#unconditionalelection

If your church teaches that all humans are Totally Depraved (the T in TULIP), then they most likely also teach Unconditional Election (the U in TULIP) as human logic dictates this.

Let me explain. If Total Depravity is true and we are completely unable to make any good choices on our own, including accepting God's gift of salvation, this means God has to do everything in the 'saving' process.

And, since not everyone will be saved (in fact most probably won't), this means that God is the one deciding who will be saved and who is created to suffer in this world as well as for eternity with no hope of salvation (this is often referred to as the 'dark side of Calvinism').

This is the theory of Unconditional Election or 'Double Predestination' as it's also been called. Calvinism teaches that God determined before the creation of the world who would be saved (the 'elect') and who would be the 'reprobate'.

And, of course, the Calvinists believe that somehow they all just so happened to win the cosmic lottery and that they should be grateful for their own salvation and the rest of humanity is not really their concern.

Like the theory of Total Depravity, there are numerous problems with this concept as it has all kinds of unbiblical implications.

 The biggest issue is that it makes God the opposite of what He is. It changes His very nature from loving to cruel and sadistic.

 How is it loving to create millions of people to suffer in this world (think of those who are born into poverty, those who are enslaved and exploited, those who live in areas of regular conflict, etc.) and also make them suffer for all of eternity? This is not love. This is not something I would wish on anyone.

 And, as a parent, the implication that really hits home for me is this: if most people are predestined to go to hell, this means that neither of my children have much of a chance of being one of the 'elect'. And there's nothing they (or I) can do about it.

 So, according to Calvinism, I am to believe that my boys were 'fearfully and wonderfully made' and 'knit together in my womb' only to experience eternal damnation when they die because God didn’t choose them? And I am to accept this as God's loving plan?

 Personally, I would rather give up my 'ticket to heaven' and spend eternity in hell with the children that I love than with a cruel and sadistic God who would send them there because that's where He predestined them to go for no other reason than a roll of the dice.

 If the implications of a theology are that God (potentially) loves my children less than I do, then there's something wrong with the theology.

There's another very difficult to discuss implication that might resonate with some who are reading this. If you are a child of a Calvinistic parent who questions whether you are one of the 'elect', this could have devastating consequences.

 If your child believes that God may have made them to be one of the 'reprobate', that they have no hope of salvation, then they may start seeing life as entirely hopeless.

 And, if they are already struggling in this life and believe they are predestined to spend eternity in hell, then why prolong their current suffering? They may view suicide as a way to skip ahead to their predetermined fate. This breaks my heart.

 Fortunately, the idea of Unconditional Election does not reflect Jesus or the God of the Bible (who are one and the same) and so this concept must also be completely rejected.

 "This is not about theories of sovereignty or election. This is about the very nature of the God, and whether or not He cares about His own creation, all of us. I have to believe that He does."

 Here are some of my online sources:

 http://micahjmurray.com/election/

 http://thomastaylorministries.org/blog/calvinism-refuted-unconditional-election/