.  (Or Calvinists might say, "Well, of course it appears to all men, but only the elect can respond to it."  So then what good is something "appearing" to us if it's totally unavailable to us?  The offer of salvation is just a mirage for most people, for the non-elect.  Deceptive!)



5.  2 Peter 2:1 says that Jesus's death even bought the false teachers who deny Him.  Yet Calvinism says Jesus didn't die for the "non-elect," which certainly would include false teachers who deny Him.  So did Jesus's death cover all people, even false teachers, or not?

2 Peter 2:1 also says that the false teachers "bring destruction on themselves."  But in Calvinism, we can't bring anything on ourselves.  Calvi-god does it all for his glory.  So once again, who's lying?  The Bible or Calvinists?  And if Calvinism is true - if Calvi-god brings destruction on people for his glory - why would he say they bring destruction on themselves?  Wouldn't that be giving his glory to people, giving them credit for what he causes for his glory?  Calvinism makes God self-defeating, self-sabotaging.)

6.  "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whosoever believes in him will not perish but have eternal life... Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son... Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil."  (John 3:16-19)

Big fat lie ... if Calvinism is true!

If Calvinism is true, the verses should read: "For God so loved the elect that He sent Jesus so that only the elect would have eternal life.  Whoever is elected is not condemned, but the non-elect are condemned and can do nothing about it because God has pre-decided that they will perish.  Light has come into the world for only the elect, but the non-elect love the darkness because God created them to love the darkness and to never see the Light."

You see, in Calvinism, these verses aren't instructions on how to get saved; it's merely a commentary on how the elect are saved.  Big difference!  It totally changes the meaning.  

So what do you think?  Is John 3:16 a real offer of salvation to all people, instructions on how to get saved?  Or is it merely informing us of how the elect are saved and the fact that the non-elect are damned?

If Calvinists can find one verse that clearly says God loves only the elect and that only the elect can/will be saved - as clearly as the Bible says that God loves all people and that "whoever" can believe and be saved - then maybe I'll start to believe them.

7.  Calvinists will say that Calvi-god still "loves" the non-elect by giving them food and sunshine while they live on earth, but that he loves the elect by sending Calvi-Jesus to die for them and save their souls.  Two different kinds of love.

But that's not how the God of the Bible says He shows His love.  He says He shows His love by sending Jesus to the cross for sinners (Romans 5:8).  So unless only the "elect" are sinners - and unrighteous (1 Peter 3:18) and ungodly (Romans 5:6) - then Jesus died for all people.  Because last I checked, we are all unrighteous, ungodly sinners.  

If Calvinists can find one verse that says God has two different kinds of love for two different classes of sinners (ones chosen to be saved and ones chosen to be damned) - as clearly as it says that God shows His love by sending Jesus to die for sinners - then maybe I'll start to believe them.

And on the flip-side, Calvinists say that predestining/damning the non-elect to hell is how God shows His justice.  

But the Bible says God shows His justice by doing the same thing He did to show His love - sending Jesus to die on the cross for us (Romans 3:25-26).  And since Jesus's death fulfills/expresses God's justice, God didn't need to predestine people to hell to do it.  

So who's wrong?  Who's lying?  

Calvi-god:  I showed my love to all men by sending Jesus to the cross to pay for all sins.

Calvinists:  Uh, no!  We told you: You show two different kinds of love.  A saving love for the elect, and a "providing food and water" kind of love for the non-elect.

Calvi-god:  Oh, yeah, that's right.  But the Bible's already been written and it says "all" people.  Oh well, I guess I'll just get John Calvin to fix it in the 1500's.  But at least I demonstrated my justice by sending Jesus to the cross to pay the penalty for mankind's sin.

Calvinists (closing their eyes, pressing their fingers to their foreheads, slowly shaking their heads back and forth in exasperation):  Come on, Calvi-god.  We thought you'd catch on by now!  You didn't show your justice by having Jesus pay the penalty for everyone's sin.  You show your justice by not covering the sins of the non-elect with Jesus's blood, by not offering them salvation, by forcing the non-elect to be unbelievers, and then by damning them to hell for it!  Why is that so hard to figure out!?!?  Okay, so let's go over this again, you show your amazing love by...

Calvi-god, thinking for a moment:  Oh, I know ... by sending Jesus to the cross to pay for all men's sin!

Calvinists:  UGH, NO!!!  You show your amazing, wonderous love by sending Jesus to die only for the elect and by giving the non-elect food and sunshine for 80 years or so before damning them to hell for all of eternity for what you made them do!  You know what, I'm tired.  I need to go lie down.  This is exhausting!   

8.  Calvinism says that God blinds the minds of unbelievers, that it's up to Calvi-god who gets an open-mind and who gets a closed-mind when it comes to understanding the gospel and responding to the offer of salvation.  

But 2 Corinthians 4:4 says "The god of this age [Satan] has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel ..."  

So which is it?  Does Calvi-god blind or does Satan?  If it's Calvi-god, then he's lying when he says it's Satan.  (And why would Calvi-god need to blind the non-elect anyway if he created them to be completely unable to believe from the start?)  

And if Calvi-god blinded the non-elect for his glory, then why would he give Satan the "credit" for blinding them?  That would be sharing his glory with Satan.  

(Interestingly, John Calvin says that Satan's main goal is to extinguish God's glory.  And in Calvinism, God preplans, causes, controls everything, even every action of Satan.  So then ... think about this ... Calvi-god causes Satan to try to extinguish his glory for his glory!?!  Do you not see how schizophrenic that is!)  

   

FYI: God does blind people at times in the Bible, but He does it in response to their self-chosen hard-heartedness.  Basically, if they don't want to believe, He gives them what they want - unbelief.  And He does open minds to understand truth more, but He opens the minds of those who already believe or who want to believe.  God lets us choose the path we take - toward Him or away from Him - and then He gives us what we want.



9.  On the flip-side, 2 Corinthians 3:16 says "whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away."  But in Calvinism, the veil (over the elect) has to be taken away first (by the Holy Spirit) before the elect can turn to the Lord.  The Bible says one thing; Calvinism says the opposite.  Who's lying?

10. Calvinists believe the elect were chosen for salvation before time began (saved before they were ever born).  And then eventually, Calvi-god causes all the elect to be born-again by giving them the Holy Spirit who regenerates them and causes them to seek God and then hear/understand/respond to the gospel and then believe in Jesus.  In Calvinism, the order goes like this: saved, born again/filled with the Spirit, seek God, hear/respond to the gospel, believe in Jesus.   

Notice that, in Calvinism, faith in Jesus does not save, but being saved leads to faith in Jesus.  As Calvinist Loraine Boettner says in his The Reformed Doctrine of Predestination: "A man is not saved because he believes in Christ; he believes in Christ because he is saved."  

But what do these verses clearly, plainly say about the order of things:

John 3:16: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

Acts 16:31: “… Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved …”

Romans 10:9: “… if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”  (In these three verses, which comes first: eternal life/salvation or believing in Jesus?  Which results in which?)

Acts 2:38: "Peter replied, 'Repent and be baptized ... And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.'"  (Do we need to get the Holy Spirit first to cause us to repent, as Calvinists say ... or does repentance lead to getting the Holy Spirit?)

Acts 11:18: “… So then, God has granted even the Gentiles repentance unto [that leads to] life.”  (This verse is saying that God gave the offer of salvation, the ability to repent, even to the Gentiles, not just the Jews.  Does being born-again cause us to repent, as Calvinists say ... or does repentance lead to life/being born-again?)

John 7:39: "By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive."  (Do we have to get the Holy Spirit first to cause us to believe in Jesus, as Calvinists say ... or does belief in Jesus lead to getting the Holy Spirit?)

Ephesians 1:13: "And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation.  Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit."  (Once again, does getting the Holy Spirit lead to belief, as Calvinists say ... or does belief lead to getting the Holy Spirit?  Also notice that the believers in this verse were not included “in Christ” until they believed.  This contradicts Calvinism's view that all the elect people were pre-chosen in Christ from the beginning of time to be believers and that no one else can believe.  The believers in this verse were not "in Christ" or sealed by the Holy Spirit until after they believed, and then they joined the body of Christ alongside those who believed before them.)

John 20:31: “But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.”  (Are we saved/born-again before we believe the gospel, as Calvinists say ... or after?  Which leads to which?)

John 1:12: “Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.”

John 3:15,36: “that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life… Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on him.”

John 5:24: “I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life.”

John 6:40: “For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.”

The Bible puts things in one order, but Calvinism reverses it, flips it on its head.  And so once again I ask: Who's lying?

11.  Romans 1:20 says that since we can clearly see God through His creation, we have no excuse for not believing in Him.  But Calvinism says that the non-elect are predestined to not believe in God no matter how much creation points to a Creator.  The non-elect have no chance to believe in Him because He (Calvi-god) blinds them.  That right there would be the ultimate excuse for not believing in God: "But God, You created me to not believe in You!"

Is God lying when He says that we can and should see Him in His creation and believe?  That we have no excuse for not seeing Him in His creation and then seeking Him?

(Calvinists will agree with we have no excuse, but they don't mean that everyone is able to see/seek God and so there's no excuse for not doing it; they simply mean that being blinded by God and "forced" to reject Him will not excuse the non-elect from damnation.  Calvi-god will still hold them accountable for it, even though they had no choice.)

12.  Matthew 23:37: "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers chicks under her wings, but I caused you to be unwilling, so I don't really have anyone to blame for my sadness but myself."  

Umm ... yeah ... that's not what it says.  It says "but you were not willing."  If Calvinism is true, God made them unwilling to believe.  Therefore, it'd be lying to make it sound like they chose to be unwilling, that they chose to resist Him even though He's reached out to them over and over again.  



13.  Calvinism says God causes people to be unbelievers, to have hard hearts, to sin.  But ... 

"But they refused to pay attention; stubbornly they turned their backs and stopped up their ears.  They made their hearts as hard as flint and would not listen to the law or to the words that the Lord Almighty had sent by his Spirit through the earlier prophets.  So the Lord Almighty was very angry.  'When I called, they did not listen; so when they called, I would not listen,' says the Lord Almighty."  (Zechariah 7:11-13)  

Did they make their hearts hard, or did God make their hearts hard?  Why would God say they did it if He really did it for His glory?  (Once again, God can and does harden people, but only after they chose it first.)

And why would God say that He won't listen when they call because they didn't listen when He called ... if, all along, He's the one who caused them to not listen?  Silly and self-sabotaging.  A little schizophrenic.

14.  John 8:44 says that Satan is the father of lies.  But if Calvinism is true, then God caused Satan to create those lies, making God the true father of lies.  

So if the Bible is true that Satan is the father of lies, then Calvinism is wrong.  But if Calvinism is true that God preplans, causes, controls everything, even the lies of Satan, then the Bible is wrong and God is the father of lies.

So which is it?

[Calvinists always respond to these kinds of conundrums with "God 'ordains' everything, even sin, but we are still accountable for it.  We can't understand it, but we just have to accept it."

Does saying something enough times make it true?

You know, if Calvinists tell you enough times that you can't understand Scripture clearly and that you just have to accept what they say "in faith," then you will stop looking for answers and stop thinking you should have answers.  They make you feel "unhumble" for digging for reasonable, logical truth, as if you are trying to find out things mere humans are not supposed to know.  If you really study them and their arguments, you'll begin to see that they use almost cult-like techniques to ensnare you and to prevent you from questioning them.  It's actually quite disturbing.]  

15.  Romans 11:32: "For God has bound all men over to disobedience so that he may have mercy on them all."  Calvinists believe all men are bound over to disobedience, but that saving mercy is only extended to the elect.  So who's wrong?  Who's lying?  God or Calvinists?  And how can Calvinists change the definition of "all" halfway through the verse, saying that the first "all" truly means "all people" but the second "all" means "just the elect"?  

16.  Calvinists say God wanted/planned/caused Adam and Eve to eat the fruit, that it was His true Will.  But God commanded them to not eat the fruit.  So did God lie when He said He didn't want them to eat the fruit?  Does He command us to do opposite of what He really wills/wants?  How can Calvinists trust a God like that?  

So then, in Calvinism do we assume that when God says "Keep the marriage bed pure," He really might mean go have an affair?  Does "you shall not murder," mean "murder"?  Besides, in Calvinism, if we had an affair or killed someone then it's because it's what He preplanned/caused, and we couldn't have done anything differently.  It was His Will, for His glory, right?  

(Thank You, Calvinists, for completely undermining every command God ever gave - because clearly Calvi-god might really mean/cause the opposite of whatever he commands us to do.  And so we can never truly know what his real Will is, no matter what he says.)

17.  The Bible teaches there’s a spiritual war going on around us.  How could that be if Calvi-god causes everything and controls everyone?  To have a war, you need at least two sides that oppose each other, that work against each other.  But if Calvinism is true, there is only one being who operates in this world and influences this world: Calvi-god!  

So is God lying whenever He talks about a spiritual war?  In Calvinism, wouldn't that just be God fighting God, like playing cosmic chess against Himself?  Is this a real spiritual war?  Or is it a farce, a dramatic show orchestrated by an “all-controlling” Calvi-god?  

And what about Romans 12:21:  "Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good"?  If Calvi-god is the only active force in this world, if he preplans, controls, and causes evil for his purposes and glory, then what does this verse even mean?  In Calvinism, Calvi-god causes all evil for his glory, as equally as he causes good for his glory.  So then what is evil really?  How is it any different from good, when both are equally preplanned/caused by Calvi-god and equally glorifying to him, and when we have no control over which one we choose anyway because Calvi-god controls it all?  Is God lying when He tells us that we cannot and should not be overcome by evil, especially considering that if we do get overcome by evil, it's because He (in Calvinism) caused it?  Does this verse make any sense according to Calvinism?

18.  In 1 Samuel 23:12-13, David asks God if the people of Keilah will hand him over to Saul if he stays there.  God says they will, so David leaves.  If, as Calvinism says, God preplans/causes everything and if everything happens exactly as He planned it, then how could He know something would happen that didn't happen?  If He preplanned that David left and wasn’t handed over, there'd be no possible alternate ending.  (Why would God plan things He knew He'd never cause?)  And so, therefore, He'd be lying by telling David that something different could have, would have, happened.  

19.  In 1 Samuel 13:13-14, Saul had disobeyed the Lord, and Samuel tells him that God would have established Saul’s kingdom if he would have obeyed.  Once again, how could Calvi-god have had any other plan in mind if he preplans everything?  If Calvinism is true, then God would've been lying to imply that Saul had an effect on what happened.  

Calvi-god: "Uh, yeah, sure I would have established Saul's kingdom if he had obeyed.  But he didn't obey because I caused him to not obey, so there really was no chance of him obeying or of ever having his kingdom established.  But if it was possible for him to obey - which it wasn't - then I would have established his kingdom.  But I really wouldn't have, because I predestined him to not obey and to lose his kingdom.  But yeah, if he would have obeyed, I would have.  But not really."    

20.  In Matthew 11:20-24, Jesus says that if His miracles had been done in Tyre, Sidon, and Sodom, they would have repented.  How can that be if Calvi-god predetermines everything, even people’s rejection of him?  If things are predetermined, they would not have repented because they didn't repent.  But Jesus says they would have repented, if the circumstances were different.  Was He lying?  Or did the people really have the choice about how they responded to Jesus?  Did their choices really affect the outcome?

Jesus to the people: "Those people in Sodom would have believed if they saw the miracles I did."

Calvi-god whispering to Jesus: "Uh, no!  Remember they didn't believe because I predetermined they wouldn't believe and I caused them to not believe.  So, no, they wouldn't have believed for any reason because I predestined them to be unbelievers."

Jesus:  "Uh, okay, let me clarify that: They would have believed if they saw the miracles I did ... if Calvi-god wanted them to believe.  But he didn't, so they really wouldn't have believed.  But if he wanted them to, then they would have.  Does that make sense?  No?  Well, you don't have to understand it; you just have to accept it!  In about 1500 years, it will all be clearer because a man named John Calvin will be born.  Wait for him to explain it all to you more thoroughly."

21.  Why would God tell Nineveh that they would be overthrown in 40 days if it was never a possibility, if He never intended to overthrow them because He predestined they would repent and not be overthrown?  Either he lied … or the people’s response really did affect the outcome?

Jonah:  "Hey, Nineveh, you will be overthrown in 40 days!  But you really won't.  Because Calvi-god's already predestined that you won't be overthrown.  But even though you won't really be overthrown, repent so that you aren't overthrown, which is what Calvi-god's already planned anyway.  Wait, Calvi-god, I'm confused.  What am I warning the people about?"  

Calvi-god:  "Jonah, you're making a mess of this.  Just tell the people to wait for John Calvin.  He'll make it clearer."

22.  Exodus 13:17: "When Pharoah let the people go, God did not lead them on the road through the Philistine country.  For God said 'If they face war, they might change their minds and return to Egypt."  

I don't even need to tell you how this totally contradicts and disproves Calvinism, their idea that God preplans, causes, controls everything we think and do.  You can see it clearly for yourselves.  They can't, but you can.

23. Calvinism says God "ordains" everything, by which they mean He preplans and causes everything, even sin and evil and unbelief.  (They deny it, but it's what Calvinism teaches, and there's no way around it.)  

Biblically, there are many things God causes (but never sin or evil or unbelief), but then there are many other things God allows, such as our free-will choices.  In His sovereignty and wisdom, God knows what will happen, and He allows what He knows He can work into His plans or turn into good.  This is a more biblical view of God "ordaining" everything that happens.  

But a Calvinist views "ordains" as Calvi-god preplanning/causing everything that happens, even sin and evil.  But if that is true, then we need to cut out these verses because God would be lying:

Hosea 8:4: “They [Israel] set up kings without my [God’s] consent; they choose princes without my approval.”

Acts 14:16: “In the past, [God] let all nations go their own way.” 

Isaiah 30:1: "Woe to the obstinate children," declares the Lord, "to those who carry out plans that are not mine."  

Jeremiah 19:4-5: “They have forsaken me and made this a place of foreign gods … They have built the high places of Baal to burn their sons in the fire as offering to Baal – something I did not command or mention, nor did it enter my mind.”

Ezekiel 13:22 (KJV): "Because with lies ye have made the heart of the righteous sad, whom I have not made sad ..."  And the CSB version puts it this way: "Because you have disheartened the righteous person with lies (when I intended no distress)..."    

24. And we also have to get rid of (or twist) every verse that tells people to choose between obeying God or disobeying God, that calls us to seek God, and that tells us Jesus died for all and loves all.  

Such as "See, I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction.... I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses.  Now choose life, so that you and your children may live" (Deut. 30:15,19).  

Does a verse like this make any sense in Calvinism when, in Calvinism, we don't actually have the ability to choose, when we can only "choose" the one thing God predestined us to do?  

If Calvinism is true, there is no need for all those verses that tell us to choose to seek Him or to believe in Him or to obey, because we have no choice, no control over if we do or not.  And if Calvinism is true, we can put no faith in all those verses that tell us God loves us and Jesus died for us and we can be saved ... because that only applies if you are elect (even though the Bible makes it sound like it's for all people), which has already been predestined and we have no control over it and we cannot know for sure if we are really elect or not until we die anyway.  So what difference does the Bible make and what does it matter, if Calvinism is true?     

25. When non-Calvinists point out that God says He wills that no one perishes and that all come to repentance, Calvinists counter with "Well, God has two different Wills: A spoken one where He says He wants no one to perish and then a secondary hidden one where He really does want people to perish for His glory."  

But notice what Paul tells us in Acts 20:27: "For I have not hesitated to proclaim to you the whole will of God."  The whole Will of God!  Paul's consistent message was "God wants you to be saved: to repent and believe in Jesus and be baptized in His name," and he calls it "the whole Will of God."  

Where is there room here for a secret, deeper, contradictory Will where God really does want people in hell for His glory?  If there is a deeper, hidden, secondary Will, then Paul and God are lying.  

(And if they're not lying, then who is?)  

Summing it up

To end this post, I will share a reply I gave to a Calvinist who said that Calvinism does not make God out to be a liar.  Here's what I said:

A. Do you agree with Calvinists that Jesus really only died for the elect?  If so, how does that NOT make a liar out of God when the Bible says:

“For God so loved the world that He gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)

“He is the atoning sacrifice for all sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.” (1 John 2:2)

“And he died for all …” (2 Corinthians 5:15)

“… [Jesus] suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.” (Hebrews 2:9)

“The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, ‘Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world!’” (John 1:29)

B. Do you agree with Calvinists that God is glorified by people being in hell and that there are people who cannot respond to God’s grace, people whom God does not allow to repent?  If so, how does that NOT make a liar out of God when the Bible says:

“… [God is] not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9)

“For I take no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Sovereign Lord. Repent and live!” (Ezekiel 18:32)

“This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of truth. For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all men…” (1 Timothy 2:3-5)

“For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men.” (Titus 2:11)

C. Do you agree with Calvinists that God fore-ordains (preplans) everything that happens, including all sins and evil, and that nothing can happen that God didn’t ordain/decree/preplan/cause, that everything that happens is because God preplanned it and is controlling it?  If so, how does that NOT make a liar out of God when the Bible says:

“They set up kings without my consent; they choose princes without my approval.” (Hosea 8:4, God’s words)

“They have built the high places to Baal to burn their sons in the fire as offerings to Baal – something I did not command or mention, nor did it enter my mind.” (Jeremiah 19:5, God’s words)

“Woe to the obstinate children,” declares the Lord, “to those who carry out plans that are not mine…” (Isaiah 30:1)

“He said to the king, ‘This is what the Lord says: ‘You have set free a man I had determined should die.”” (1 Kings 20:42)

D. Do you agree with Calvinists that it’s impossible for man to seek God, that they have to be brought to life by the Holy Spirit first, before they can seek?  If so, how does that NOT make a liar out of God when the Bible says:

“You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart…” (Jeremiah 29:13)

“For God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him …” (Acts 17:27)

“Seek the Lord while he may be found …” (Isaiah 55:6)

“Seek me and live …” (Amos 5:4)

E. Do you agree with Calvinists that we cannot choose for ourselves whom we will serve?  If so, how does that NOT make a liar out of God when the Bible says:

“But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve …” (Joshua 24:15)

“The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities – his eternal power and divine nature – have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.” (Romans 1:18-20.  If God made it impossible for someone to believe in Him, they would have a pretty good excuse, wouldn’t they?)

F. Do you agree with Calvinists that “believing is a work that we cannot do, that God has to do for us”?  If so, how does that NOT make a liar out of God when the Bible says:

“Then they asked him, ‘What must we do to do the works God requires?’ Jesus answered, ‘The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent [Jesus].'” (John 6:28-29)

If someone can't see the damage Calvinism does to God's Word, character, trustworthiness, the gospel, faith, Jesus's sacrifice, etc., then they either don't understand what Calvinism really teaches or they don't understand what the Bible really teaches.  

There's no way around it, and there's no nice way to say it.  

Either Calvinism lies ... or God does.

Which one do you think it is?