Questions for Calvinists

by Kevin Jackson

Here are some questions for Calvinists. Most of these have to do with God’s character. These are genuine questions that I as an Arminian haven’t heard good answers for, and help explain why I’m not a Calvinist. You’ll notice that there aren’t a lot of questions about “free will,” as this isn’t important to Arminianism, except to the extent that it is used to protect God’s character. Comments to original post may be made HERE.

If sovereignty means that God freely and unchangeably ordains whatsoever comes to pass, why does evil exist?

Where did evil first come from? Did it in any way originate from God?

Does God love everyone in a meaningful sense?

In what sense does God love those whom he deliberately withholds grace from?

Is God sincere?

If God’s hidden will sometimes conflicts with his revealed will, how can you trust what he says?

Does God have an intrinsic sense of morality and character that guides his decision making? Is it meaningful to us?

If “Irresistible grace” is true, why doesn’t God save everyone?

Was God’s justice fully manifested at the cross? Doesn’t it minimize Jesus’ death to argue that reprobation is necessary to show God’s justice?

I hope that everyone goes to heaven, Does this mean I love more than God does?

Does it trouble you that God deliberately leaves most people in a state of inability, and that their damnation is unavoidable?

Historically, areas with Caucasians have been more Christian. If Unconditional Election is true, why does God show an apparent preference for Caucasians?

Do you ever doubt that you are elect? How do you know whether God wants you to be saved or not?

Why did God choose you?

How do you avoid feeling proud that God loves you and not someone else?

Why did God decree the holocaust? How did it give him glory?

How does evangelism make a difference?

The devil wants all to go to hell. God wants most to go to hell. How can you tell the difference between God and the devil?

Ezekiel 18:23 If God takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked and wants them to turn and live, why is reprobation necessary or even possible in the Calvinist system?

Matthew 23:37 Why didn’t Jesus gather up everyone in Jerusalem when he longed to?

Mark 10:21-22 If Jesus loved the rich young ruler, why wasn’t he saved?

John 3:16 If God loves the world and irresistible grace is true, doesn’t that mean everyone will be saved?

Romans 11:32 For God has bound all men over to disobedience so that he may have mercy on them all. Who does “all” refer to in this verse? Is the first “all” used in a different sense than the second “all”?

1 Timothy 1:18,19 What does it mean to shipwreck one’s faith?

1 Timothy 2:3-4 If God wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth, how is hell possible?

1 John 2:2 He is the propitiation for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world. How can “whole world” mean anything else other than whole world?