11 Then Other Five Points of Calvinism

The Other Five Points of Calvinism

Calvinism is a clever merger of Judaism, pagan philosophy, and some Bible doctrine. That fact will become increas-ingly clear as we go along. But before we get to that, we need to point out those other Five Points which, I am convinced, have always been the real force behind the original spread-and ultimate demise-of Calvinism.

Calvinists have much to say about the T-U-L-I-P doctrine, and that doctrine does summarize much of their doctrine. But the T-U-L-I-P expression with regard to Calvinism can be confusing. The Bible teaches Total Depravity, Uncon-ditional Election, Limited Atonement, Irresistible Grace, and the Preservation of the Saints. Calvinism also teaches those five points, but we already pointed out that Calvinism teaches them in a very different way than the Bible does. For that matter, that formula has never been the real force behind Calvinism. Armed only with the T-U-L-I-P doctrine Calvinism has never been able to hold its own in the market place of ideas. The T-U-L-I-P doctrine, as Calvin taught it, has never been generally accepted, except when it has been advanced by a state religion, and enforced by the power of the sword. Stripped of those advantages, it has always been reduced to a religious curiosity. The real force behind Calvinism has always been what I call the C-A-C-I-P doctrine. That is simply an acrostic for those five doctrines, which, first, Augustine, and then, Calvin and the Protestant Reformers, borrowed from Judaism. Those doctrines are:

Confessions of faith, and decrees of Councils, as supplements to the Bible.

Authority to change whatever does not fit (sprinkling instead of baptism, etc.) Church/State Union to force uniformity.

Infant baptism to gain members before they can decide for themselves.

Power of the sword to enforce compliance.

During and following the Protestant Reformation, Calvinists were able to use their Church/State Union, and the Power of the Sword, to enforce Infant Baptism, and compulsory church membership. With those advantages they spread their influence over the Western World and beyond. With those weapons they could arrest, imprison, torture and sometimes kill, those who refused to be converted. Without them they could not hold their own. In 1791, the Congress of the United States adopted the Bill of rights with its guarantee of religious freedom, and Calvinism immediately began to fall apart-first in America and then in the rest of the world.

Without those weapons they could not convince good and honorable people the God of heaven is the cause of all the wickedness in the world. They could not convince them God creates people for the pleasure of seeing them burn. Their Confessions teach it, but they could not convince the people. In spite of occasional periods of interest, Calvinism has been in retreat ever since.