A Calvinist's Look at The Fall

-
If you consider the Fall of Adam and Eve from a Calvinist perspective:

God told them not to eat the fruit but He really wanted them to eat the fruit so that they could be condemned to hell so that Jesus could come down to die for people so that people (the "elect") could be saved.  So basically, God lied to them when He told them He didn't want them to eat the fruit, because He really did want them to eat the fruit and He had already planned for it to happen.  And then God punished them for doing His Will, for doing the things He wanted them to do all along, which was eat the fruit.

 Yep!  Makes perfect sense!

 Such a great God that Calvinist God is!  Telling people not to do what He really wants them to do.  Causing them to do what He told them not to do.  Lying to them about what His real Will is.  Punishing them for being disobedient even though He wanted them to be disobedient, while pretending that He really didn't want them to be disobedient.  Punishing people for carrying out His Will, sending them to hell for the things He caused them and willed them to do.  All for His glory!

 That Calvinist God is an awesome God indeed!   

Most Popular Posts of the Week:

Spiritual Warfare: Sword of the Spirit 3 (songs/sermons)

-
Image
Before I get to the list of my "sword of the Spirit" verses, here's a list I shared with my struggling family member  of some of my favorite songs to get through the hard times, the ones that encourage me and make me cry in a good way, in a needed way.  (Sometimes anxiety is a sign that we need a good, long cry.) When you have no energy left to even pray, let the worship songs from other people be your prayers: From The City Harmonic:  "Oh, What Love" ,  "Fell Apart" ,   "Honestly" ,  "Praise the Lord" ,  "Love, Heal Me,"   "My God,"  and  "Here and There."   ( Their music is what kept me from giving up completely when I was at my lowest.  Let their words be your prayers, your heart's cry, when you have no words of your own left.)   From  Tenth Avenue North:  "Worn" ,  "Hold My Heart" ,   "By Your Side" , and  "Healing Begins" .      From  Jeremy Riddle:  ...
Read more

List of Calvinist Preachers, Authors, Theologians, Websites, etc.

-
I  found a lot more names to add to my list of known Calvinists (found in my various  "How to Tell if a Church, Pastor, or Website is Calvinist"  posts).  But instead of adding this huge list to all those posts, I am going to put it here, and I'll just provide a link on those posts to this one.  [FYI: I added a note at the bottom of this post on May 5, 2021.] So here it is, a "master list" of known Calvinists to help you be careful and discerning about who you listen to and where you get your theology from.  There are plenty more Calvinists out there, but these are just the names that I ran across the most.   These are either definite, self-professed Calvinists or "most likely Calvinist," in my estimation.  (I haven't heard of most of them, but it's good to know their theology before I do.)   After finding these names in various places online, I looked up each person to see if they are Calvinist.  If they did not self-identify ...
Read more

Spiritual Warfare: Sword of the Spirit 2 (the bedrock)

-
It was hard to watch my family member struggle through her deep emotional pain (see previous post ), and I couldn't really do anything to stop her difficult trial or make it all better for her, especially since the battle was mostly in her head.  And I know what that's like: Anxiety is a bully who doesn't play by the rules.  Unfair, unruly, and aggressive.  Running roughshod over you, your mind, your life. I couldn't fix it for her because she was in a battle she was forced to fight herself.  But I could at least try to encourage her by letting her know that I understood, that I got through something similar and that I know she can too... but that she has to want to get through it, to fight it and not give in.  She has to refuse to succumb to the Enemy's lies and destructive tactics. And to help her do this, I shared with her one of the things that helped me get through my hardest times: My "sword of the Spirit," my own personal list of favorite verses tha...
Read more

Spiritual Warfare: Sword of the Spirit 1

-
[I intended to do a post like this later in a Spiritual Warfare series, but since it's relevant right now to someone I know ... and since it's been so long since I've added to this series... I'll publish it now.   Previous posts in this series are "My Story" ...  "Be strong in the Lord" ...  Spiritual Warfare sermons by Tony Evans ... "Stay on the Path" ... "Underestimating ourselves/overestimating Satan" ... "Overestimating ourselves/underestimating Satan" ...  #1 Satan's Schemes (unbelief, sin, fear) ... #2 (fear, psychics, prayer) ... #3 (vulnerable in good times) ... Spiritual Warfare: Resources ... #4 (vulnerable in bad times )... #5 (innocence, naivete) ... #6 (half-truths) ... #7 (bad theology) ... #8 (deserts) ... #9 (bitterness, unforgiveness) ... and (for fun)  "Scariest Halloween decoration ever?" I'll break this post up into several parts over the next several weeks.  Much of these posts wil...
Read more

Feminism Nonsense (repost)

-
Image
(Oh, how we love nonsense in our country!) We women are fighting so hard to be like men, to downplay femininity, to be perceived as more masculine, to overtake any "men's realm" we find.   Because it’s “cool” and “progressive” and “strong.” But do we not realize that we are not “leveling the playing field” so much as we are destroying ourselves , the things that make women special? Women can be strong, too.   And they don’t have to be like men to do it.   Trust me, I know.  I've had four children, one by c-section and three by natural, drug-free homebirth (with over 15 hours of labor for each one).  And then I work in the home every day, all day long.  No pay.  No vacation time.  No weekends off.  No bonuses.  No overtime pay. But I do it because my family and I value my position, my role.  Even if the world doesn't. W e women can be strong and capable and accomplished in our...
Read more

Is God Drawing Lines in the Sand (repost)

-
(R eposted from a few years ago, updated slightly.  Part of the "End Times" series.) It’s amazing and disturbing how brazen our society is in attacking everything about God and everything He created:  marriage, monogamy, sex, family, sexuality, the scientific reality of gender, morality, modesty, the value of a person, the right to life, the existence of "right and wrong," the Bible, Jesus, and Absolute Truth.  Not to mention God Himself, His very existence. We are destroying everything associated with Him (except nature – we worship that), and then we call ourselves "progressive." But you know what I think about it all?   I think that God is letting it happen because He is drawing lines in the sand.  Through all these divisive issues and all the immorality, God is saying “Pick a side!  I am forcing you to decide which side you want to be on ... because I am coming back soon to take My people out of here.  So I need you all to decide: ...
Read more

Sermons by Tony Evans (repost)

-
(I recently fixed the broken links as well as I could, had to switch some out for others) Tony Evans is my all-time favorite pastor.  He always gives messages that convict, challenge, and comfort.  Here are some sermons that I have listened to or am going to listen to.  For more, simply go to his website by clicking here .  There are so many great ones to choose from. You can't go wrong with any video of his.  I found him to be the most biblically-accurate preacher (especially as I researched Calvinism and found out how wrong it is), who is also great at helping us practically apply God's truths to life. Reversing Anxiety Consequences Keeping the faith when life gets hard Trusting God in a storm How to have strength in your struggles How to overcome your worry How to Get Your Prayers Answered Trusting The God You Believe In God knows what He is doing How the enemy tries to distract you from God's plan Grab your sword The Secret to Powerful Prayer Spiritual W...
Read more

Alexa PenaVega on her heartbreaking loss

-
On Godtube, I just watched this touching testimony from Alexa PenaVega (she's in my favorite Christian movies of all time, Do You Believe? , and one of my favorite TV shows, The Middle ).   I had no clue she had gone through such a tragic loss in her life (in 2024, I think) - the death of her newborn baby.  Heartbreaking! I haven't experienced the same kind of loss she did, but I totally appreciate that she's sharing her story, from a heart full of faith.  May God bless her and use her story to encourage others who've gone through loss, too. [One thing that caught my attention is that she quoted a verse - one verse - and it happened to be one (of about 5) that I had just written down shortly before I watched her video.  Out of all the verses in the Bible, I encounter the same one twice within a couple hours... coincidence?   I know that it's a verse I need... and maybe someone else out there needs it too:  "I will refresh the weary and satisfy th...
Read more

And Yet Again - 21 More Anti-Calvinism Memes

-
Image
I giggle making these.  Helps me blow off steam. Only if you're elected ... So you're a Calvinist? Except for you ... "I love being a Calvinist" First I'll tell them ... Said Jesus Never! We Calvinists say ... The bookcase Researching John Calvin Snap Out Of It The Pro-Calvinism Meme Absolutely Sure ... Calvinist Lunatic If you want people ... Another Predestination Sermon It's called "Calvinism" Lucky Dude "All" Means "Some" God "In Control" "Total depravity" (AKA "Total Inability" - a concept NOT found in the Bible anywhere!) It's be...
Read more

Though they have eyes, they will not see

-
[I originally posted this on one of my other blogs , Oct. 2021] So   according to this article , it appears that scientists have found evidence of the type of biblical destruction that happened to Sodom.  They say they found a town that was destroyed by a blast of heat so hot that it pretty much melted everything.  They say that there's no earthly natural heat source that could do this, so they speculate that it must have been an asteroid that exploded over the town, melting everything.  Oh, and they speculate that the reason no one lived there afterward was that the asteroid impact might have brought over so much salt from the nearby Dead Sea that nothing could grow.  This, they say, must be what inspired people to make up the story of Sodom in the Bible. But I say that here's your "asteroid," scientists: "The Lord rained down burning sulfur on Sodom and Gomorrah - from the Lord out of the heavens.  Thus he overthrew those cities and the entire plain, incl...
Read more