Whenever you read the covenant, read it in the light of the emerald. I have sometimes thought that some of my brethren read it in another light. I think I have heard prayers which, if translated into plain English, would run something like this: “Lord, we thank thee that we are elected. We bless thee that we are in the covenant. We bless thy name that thou art sending sinners down to hell, cutting them off and destroying them, but we are saved!” I have sometimes thought I have caught in such prayers an air of complacency in the damnation of sinners, and even a little more than that—I have fancied I have seen in certain hyper-Calvinists a sort of Red Indian scalping-knife propensity; an ogre-like feeling with respect to reprobation; a smacking of lips over the ruin and destruction of mankind; as to all of which, I can only say that it seems to me to be “earthly, sensual, devilish.” I cannot imagine a man, especially a man who has the spirit of Christ in him, thinking of the ruin of mankind with any other feeling than that which moved the soul of Christ when he wept over Jerusalem, crying, “How often would I have gathered thee as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings!” Let no one imagine that the spirit of Calvinism is a spirit of hostility to universal humanity. It is not so. It is a perversion and a caricature of the expositions of Calvin and Augustine, and of the Apostle Paul, and of what our Master preached, to represent us as thinking with complacency of the ruin of any one of the human race.
Bio:
On some Reformed blogs and in comment threads, one can see this same “smacking of the lips” even today. I see it, but many Calvinists don’t. It's excused and overlooked, so long as the person is seeking to refute Arminianism. So long as you are seeking to refute the common enemy of free will theology, you can get away with treating people poorly, as well as besmirching the character of God in the name of defending divine sovereignty.
3 comments:
I have seen this too, unfortunately. I even saw one popular hyper-Calvinist not too long ago say on his website that when our preaching causes reprobates to reject the Truth and fall into apostasy, we should rejoice, because God is getting glorified in that person's damnation. This is not only contrary to genuinely Reformed thinking, it is antithetical to the spirit of Christianity itself.
Excellent quote, Tony. And love that phrase, "Calvinistic Favortism." So true. Like spoiled children who glory in their fancy that "they are loved more than others." A distinct love for the elect, Amen. But it was His love for enemies, love for a fallen world that compelled the sending of His Son - His love melts us in humility, not puffs us up with "favorite child" pride. I see it. Spurgeon saw it - good work.
Thanks, Bob. Good points, as usual! :-)
Post a Comment