Leaving Calvinism: Free To Decide

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Free to Decide: Confessions of a Former Calvinist by Brandon Cox

This pastor tells us honestly how he was influenced into Calvinism, how it affected his ministry and pride, and how he came out of Calvinism.  

He also shows us how all the points of Calvinism hinge on each other, making it stable in itself but fragile if any one of those points should be disproven.  (Calvinism, I believe, hinges on Total Depravity and a wrong view of God's sovereignty.  And therefore, they will guard these doctrines with all they've got, which is what gives rise to all their word games, mind games, twisted verses, double meanings, etc..)

I appreciate that he took the time to share his story of how Calvinism gets entrenched, as well as how people can come out of it.  (I still have hope for those at my ex-church.)

I think this line says a lot:  "Formerly I had sought proof of Calvinism, now I simply wanted God's answers to my deepest questions."

If more Calvinists adopted this principle, a lot more of them would see the light.

(Also read the that first long comment from Dawn at the bottom.  It's good.)

Most Popular Posts of the Week:

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

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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 ...
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Anti-Calvinism Links

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This is the last half of the post "What's The Best Way To Make People Agree With Your Calvinist Views."   But I put it here in its own post so that it's easier to find. These are some links to posts which are against Calvinism, the belief that the Bible teaches God has predetermined from the beginning of time who goes to heaven and who goes to hell.  It's no secret from my writing that I strongly disagree with this view.  I believe the Bible clearly teaches that God offers us all salvation, that Jesus's death paid for everyone's sins, and that we have to decide if we will accept Him or reject Him.  And here is some of what others have to say about Calvinism: (FYI, I haven't read everything in all of these yet and I don't necessarily agree with every point they make, but I needed to link to them before I lost them online.  And for the record, I came to my belief about what the Bible says by reading the Bible, not extra-biblical books or articles...
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Help for Anxiety, Depression, and Suicidal Thoughts

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It's so sad to hear about all the celebrities who have recently committed suicide (or about anyone who has committed suicide, for that matter).  My heart breaks for them, for the pain they went through, and for the ones who love them, for the pain they are now going through.  It is truly a tragedy. To anyone who is hurting really badly, who is struggling with overwhelming anxiety or depression, who is considering taking their own lives ... I dedicate this post.  Please, take some time to look through some of the links here.  This is a round-up of some on-line resources or posts about dealing with anxiety or depression, particularly as a Christian. But first: Quick tips for help: If you are desperate for some immediate help and don't want to look through the links I have below, try some of these (or if it's really bad and you think you might hurt yourself, call 911 or go to the emergency room): 1.   Put on a worship song right now.  Or sin...
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TULIP's Totally-Depraved Doctrine (a snippet)

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[This is a snippet from  another post (but slightly updated here) that will be coming up later.]  Calvinism's TULIP petals are all built on each other, one after the next.  And it all starts with "total depravity" (their bad definition of it) : R.C. Sproul  ( Total Depravity part 1 ) :   "... if a person really embraces the doctrine of total depravity, the other four points in this five-point system more or less fall in line. They become corollaries of this first point." And so if they can get you to buy into their view of total depravity (as "total inability"), they can easily get you to buy into their whole TULIP, ensuring that you will become a Calvinist. Because if we are "totally unable" to believe on our own, then God has to decide who believes (unconditional election)...  which necessarily implies a "limited atonement" because Calvi-Jesus wouldn't die for those predestined to reject him...   which then requires "irre...
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Sermons by Tony Evans (repost)

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(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...
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Calvinist (Bad Logic) Comment #5: We Can Trust A Controlling God

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5.   A Calvinist says:   “That being said why would anyone trust in God who isn’t in control of all things that come to pass, the only way to have unreserved faith without doubt is to pray, hope and believe in God who is on the throne.” [My note:  Of course, all Christians believe that God is on the throne.  But what he means - what Calvinists mean - is "Why would anyone trust a God who isn't actively controlling all things?"  Like Calvinist James White basically says in this clip , we can supposedly trust and have faith only if we know that God is controlling ("causing") all those evil things, such as child rape.  But if they happen without God causing them, then they are supposedly meaningless evils and we would be left in despair knowing that meaningless evils can happen outside of God's "control." Umm ... yeah ... so instead it's SO MUCH BETTER to believe that we have a God who actively causes us to sin in ways He for...
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A Pre-Trib Rapture is the Most Merciful Option (repost)

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(Repost, with some additions) Some people have a lot of trouble accepting the idea that God would rapture the church out but leave everyone else to go through the tribulation.    They think it is heartless and cruel of Him.    I, however, think that a pre-trib rapture is the most merciful thing God could do. In the movie   Left Behind   (with Nicolas Cage), a young woman who missed the rapture looks around at all the pain and heartbreak and devastation ... and she screams out about how the loving God her mother worshipped would never cause something as tragic as that to happen.    He would never take people away and let others be left behind to face the troubles of the tribulation. Or would He? The thing is, I think a pre-trib rapture shows just how loving and merciful and patient He is, how much He wants everyone to come to Him. [And I have to ask ...  If God created a way for us to be saved ... ... if He Himself, out of ...
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Calvinist Bad Logic #16: Accepting Jesus?

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Bad Logic #16 :  In Calvinism, "accepting Jesus" is works.  They believe that God has to do everything for our salvation, even deciding who believes and who doesn't and causing the believers to believe, or else He's not really a "sovereign" God.  (Once again, it's all based on their faulty view of sovereignty.) And so they believe that we cannot "accept Jesus as Lord and Savior" because "accepting" is an action we do which would be us working for our salvation, instead of it being all God's doing.  According to them. And to get you to believe this, they accuse us - those who believe we decide whether to accept Jesus or not - of "taking credit for our salvation."  They mock us for acting like we "saved ourselves." But this is just manipulation!  Getting you to feel ashamed of the idea that we can accept Jesus as Lord and Savior. The fact is, the Bible is full of calls to believe in Jesus (which mean not...
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Calvinist Bad Logic #6: All Animals Are Monkeys

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Bad Logic #6 :  Calvinists often operate by an "if all monkeys are animals then all animals are monkeys" logic.  (Illogic!) Such as, if the Bible shows God controlling one thing then they say that all things are controlled by Him.  Since God caused and controlled the creation of the heavens, then they say it proves that all things are created (read: controlled and caused) by Him.  If the Bible shows that God actively carried out a plan that He made, then they say it proves that all things that happen are because God preplanned them and caused them.  If God predestined the ministry of one person in the Bible (such as calling one to be a prophet), then they say it shows that God predestined the future of every person, including whether we go to heaven or hell. But just because there's an example in the Bible of one thing happening a certain way, doesn't mean this is the way it always happens.  To think this means we have to throw out all the parts in ...
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Calvinist Bad Logic #8: Two Different Types Of ...

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Bad Logic #8 :  To make their "theology" fit the Bible, Calvinists break many biblical concepts into two types.  Something NOT supported by the Bible.  Because, once again, this comes from their own philosophical reasoning. Two Loves: Calvinism believes Calvi-god only really loves the "elect," which is why he saves them and only them.  But the Bible says God loves all people, right?  So how do they mesh this?  By saying God has two kinds of love - a "save your soul" love for the elect and a "give you food and water" love for the non-elect (before sending them to hell for eternity!). Two Wills :  The Bible says that God wills that no one perishes, that He wants all people to be saved.  But Calvinists believe that God predestines most people for hell.  So how do they mesh these two?  By claiming that God has two wills: a "revealed" one, where He says He wants one thing to happen, and a "hidden" one, where He really want...
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