A Calvinist Pastor Shames Those Who Know Too Much
I may have posted this link already. I can't remember. But I'll do it again. In this post (link below, but don't read it until you've read my paraphrase of what he's saying), a Calvinist pastor basically describes how anti-Calvinists cause trouble because they have educated themselves too much about Calvinism online. Of course, he doesn't come right out and say it exactly that way, but it's there. Oh, yes it is!
For fun (my fun!), here is my paraphrase of some of what that Calvinist pastor really means. This is what I believe he's really saying behind the words he uses (my paraphrase of his words are in black, and my comments about it are in pink):
"I want to warn you Calvinist pastors about a group of people who might give you trouble: Anti-Calvinists. Anti-Calvinists do not celebrate the doctrines of grace like we humble, theologically-superior Calvinists do. Because they have gotten too much bad information from the internet.
Because of their bad education, they end up with the wrong tone and temperament to be able to unify with you over essential doctrines like Scripture and salvation and service. (He's assuming, of course, that his view of Scripture is accurate and the only way to see it! And if you don't agree with him then you are resisting Scriptural truth.)
Hopefully, they will see the error of their ways and - if they won't fully embrace Calvinism - hopefully they will at least move from anti-Calvinism to non-Calvinism. Because non-Calvinists are easier to manipulate into your Calvinism, especially if they haven't ever heard of our Scripturally-accurate "doctrines of grace." It's easier to spread your views if they don't know enough to be concerned about what you're saying or to question what you're saying.
Unfortunately for us Calvinist pastors, so many people are getting so much wrong information about Calvinism from the internet that we might now have to actually give an account for our doctrine. Oh how much easier it must have been back in the day when people only got their information from their Calvinist pastor! But unfortunately, it's much harder nowadays to control your congregation's theological views because of the availability of information on the internet. And of course, people who research Calvinism online and who end up becoming anti-Calvinists have most definitely gotten bad information and been misled.
However, take comfort! The internet hasn't necessarily ruined a Calvinist pastor's chances of subversively sneaking into a non-Calvinist church. It's just made your job a lot harder.
If there's an anti-Calvinist in your church who disagrees with you, they will probably not come to you about it. Unfortunately, they will probably look for outside help, and that outside will inevitably give them more bad information and feed their fears. Outside sources only feed the narrative that Calvinist pastors have a hidden agenda to push their Calvinism on an unsuspecting church. (You mean like your own article proves when you talk about how much better it is to keep people away from the internet, how you say that the internet hasn't necessarily hurt Calvinist pastor's attempts to sneak subversively into a church, how you can cure anti-Calvinism by building better relationships with the people, how you shame anyone who attempts to educate themselves more in this area, etc.)
Anti-Calvinists don't have real reasons to disagree with Calvinist doctrine. The only four reasons that anti-Calvinism even exists are because they have gotten bad information from the internet, because they are operating in fear, because they don't accept what Scripture really says, and because Calvinist pastors haven't build a strong enough relationship with them. Calvinist pastors can overcome anyone's anti-Calvinism if they simply get close enough to the people. (Read: It's easier to manipulate people into your Calvinism or to at least keep them from vocally disagreeing with you if they like you and know you personally.)
Instead of breaking away from a Calvinist church, anti-Calvinists should put away their doctrinal disagreements and unite with the Calvinists. But if anti-Calvinists refuse to get in line and if a church does eventually get ripped apart because of doctrinal disagreements over Calvinism, it's not because Calvinism is bad doctrine; it's simply because you didn't build strong enough relationships with the anti-Calvinists. In fact, I believe that personal relationships can overcome any doctrinal disagreement over Calvinism. If they like you enough, any anti-Calvinist will eventually see the error of their ways."
--- end of my paraphrased comment ---
I will admit that the Calvinist pastor does seem to have a gentle spirit. And I can appreciate that and respect it. But I cannot respect Calvinism. And just because someone has a "gentle spirit" is no reason to tolerate a theology that goes against the Word.
This is where I first found the article by the Calvinist pastor. It's a post from Wartburg Watch called A Calvinist Pastor Was Challenged By Members Who Read The "Bad" Internet. So, Why Aren't They Reading The Calvinist Blogs? In this post, the author shares why this article bothers her too. And from one anti-Calvinist to another, I agree with her.
This is where I first found the article by the Calvinist pastor. It's a post from Wartburg Watch called A Calvinist Pastor Was Challenged By Members Who Read The "Bad" Internet. So, Why Aren't They Reading The Calvinist Blogs? In this post, the author shares why this article bothers her too. And from one anti-Calvinist to another, I agree with her.
And he's not the only one trying to weasel Calvinism into the church. Check out this story from a Calvinist pastor who out-right lied, by omission and deflection, about if he was a Calvinist ... after he was asked directly if he was a Calvinist and was told that he wouldn’t be hired if he was. He ought to be ashamed of himself! So dishonest! And he knew that he was doing it! [UPDATE: I am quite sure that he altered his article sometime after I linked to it. But I found the original article that I knew was there. See this post for my review of it and for the link to his original article.]
(If you ask someone if they are a Calvinist and they don't answer with a yes or a no, but instead they answer with "Well, I believe in X,Y, or Z, don't you," then they are almost definitely a Calvinist - a strongly-educated, dogmatic Calvinist - who doesn't want to admit that they're a Calvinist because they know it will set off your alarm bells.)
And here is an article from a Calvinist website, basically teaching Calvinist pastors how to hide their Calvinism (probably because they know that the word "Calvinism" will set off alarm bells in those who know what it really teaches): Saying What You Believe Is Clearer Than Saying "Calvinist"
Also for your information:
Churches Beware: Calvinism on the Sly (Notice the pastor's deceptive use of "Jesus died for the sins of His people," which most people would hear as "Jesus died for all people" ... when what the pastor is really saying is that Jesus died ONLY for the sins of His PRE-CHOSEN people.)
