knowledgeofgoodandevil

Biblical truth for a modern world

Top 5 Reasons I am NOT a Calvinist

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sheepCalvinism is rampant in Christiandom today. What is Calvinism, some of you may ask? To sum it up in a nut shell, Calvinsim is the idea that God created some for heaven and most for hell. This is according to His good pleasure. That’s it. That’s what Calvinism is. Now there are some fancy words that go along with Calvinism like: predestination, total depravity, irresistable grace, limited atonement, and so on. We will go into those words later, the bottom line is God chose some and damned most, and nobody has a say in the matter.

Here are my top 5 reasons I AM NOT A CALVINIST. And yes, I am a Christian.

1. Calvinism is a CHARACTER ASSASSINATION of God. When you read the definition of Calvinism that I just wrote, and you compare that to the many stories and verses of the Bible, you realize, Calvinism really does assassinate God’s character. God created some for heaven and most for hell. Yikes! That’s not the God I read about in the Bible. The more I read the Bible, the more I see Calvinism is just plain awful. God talks a lot about love in the Bible. John 3:16, says that “For god so loved the world…” For Calvin to state that God created man, to send most of them to hell is unthinkable. It truly is an assassination of His Character. I can’t get behind a God like that.

2. Calvinism is unbiblical. As I stated in my first point, the Biblical God is love and extremely patient with mankind, so that all could come to salvation, 2 Peter 3:9.  God wants all people to be saved, He died for all mankind. Again, “God so loved the world…” John 3:16. You can’t find Calvinism in the Bible. If you spend your time just reading the Bible, CALVINISM IS NOT IN THERE. You need to go outside the Bible and read a Calvinist author or go to a Calvinist church. But if you just lived in a deep jungle somewhere, sitting on a rock with only a Bible in your hand to read, the idea of Calvinism WOULD NOT COME UP!

3. Calvinism makes Calvinists arrogant. Oh, they aren’t supposed to be arrogant. They’re supposed to be humble and extremely grateful to God because God chose them and there was nothing that person could do about it. Think about it. If you are under the belief that God chose (a very select group) and saved you, how can you help it and not become arrogant. It’s part of human nature. I haven’t met a humble Calvinist yet.

4. Calvinism erases man’s free will. Calvinism doesn’t believe in man’s free will. Calvinism states that man cannot decide who they will trust in. In fact, Calvinism takes it a step further and says we have free will in NOTHING! According to Calvinism, we are just following God’s script He wrote out and we decide nothing. Everything is fated according to God’s good pleasure, and everything was decided by God. Going back to the number one reason I am not a Calvinist, Calvinism is a character assassination of God who decides everything. God decided for Judas Iscariot to betray God and then go hang himself. Judas had no choice in the matter according to Calvinism. David sinned with Bathsheba and then had her husband killed, because God decided that’s what David would do. This is according to Calvinism.

5. Calvinism is a man made philosophy. Notice, we don’t call it Biblicalism. We call it, Calvinism, after a man named John Calvin, from the 15th century. He was a philosopher, and at some point in his life theology caught his attention. He started philosophizing about what he thought the Bible said. This is his point of view. What does God say about philosophy?   Notice there is not a book in the Bible called Calvin. When one listens to Calvin, one is putting Calvin between themselves and the Bible. You are reading the Bible through a Calvinistic lens. Don’t look at the Bible through Calvinist glasses. He was just a man. And a crabby one at that. Let God tell you His character. Let God explain who He is through scripture. Get Calvin out of the way.

Calvinism is big in the Christian world today. Many big name preachers are Calvinistic. I’m hoping to start a dialogue, questioning Calvinism.  This is a toxic philosophy. Stay far away from it.

David and Bathsheba

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Oh what a tangled web we weave; When first we practice to deceive – Sir Walter Scott

As you read the Bible you will find consequences for bad behavior in there. God, throughout the whole Bible, is dishing out scoldings and discipline to people. This is yet another proof of John Calvin being WRONG. John Calvin says God controls EVERYTHING. Nobody has any responsibility in any matters except for God. According to Calvin, God pulls all the puppet strings for all people. God IS the PUPPET MASTER. He chooses who will go to heaven and who will go to hell. He predestined them. Let’s look at this logically. Why in the world is God dishing out scoldings and discipline to people if they really had no say in the matter? Does that make sense to you?

Take David and Bathsheba. You remember that story don’t you? David is sitting back on his rooftop enjoying life, checking out his kingdom when low and behold he spots a beautiful naked lady bathing on her rooftop. The Bible never tells us why this beautiful lady is bathing on her rooftop, but there she is in all her naked glory. And David is a man. A heterosexual, normal man with a sex drive. He is stunned by this naked beauty and he has got to have her. And since he’s the king, he requests her to come to his palace so they can participate in the forbidden fruits of adultery. So they do. Now there are consequences for what they have done (unlike popular tv shows). Bathsheba gets pregnant. Whoops. And another complication is, Bathsheba’s husband is out fighting the battles as David should have been doing. The husband is busy working. The husband is not home. The husband is busy working, outside the home while Bathsheba is home (by herself) getting pregnant. Now David is a smart guy. He knows all about the birds and the bees, so now he’s got to figure out how to get the husband home to be with the wife that David’s been with.

David comes up with a plan. He figures he’ll bring the husband home, right now, to make sure he’s with Bathsheba to cover up his sin with Bathsheba. And it get’s better. The dude comes home, and being the stand up guy he is, won’t sleep with his wife. Now David is up against this stand up guy who won’t sleep with his wife because he can’t relax when he knows his comrades are out there fighting – where David should have been also. This is what we would call “a situation.” David has got a situation on his hands. You can just picture David wringing his hands and pacing back and forth in his palace wondering what to do. Or maybe he’s on the rooftop again. Either way, he’s got a major situation and this is NOT good for David. So David comes up with a second plan. “I know!” he says to himself, “I need to kill him. That will take care of everything.” Isn’t that what we all say when we’re stuck between a rock and a hard place, just kill the problem?

So David orders Bathsheba’s husband up to the front lines of the war because he knows Bathsheba’s husband will be killed instantly. And once he’s killed, David can stop wringing his hands and breath easy. PROBLEM SOLVED! And that’s exactly what happens, husband is placed at the front lines of the battle, he is killed, and now David can rest easy.

Not so fast. God has all these pesky prophets that tend to ruin the sinner’s fun. But we will get to that in a minute. I want you to notice something. The Bible never says God made all these decisions. It puts the responsibility square on David’s shoulders. David saw Bathsheba and wanted to sleep with her. David did sleep with her. David got her pregnant. David called the husband home. David decided to get him killed since he wouldn’t cooperate with David’s plan. It’s all David according to the Bible.

Now God is fully aware of what David has done. So He sends one of His pesky prophets, Nathan, to remind David what he has done. And there will be a hefty price to pay for all this adultery and killing. Nathan shows up to speak with David. He tells David a sad story about guy and his lamb. This guy had one lamb that he loved, but a rich guy decides he wants that guy’s lamb. The rich guy takes that guy’s lamb. Nathan asks a really good question to David. What should be done with his greedy dude? David says he should be killed. Then, like a pivotal point in a movie, Nathan declares, “You…you are that man David!” Whoa! David thought he’d cleaned up his mess. He forgot or didn’t care to remember, God sees all, and knows all, you can’t just get away with things, even if they are done in secret. David falls down in repentance and cries out to Nathan. Nathan tells him there will be a hefty price to pay for his sin.

Going back to John Calvin’s theory that God pulls all the strings, why is God sending Nathan to accuse David of his sins? Why does David have to pay a hefty price for this sin? According to Calvin, God chose David to do this. God ordained David to sin with Bathsheba and kill off her husband. This was ALL God according to John Calvin. Does any of that make sense? Who DO we see making all these choices to sin? Why David, of course! David is the one plotting and scheming to get what he wants and then covering it over. DAVID, DAVID, DAVID. It’s all David. It is completely illogical to say God made David do it. Because if that was the case, why does God send Nathan to scold David and tell him he’s going to be punished? Does that make sense to you? It doesn’t to me. If we look at this story through Calvin’s eyes, this is really illogical for God to send Nathan to David. If we look at this story through the Bible as the Bible tells us the story, it makes sense because David did all that bad stuff, and God “spanked” him for it. Let’s just be logical people!

 

Running For My Life – Part 3

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I was walking my bike up towards the cop. In my altered state of consciousness, I thought that I needed to get on my bike and ride passed the cop because this was a race and I could get into trouble for not riding my bike. So just when I got up to him, I hopped on my bike to ride. As I came upon him, he put up his hand to stop me. Now I knew I was in big trouble. A cop was stopping me. He might arrest me for not riding my bike. He said he wanted to talk to me. He asked me if I was okay? I said I didn’t know. He asked me to follow his finger with my eyes. I thought I did, but he told me to wait right there. I guess I didn’t pass the finger test. He told me my health wasn’t worth the race. He told me one of the race administrators would be along soon and I could get a ride with him. I was so out of it, I just nodded and stood there shakily.

Soon, a big truck came by and the cop stopped him and said I needed a ride. The guy got out of his truck and gave me a bottle of iced water. I sucked it down like the dehydrated person I was. He handed me another bottle. It wasn’t cold, but it still tasted good. He lifted my bike into the back of his truck. He said, “Whoa, this is a heavy bike…no wonder you couldn’t ride it.” The air conditioner in his truck was on full blast. I just sat there. Not saying anything.

He was picking up the cones on the race path. He said he could bring me back to the race and I could finish if I felt like it. He didn’t make me feel like a loser. He didn’t make me feel stupid. He just offered the suggestion that if I felt better, he would drop me off and I could finish. That it was all okay. Thank you friend. I’m feeling okay. The water, the goo, the air conditioner were all making me feel okay.

He dropped me off at the top of the hill and I rode down the hill on my bike to the racks. My daughter caught me there to cheer me on. I parked my bike in the rack and was determined to finish the face. I decided I would walk the 5K rather than run. I was feeling better, but the exhaustion was still with me. I wanted to finish the race really badly, but my body wasn’t cooperating. As I headed to the running path my body kept telling me to quit. But my mind and heart kept telling me not to quit. I was having this back and forth in my head when I suddenly got distracted with a hummingbird. There were no flowers or greenery anywhere near the path, it was just dirt. The hummingbird just hung in the air in front of me. I like hummingbirds. I stopped the argument in my head and stared at the bird. As I moved forward the hummingbird flew forward. It would then hang in the air as if it was waiting for me. I would catch up, and the bird would fly forward. We did this little dance until I was right smack into the race. It would take as much time to go back as it would to go forward. I realized this as my hummingbird friend flew away.

Suddenly this older woman in pink shorts runs right up along side of me. She started chatting with me and stopped running so she could walk with me. I asked her if she was part of the race and she said no. She’s done the race in the past, but she decided not to do it this year. She kept telling me I was okay and that I was doing well. She kept talking to me and kept me going. She walked with me the entire 5K until I could see my family up ahead waiting for me near the finish line. I said, “Oh, there’s my family up ahead.” I started moving towards them when my friend in the pink shorts disappeared. I don’t know where she went. But my family were smiling and waving me in, so I kept on going. They really bullied my spirits. I could see the finish line. I was going to finish. I crossed the line and they handed me a medal. I did it.

I went to go sit under a tree. My heart was still racing and I felt sick to my stomach. A friend who was also running the race wanted to take a picture with me. I smiled, but I felt like I was going to throw up. I was really dizzy too. I couldn’t wait to just go to our air conditioned car and sit. I was also craving a coke.

When I got home, I googled the symptoms I experienced on the race. I was having heat stroke. And heat stroke is apparently really bad. You can go into a coma once you pass out. One of the biggest signs of heat stroke is no sweating. You see, I just couldn’t take the heat and without water – it was the perfect storm. All of my husband’s fears had come to fruition.

But I didn’t die. I didn’t slip into a coma. God in His infinite kindness guided me through the whole race. He sent me a hummingbird, a stranger in pink shorts, and my family to guide my way. And I’m so grateful. And I have to tell you, I wasn’t last in the race either.

Running For My Life: Part 2

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This entry is in the series Running for my life: Part 2

clockI was really excited about this race. I was running 3 miles 4-5 times a week. I felt peppier. I slept really well at night. My legs were looking tone. I had a goal in mind that was all mine. Just me, running for me.

Notice I keep talking about the running. I was so proud of myself that I had started to run, that I just kept running. I had it in the back of my mind that I needed to bike, but I figured since I was getting into shape with running, the bike would be no problem. I borrowed a friend’s bike. It wasn’t a road race bike, it was a mountain bike and really heavy. I tried riding it a couple of times and it killed me in my nether regions. Oh, did that hurt. But hey, I was running, so even if the bike hurt, I could skate on the bike part because I was running.

The day of the race came. My husband was really worried about me. He thought I wasn’t ready because of the bike thing. He knew I hadn’t trained on it. He also knew there was no water bottle holder on the bike. He just knew something was going to go wrong. Unfortunately, he was right.

The day before the race I could feel myself coming down with a cold. I had a sore throat, so I didn’t want to drink water. Normally I’m a camel, but when I don’t feel good, I just don’t like to drink. My husband was driving me crazy with his worry about me and the race. He just wouldn’t let me be.

So at 5:30am on the race day in Palm Springs, I headed over to the race venue. I had butterflies in my stomach and hadn’t slept very well the night before. And I didn’t drink water like I needed to, so I wasn’t in the best of shape. We got there, no problem at all. I put my bike in the rack. I left a bottle of water near my bike in my helmet. I still didn’t drink any water like I should. I still had a sore throat and felt tired from the night before. I figured I was ready as I ever would be. Apparently, I was just delusional.

On a dry-tri, they let the swimmers go first because swimming takes more time. There was about a handful of us dry runners. When it was time, they blew a horn and I was off. By now the sun was fully up. I started running and immediately I felt a heaviness in my legs. I felt really, really hot and I had just started running. Three or four of the runners took off and left me and another lady in the dust. I could hear the lady behind me and her footfalls. I was keeping steady, but the heat was killing me and my legs felt like iron poles that just wouldn’t move. The lady behind me, caught up with me and than passed me off. She told me in passing, “I’m sixty, I’m really too old for this.” I told her she was passing me off, so she must be doing something right. I felt like the desert had zapped all of my energy out of me. I was barely running, but it felt like I had been running a marathon. The first mile was a loop that led us back to the bike racks. As I headed to the bike racks my husband was standing there. He asked me how I was doing. I answered honestly, “Not good.” But I kept plugging along.

I got to the bike rack and put on my helmet and walked my bike up the really steep hill that started the bike route. Women were passing me on all sides. I was so zapped of my energy, I didn’t care. I got up to the top of the hill and started riding down. I thought the breeze would cool me off, but I felt so much heat in my body, that the breeze made no difference. I felt a little woozy. I felt tired. I felt really hot. I should have noticed that I was not sweating. That is a really bad sign when one does not sweat. The least amount of movement in my house and I’m usually sweating. Nope. Not at this time.

So I started on the bike path that was completely flat once you got passed that first steep hill. My legs were frozen. I could barely move them. I felt like I was a heater. The first few miles are in direct sunlight. No shade whatsoever. Halfway through and my tire was losing air. I stopped to fill it up with air and to catch my breath. I was moving really slow, but my heart was pounding in my chest. I was shaking. I still wasn’t sweating. The trees around me were moving, even though there was no wind. I felt like I was going to pass out. I pumped up my tire on the bike and stood next to the bike for a bit to try and ease the pounding in my chest. I got back on the bike and my legs still felt like iron poles that wouldn’t move. I was riding my bike really, really slow. I felt shaky, so I decided to walk the bike. If I continued biking, I was afraid I would fall over in the ditch and no one would find me. A cow was across the street and it was staring at me. It watched me from across the road. I yelled at the cow, “What are you staring at?” At least I think I yelled at the cow. The cow was mocking me because I wasn’t riding my bike. The cow didn’t understand why I wasn’t riding my bike like all the other ladies. The cow just wouldn’t stop staring.

When I passed the cow, I got off the bike and just stood there. Things were going in and out of focus. I shakily held onto the bike, but I was sure I was going to pass out. Some racers came up behind me. They stopped and asked me if I was okay. I said I didn’t know. They asked me if I had water, I told them no. One of them handed me their water bottle and I squirted some water in my mouth. Another handed me a little packet of stuff called goo. I squeezed some in my mouth and it made me want to gag. I swallowed it anyway, and I immediately felt a bit better. I didn’t want to keep these nice ladies so I told them they could go, I would be okay. They said there’s a cop up ahead and he could help me. I told them thank you.

Running for My Life: Part 1

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This entry is in the series Running for My Life: Part1, Running for My Life: Part 2, Running for my life: Part 3

clock God knows His children so well. He knows our desires, secret or spoken. He knows our strengths and weaknesses. Shucks, He knows how many hairs are on our head. I’m always amazed at the little things He cares about in our lives. He cares about the non earth shattering things, if we are one of His. This is a story about God caring for His children in the seemingly little things of life.

On October 7, 2012, I ran my very first tri-sprint. You know, a triathlon, but much shorter miles are required. I didn’t even do the swim portion, I ran what is called the “dry-tri.” While most were swimming, I was running a mile, before I set out for the 14 mile bike ride. Then, the final leg, was to run a 5k (3.1 miles).

I decided back in April of 2012 that I needed to do something. Something that would stretch me and get my heart racing. Something that would combat my perimenopausal symptoms that I was fighting. I was 45 on this date and 46 when I ran the sprint. Now for some young whipper snappers, they probably laugh at my little tri-sprint. But I don’t care, it’s important that I did it.

The reason for me starting to run in my forties was because I had this story in my head that wouldn’t go away. My sister-in-law has a much older friend who didn’t start running until she was 45. She went to her doctor at that age and asked him what she could do to curtail the symptoms of perimenopause. The doctor told her that of all his patients, the ones that seem to get through the change of life most easily, were the runners. She had never considered running before, but now she did. So at 45 she started her career as a runner. She cruised through perimenopause in her running shoes. (She’s still a runner today at 70 plus years old).

This story was in the back of my mind as I entered my forties. I had been a walker since 2006. I walked 4.4 miles a day, faithfully, at least 4-5 times a week. But as I neared the 45 year old mark, my body started doing weird things. I couldn’t sleep well at night and I’ve always been a good sleeper. I would get anxious at night, right around 8:00-9:00pm. Yet I’m usually a fairly steady person, the non worrying type. My periods were becoming irregular, and I’ve always been like a clock. Things were amiss. And that story of my sister-in-law’s friend kept talking to me. I wasn’t 45 yet. I still had time.

So I turned 45 in July 2012. I was still walking faithfully. But my symptoms weren’t getting better. I also wasn’t losing any weight. So I decided to run. Where, I didn’t know. How, I didn’t know. So I googled “how to start running.” Yes, I googled that. You can google anything. The article I read said to start slow. I liked that. The article explained that if you start slow, you won’t get all sore and then quit altogether and never go back. So I decided to go slow, really slow. It was also about timing. I was to run for 10 minutes, then walk for 10 minutes, then run for 10 minutes. I could do this. I already had the walking part down. My goal was to run 3 miles straight without stopping. By June I met my goal. It was slow, but I didn’t stop.

During this time I was googling races or some kind of goal I could set my mind to. A friend of mine had run a tri-sprint and did really well at it. I decided, that’s what I could do. I’d always been fascinated with the Iron Man Triathlon. I watched it when that one girl couldn’t make it over the finish line and started crawling to finish the race. That impressed me and fascinated me. I found the tri-sprint my friend had done. There was one in Palm Springs in October. It was an all women race, which I liked a lot. Men are just too competitive. Besides, I would feel like a giant sloth when they passed me off.

So now I had a goal. I was going to run the tri-sprint in Palm Springs in October 2012. Now Palm Springs is a desert. A really hot, dry desert. And here in California, we don’t have much in the way of seasons. I didn’t think about it, but that race was going to be really hot. And this Alaskan girl doesn’t like hot one little bit.