Calvinism and Arminianism:
Myths & Realities
Daniel Whedon: “The early Christian fathers, like Paul, encountered the same doctrine of unconditional election of all Jews.” (Commentary on the New Testament, Vol.III: Acts-Romans, p.350, emphasis mine)
One member of The Society of Evangelic Arminians: “If Calvinism were correct and God hand picks who is and is not saved, then Christianity is reduced to being an extension of Judaism. The Jews believed then and still do that they are the ‘chosen ones of God’ because they are born physically into the Jewish family. God most certainly is the One responsible for a person being born a Jew. That is an undeniable fact. If Calvinism is correct, then a Christian is born again because God chooses to save him, which is no different than God choosing to make someone a Jew. The Scriptures are clear; the true chosen one in God’s eye is not the one born into a family, the one who is truly chosen is the one who by faith repents and believes God as Abraham did and follows Him.” (Calvinism is an Abominable Theological Position, emphasis mine)
Arminian Charge: The Calvinist doctrine of an Unconditional Election bears some resemblance to Judaism’s expectation of salvation for having been chosen to be born as a Jew.
Myth or Reality: Calvinism makes salvation, and God’s saving love, exclusive to the alleged race of the Upper Caste of the elect [in the Father]. So instead of Jesus being for the whole world, Calvinism reduces Calvary to an exclusive community alone, who are not chosen for salvation because of their faith in Jesus, but chosen on account of a secret relationship with the Father, who chooses for them to believe. When the unbelieving Jews rejected Jesus, they did so while maintaining an unconditional right of being as a child of Abraham. This mistaken notion was refuted by Jesus, Paul and John the Baptist. Today, Arminians refute the Calvinistic notion of some who also claim to have born with an unconditional right to salvation.
