Why Would God Need To Harden The Reprobate?
Calvinists love to say that "God hardened their hearts" means that God caused the non-elect to not believe in Him, because He predestined them for hell.
But why would God need to harden the non-elect if the non-elect can NEVER come to Him anyway because He didn't make salvation possible for them?
Here is a comment I left on the Soteriology 101 blog, in the post "Condemned for factors beyond the agent's control?" It's about a Calvinists favorite "but you're dead" argument, which relates to what I'm talking about.
One of Calvinism’s favorite sayings was brought up in a recent comment: “Man is spiritually dead … so therefore God has to give him (the elect) a new heart (i.e. “force faith on him through election).”
But the fundamental problem with this is that Calvinists decide for themselves what “dead” means, contrary to the Bible. They say that “spiritually dead” is just like being physically dead, like how a dead body just lays there, all dead, and can’t do anything at all. They say that this is how our spirits are – like dead bodies that can’t do anything for themselves, not even want God or seek God or think about God, unless God causes us to (well, the “elect” only, of course).
But it’s their view of “dead” that’s wrong. (If our spirits are so physically dead and can’t do anything, then how can we sin and rebel against God? Dead people can’t rebel or reject God or disobey. Dead people can’t do anything. So I guess Calvinists believe in Robot Zombies then, because that’s what the reprobate would have to be. If they are still dead and can’t do ANYTHING, then everything they do must be because God is controlling their dead spirits.)
But being spiritually dead is not the same thing as being physically dead. Do not let their terrible analogy mislead you. Because although we are spiritually dead (separated spiritually from God because of sin), it doesn’t mean our brains stopped working. We can still think and reason and sense that something is missing in our lives and want God and reach for God. And given the many, many calls to seek Him, to choose Him, God wants us to use our living brains to reach out for Him and believe in Him. And He can expect this of us because He knows it’s possible.
You know who else was considered dead? The prodigal son. And he “came to his senses,” reasoned that it would be better to go back to his father, and returned home.
We must always, always question and challenge the foundational misconceptions and assumptions of Calvinism.
Calvinism: A house of cards built on a foundation of Jell-O!
Because if Calvinism is true and the reprobate are so dead that they can't even think about God or seek God unless He causes them to, then why would God need to further harden a "dead person"? Why would Satan seek to blind an already blinded person, or to deceive or snatch the truth away from dead people who can't even think on their own anyway? (2 Thessalonians 2:9-10, Matthew 13:9, 2 Corinthians 4:4)
Is Calvi-god afraid that the dead, predestined-to-hell reprobate might decide one day to seek him? And of course, Calvi-god can't have that happen, because he needs the reprobate to go to hell for his (Calvi-god's) glory. And so Calvi-god hardens the already-dead, predestined-to-hell reprobates who never even had a chance of seeking God or going to heaven anyway because salvation is never offered to dead, predestined-to-hell reprobates.
Calvi-god says: "You can never come to me, non-elected reprobate, because I predestined you for hell and so Jesus never died for you and salvation was never offered to you. But wait ... just to make sure you don't ever try to seek me, I will harden your heart, even though you can't ever seek me because I predestined you to hell and never offered you salvation to begin with. I will make the impossible even more impossible because it's not enough for it to just be impossible for the reprobate to seek me. I must make extra sure that the reprobate don't do what I predestined they wouldn't do. But ... wait a second ... if I have to harden the reprobates hearts so that they don't seek me, isn't that like saying that they could try to seek me if I didn't harden them, even though I predestined them to hell? And then wouldn't that make it seem like I must not be totally in control over mankind's mind, if people whom I predestined to hell can seek me even if I don't want them to seek me? Wait ... I'm confused ... why am I doing all this again!?!"
Explain again, O wise Calvinist, why Calvi-god needs to harden "dead," on-their-way-to-hell-with-no-chance-for-salvation reprobates. Because it doesn't make sense.
You can't get more dead than dead.
(Unless ... you're only "mostly dead.")
(Also see "Prepared for Destruction/Hard Hearts? A Look at Romans 9" and "The Holy Spirit and 'Dead People'".)
