2 Peter 3:9 and the Letterhead Argument

Update on 10-11-07:This video shows how the letterhead argument is used. It shows that my description of it below is not a misrepresentation or "straw man" fallacy [contrary to what Frank Turk or "centuri0n" says below]. Notice how the "you," "dear friends," and "beloved" [i.e. the believing elect] gets converted into the elect as such [i.e., including the unbelieving elect], hence the equivocation fallacy. I would also add that it's a false either/or dilemma fallacy to say that the "context" of the passage is eschatological, not soteriological. It's actually both, since it speaks of God's will for people to come to saving repentance in view of the coming eschatological judgment through Christ.

UPDATE on 12-23-06:
For those reading this post for the first time, please read the comments below it. Alot transpired after James White linked to this post on his blog. Incidently, he still has not apologized to me privately or publically. The comments below this post will explain this matter. You may also want to check this post as well: 2 Peter 3:9 and White's Blog

NKJ 2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.

When some Calvinists (not all) come to interpret 2 Peter 3:9, they say that it means that God is longsuffering toward the elect. The “us” refers to those the letter was written to, and who is that but the elect? They argue that the “context” gives them this conclusion. The passage, in their view, reads like this:

NKJ 2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward the elect (by implication), not willing that any (of the elect by implication) should perish but that all (the elect by implication) should come to repentance.

There are other arguments that they use to maintain that this passage references the decretal will of God, but let’s examine the logic of this letterhead argument.

If the “us” refers to the elect, then there are only three logical options. Either the “us” is:

1) All of the elect who will ever exist, whether born or not yet born

2) All of the unbelieving elect presently existing on earth, or

3) All of the believing elect presently existing on earth

These are important distinctions to keep in mind when examining the usage of the term “elect” in theological and exegetical argumentation. Equivocations can occur in arguments, and the significant distinction between virtual and actual union can be easily blurred. This is more common than some think.

In what follows, I will seek to argue that all three options are exegetically and theologically absurd. The “context” does not argue for the letterhead argument used by some. In fact, the term “context” is often employed when people are merely importing systematic assumptions into the interpretation of scripture. These assumptions determine what the alternatives are, and what is theologically allowable. Let’s pull off the contextual mask, weigh the letterhead argument in the balance, and see if it is exegetically wanting.

Let’s consider the third option first:

3) The “us” refers to all of the believing elect presently existing on earth.

Rather than using the imprecise term “elect,” let’s substitute the word “believers” and see how the passage would look.

NKJ 2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward believers, not willing that any believers should perish but that all believers should come to repentance.

This interpretation makes no sense theologically, that’s why few professing Calvinists take it. The sense of the passage when it speaks of “repentance” at least refers to conversion and believers have already been converted. The longsuffering is toward those who are not yet at peace with God and are therefore in danger of perishing. Furthermore, since Calvinists maintain that believers can never finally perish, most are not inclined to take position #3 described above. I expounded on the third option first because it seems to be the most easy to refute from within a Calvinistic soteriology.

Next, let’s consider the first option:

1) The “us” refers to all the elect who will ever exist, whether born or not yet born

This is a very abstract way of thinking of the idea of the “elect.” Does Peter have this theological abstraction in mind? What does it entail? I don’t think the letter was written to people who don’t yet exist, so the letterhead argument seems to rule it out from the start. Peter is clearly writing to people who exist. Furthermore, he says that God is “longsuffering” toward this existing group. The idea of longsuffering suggests a patient forbearance towards those who are provoking God to wrath. He’s demonstrating patience towards the ill-deserving. Is God being provoked by non-existent entities? Option #1 seems as absurd as option #3 above for at least these reasons (thanks go to David P. for pointing out the problem with option #1). I believe options 1 and 3 are defeated and shown to be absurd positions.

So, we come now to option #2:

2) The “us” refers to all of the unbelieving elect presently existing on earth

This seems to be the position that most high Calvinist interpreters have in mind, even though they are not always careful to state it as such. In fact, some may not want to be so careful for the following reasons. I believe this view entails an equivocation in the letterhead argument. Here’s what I mean.

An equivocation fallacy occurs when a key term in an argument changes meaning. The Fallacy Files puts it this way:

“Equivocation is the type of ambiguity which occurs when a single word or phrase is ambiguous, and this ambiguity is not grammatical but lexical. So, when a phrase equivocates, it is not due to grammar, but to the phrase as a whole having two distinct meanings.

Of course, most words are ambiguous, but context usually makes a univocal meaning clear. Also, equivocation alone is not fallacious, though it is a linguistic boobytrap which can trip people into committing a fallacy. The Fallacy of Equivocation occurs when an equivocal word or phrase makes an unsound argument appear sound.”

The letterhead argument of some Calvinists looks this way:

1) Peter is writing to the elect.

2) The “us” in 3:9 refers to those written to.

3) Therefore, the “us” are the elect.

Question: Does the term “elect” have the same sense in proposition #1 as it does in proposition #3 (the conclusion)? Or is there a subtle change in meaning? Proposition #1 would be more accurate if it stated that Peter is writing to believers. As Peter himself plainly states, he’s writing “To those who have obtained like precious faith with us by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ…” These same people are then said to be participating in and enjoying the life and promises of God in Christ. And, in Peter’s first letter, he’s also writing to those who are born again to a living hope and are sprinkled with the blood of Christ. Even though he calls them “chosen according to the foreknowledge of God,” he’s not writing to the elect as such, but to those elect who have come to believe by the Spirit.

If the letterhead shows that Peter is writing to believers, then how can the “us” refer to the unbelieving elect as stated in option #2? It seems to me that all three options in the letterhead argument are fallacious, and therefore not exegetically sound. I would argue that the “elect” options are argued to sustain a system that is not giving proper attention to the revealed will of God as truly volitional. As Calvin says about this passage, “But it may be asked, If God wishes none to perish, why is it that so many do perish? To this my answer is, that no mention is here made of the hidden purpose of God, according to which the reprobate are doomed to their own ruin, but only of his will as made known to us in the gospel.” In other words, Calvin is saying that this passage is referring to the revealed will of God made known to us in the gospel, not to God’s hidden or secret will. Calvin was not being Arminian or arguing for an absurd universalism in taking this interpretation.

Some High Calvinists seem to suggest that the only alternatives are either their “us = elect” view, or an Arminianism which, they argue, entails universalism. Notice the false dilemma? This dilemma is created by a system which determines what is theologically and exegetically allowable. Once again, system is driving exegesis and it leads to such fallacious arguments as the letterhead argument. Much more could be said about the passage at hand, but I just wanted to offer a few defeaters to the very common letterhead argument.