A Parable of Calvinism

one of the issues raised by the current debate on the opening of God is that kind of God is required by different theologies involved in the debate. For example, the Reformed theologian Bruce Ware described the God of open theism as a "God limited, passive, overly concerned." [1] The open theist Clark Pinnock cites the description of Walter Kasper of the God of classical theism as "a being narcissisticlonely, suffering from its own fullness. "[2] At the very least, open theism has forced evangelicals to reassess their understanding of the nature and character of God.I approach the doctrine of God in an Anabaptist perspective, which is technically not Arminian (since Anabaptism before the Arminian controversy within the Reformed tradition), but is decidedly non-Calvinistic. From an Anabaptist perspective, the God of Reformed theology suffers from significant limitations, although these limitations apply to your character before that to his knowledge. Even if one agrees with Calvinists (Arminians and Anabaptists as many would agree) that God has exhaustive foreknowledge takes the Calvinist understanding of salvation has significant implications for the character of God that are not often exposed. Let me illustrate this with a parable.The kingdom of God is like a cruise that leaves for a long trip. The master overhears their plan to passengers swim alongside the ship. He announces to all passengers, warning them against such action. If they jump the vessel will be unable to get back, since the shell is too steep there and that access ladders. The ship is hundreds of miles from land, then they will not be able to swim to shore. The surrounding waters are infested with sharks. However, despite warnings from the captain, all passengers are thrown overboard to swim. Before long they were in serious trouble.Seeing his distress, the master transmits a message to all of them. He says he can rescue them all, to be redeemed, all they need do is grab a lifeline that he will release them. Then he takes some lifeguards and instructs his crew to throw them a certain passengers that he chose. For other passengers, it does nothing. He continues to spread his message that he need only grasp the lifeguards in order to be rescued. Some people with lifeguards beg them to help passengers who are drowning. Captain ignores them. With its message of redemption still ringing in the water, he watches the rest of the passengers died. When asked why he did not rescue the others, he says they all deserved to die, and they should be grateful to have chosen to save some of them.What would we think of a captain who did these things? This is a parable of Calvinism, and the captain of the cruise is the Calvinist God. All Orthodox Christians believe that humans are in danger of eternal death because of sin, and his only hope is to be rescued by God. God provides this redemption through the work of Christ (atonement). Nobody can be redeemed unless God takes the initiative, they reach out with the offer of redemption, and enable you to receive it.But the Calvinists and non-Calvinists differ in their understanding of the intentions and actions of God concerning redemption. The Anabaptists and Arminians believe that God wants to redeem all, invites all to be redeemed, and empowers all who hear the invitation to respond. People can accept or reject the invitation. The Calvinists, however, believe that God extends two different calls - a "general call" inviting all to be redeemed (which people are powerless to respond) and one called "special" or "effective" directed to certain individuals (who enables them to respond and ensure this response). He then condemns all those to whom he gave no effectual calling. The prayers of God's people has no effect on this plan that God has from eternity. [3] The "general call" to respond to the gospel is not technically a lie, as one who answers is saved. [4] However it is certainly misleading, because it retains critical information and deceiving people about the real intentions of God. [5] He implies that anyone can answer, when in fact they can not. It also implies that God wants everyone to be rescued, when in fact he wants many of them die. [6] The distinction between the so-called general and special, effective, means that Calvinists must assume a secret will of God that is in disagreement with the revealed will of God in the gospel. [7]Of course, there are different versions of Calvinism that would require slightly different versions of the parable. In supralapsarian version of the parable, the master plan the cruise in order to bring about precisely the scenario of drowning. In fact, he selects the most people to the list of passengers because he wants to kill them. In version infralapsária, the captain learns of the plans of the passengers after he had scheduled the cruise. Knowing their plans, it takes only enough lifeboats for those individuals who decided to save it. In version sublapsária, the captain takes enough lifeboats for all passengers, but does not plan to use most of them. [8]So far, the parable assumed that the passengers ended up in the water because of their own free choices. However, if the Calvinist view of God's exhaustive sovereignty controller is correct - that is, if Calvin is right that God causes all things [9] - then the very captain of the cruise actually launches its passengers into the water and supplies water to sharks. [10]Moreover, according to Calvin's own perspective, the captain intentionally gives some of the passengers who drown lifeguard defective. They cling to them gratefully, thinking they are safe, only to find that after a while the lifeguards deflate and they drown. As a passage in the Institutes of Calvin, an experience some of the failed "Operation lower Spirit" by which God gives them a sense of their kindness and support and even give them the gift of reconciliation, so that they can think of being among the elect. But God never regenerates. After a while he turns on them, lets the light of his grace is extinguished, and condemns them. God does this "to make them more guilty and inexcusáveis." [11] Wesley called this notion of "grace of conviction," as God's intention to confer blessings upon the reprobate is to increase their condemnation. [12]It may be objected that the parable makes the cruise passengers seem too innocent. After all, humans are in rebellion against God and are enemies of God.So, let's change the parable ....Two countries are at war with one another. The captain of a destroyer is patrolling an area of ​​the ocean where he knows that an enemy submarine was sighted. He knows that this submarine destroy your ship if it were given chance. However, he surprised the crew of the enemy submarine in the water amid the wreckage of his boat, which was destroyed by his own incompetence. The captain has his enemies in his power. Although time and resources to save them all, he tells his crew to separate some of the water, and he asssiste to drowning the rest. What would we think of a captain who did this? Under the terms of the Geneva Convention, he could be tried as a war criminal.Reformed theologians generally say that we can not judge the behavior of God by our own ideas of right and wrong. [13] The will of God determines what is good, so whatever he does or commands is good by definition. [14 ] Since God is the sovereign of the universe, no one can call it to account. [15] His ways, after all, are not our ways (Isaiah 55.8, 9). The clay has no right to question the potter (Rom 9:20).However, Scripture does not leave this avenue open to us. We are repeatedly called upon to shape our character and ethical behavior by God, especially as exemplified in Jesus Christ. "Be holy, for I am holy" (Leviticus 11:45). "Take heed what ye do: for they judge not for man, but from the LORD, who is with you when you judge. Now therefore fear the LORD is with you, guard you, and do it, because there is no iniquity with the LORD our God nor respect of persons, nor taking of bribes "(2 Chronicles 19:6, 7). "Be ye therefore perfect, is perfect as your Father in heaven" (Matt. 5:48). "But love ye your enemies, do good and lend, hoping for nothing again, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and evil. Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father is merciful "(Luke 6:35, 36). "As I have loved you, that ye ye love one another" (Jn 13:34). "Be imitators of me, as I also am of Christ" (1 Cor 11.1). "Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger and clamor, and blasphemy and all malice be put away from you, the former seat to each other benign, merciful, forgiving each other, just as God forgave you in Christ .Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children and walk in love as Christ loved us and gave himself for us an offering and sacrifice to God for a sweet savor "(Ephesians 4.31-5.2). "He who says he is in Him must walk as Jesus did" (1 John 2:6). Isaiah states that God's ways are not our ways precisely because God will show mercy and abundantly pardon (Isaiah 55:6, 7). God teaches in the potter's house Jeremiah he adapts his behavior toward his people according to their response to it (Jer. 18.5-11). God has no pleasure in the death of the wicked (Ezekiel 33:11). If God calls us to shape our ethical for him and then does not follow its own rules, how can we trust him on anything?The God of Calvinism has a secret desire that contradicts his revealed will. He commands one thing and then does the opposite. He practiced deception in his proclamation of the gospel message. He derives the same glory of redemption of the elect and the damnation of the reprobate. The God of Calvin even likes to have fun with the reprobate before condemning them.In contrast, the Anabaptists believe that the character and plan of God is revealed most fully in his Son Jesus Christ. As the sixteenth-century Anabaptist Pilgram Marpeck observes: "God is God of order and not disorder, and he firmly united his own omnipotence to his will and order. Not like the predestinacionistas and others say, without discrimination, that God has the right at all salvation and damnation. He has, certainly, but not off your order and will, which is subordinate its power .... [One should] preach the power and omnipotence of God out of the order of God's Word .... For God himself is wiser in the order and his Word, that is, Jesus Christ, His only begotten from eternity. "[16] The question is not what God can do or what God has the right to make, but he chose to do. How Marpeck says, God chose to reveal his plan of salvation in Jesus Christ. The God revealed in Christ acted in love towards the world to offer new life to all who believe (John 3:16). Which captain would you rather have the government of the universe?