Does Calvinism Believe Man is Free, Determined, or Both?

I have a strong desire to enable people to more readily recognize the unmitigated determinism within every aspect of Calvinism. [1] This serves to make dialogue regarding the merits and liabilities of Calvinism clearer as well as enabling everyone a better opportunity to be aware of what they are actually embracing when they don the…

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The Ghastly Gospel of Limited Atonement

To be a consistent five-point Calvinist, a person must believe the Bible teaches that the benefit of Christ’s death is limited to actually having paid for the sins of only the unconditionally elect.[1] This means that the non-elect are condemned for rejecting what does not exist. To begin with, it is important to distinguish between…

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Compatible and Libertarian Freedom

A Comparison of Calvinism’s compatible view of moral freedom and Extensivism’s libertarian freedom In order to understand the actual contrast between Calvinism’s view of the nature of God, His sovereign rule over His creation, and His salvation plan, with that of Extensivism’s view of the same, one must understand the two position’s vastly different views…

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A Calvinist Asked Me This Question, and My Reply Follows

“If all men are under the same propensity to believe and under the same affects (sic) of the fall, what would make a believer better than a nonbeliever that he should choose Christ?” 1. The issue is not that a believer is better (that idea may arise from viewing my position through the lens of…

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The Image of God in Man: A Proposed Working Definition

I believe the most important conviction that a person can have is his belief about God, and second to that is his supposition about man. These two beliefs influence all other ideas and actions. By beliefs about God and man, I do not mean what one claims to believe, but rather what one actually believes…

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The Nature of Man Before and After The Fall

What you believe about man’s nature is at the center of all spiritual and societal determinations. The only belief that is more significant is what a person believes about God. Genesis chapters 1 and 2 tell us how God created the first man and woman. God then delegated dominion over the rest of creation to…

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Compatibilism and Libertarianism: A Summary

Much of the confusion in discussions between Extensivists (here used in place of non-Calvinists) and Calvinists is due to not understanding the different perspectives regarding man’s moral freedom. Calvinists believe man is free according to compatible moral freedom; in contrast, Extensivists believe man is free according to libertarian moral freedom. A clear understanding of these…

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