Charge: Calvinism teaches Fatalism
Arminian Complaint: Calvinism teaches Fatalism
John Calvin writes: “Everything is controlled by God’s secret purpose, and nothing can happen except by his knowledge and will.” (The Institutes of Christian Religion, Book 1, Part 4: God’s Providence, Chapter 16, Section 3, emphasis mine)
Calvin adds: “Those who want to discredit this doctrine disparage it by comparing it with the Stoic dogma of Fate. The same charge was brought against Augustine. We don’t want to argue about words, but we do not allow the term ‘Fate’, both because it is among those that Paul teaches us to avoid as heathen innovations and also because the obnoxious terms in an attempt to attach stigma to God’s truth.” (The Institutes of Christian Religion, Book 1, Part 4: God’s Providence, Chapter 16, Section 8, emphasis mine)
Calvin writes: “But because the necessity of Stoicism seems to be established by what is said, the dogma is hateful to many who, and Augustine complains that he was frequently charged with it falsely. But it ought now to be regarded as obsolete. It is certainly unworthy of honest and wise men, if only they be properly instructed. The nature of the Stoics’ supposition is known. They weave their fate out of a Gordian complex of causes. In this they involve God Himself, making golden chains, as in the fable, with which to bind Him, so that He becomes subject to inferior causes. The astrologers of today imitate the Stoics, for they hold that an absolute necessity for all things originates from the position of the stars. Let the Stoics have their fate; for us, the free will of God disposes all things. Yet is seems absurd to remove contingency from the world. I omit to mention the distinctions employed in the schools. What I hold is, in my judgment, simple, and needs no force to accommodate is usefully to life. What necessarily happens is what God decrees, and is therefore not exactly or of itself necessary by nature.” (Concerning the Eternal Predestination of God, pp.169-170, emphasis mine)
In other words, as opposed to nature or the stars, it is rather, the unchangeable decree of God that determines the fate of all, in which God’s decrees cause all things to happen as they do. Thus, the difference between Stoicism and Calvinism is Naturalistic Fatalism vs. Theistic Fatalism. Nevertheless, in the end, it is still fatalism, albeit a Christianized form of Fatalism.
Jacob Arminius writes: “While, therefore, the Fate of the Stoics may not be presented in your doctrine, yet a fate is presented, which places a necessity upon all things, and takes away freedom.” (Arminius Speaks, p.200, emphasis mine)
Lawrence Vance explains: “Although Calvinists go out of their way to distance themselves from fatalism, they are in essence teaching the same thing. When a philosopher believes ‘what is to be will be’ it is called determinism. When a Stoic believes ‘what is to be will be’ it is called fate. When a Muslim believes ‘what is to be will be’ it is called fatalism. But when a Calvinist believes ‘what is to be will be’ it is called predestination. The only way the Calvinist gets away with it is by saying that predestination alone is a Bible doctrine.” (The Other Side of Calvinism, p.278, emphasis mine)
One member of The Society of Evangelical Arminians comments: “Greek fatalism didn’t die out. It was just renamed ‘Augustinianism,’ and then ‘Calvinism.’ It is very much alive.” (SEA)
Calvinist, Erwin Lutzer, writes: “Even if, as Arminians believe, foreknowledge does not cause anything to happen, still the future will unfold as God knows it will. Yes, even for Arminians, whatever will be, will be.” (The Doctrines That Divide, p.216, emphasis mine)
Some Calvinists do acknowledge that their theology is indeed a matter of Theistic Fatalism:
Calvinist, Rodger Tutt, writes: “Theologically, we are absolute determinists. We believe in theistic fatalism. Humanistic fatalism believes that everything happens no matter what. Theistic fatalism believes that God is in intimate sovereign control over everything that happens so that everything that happens occurs due to His causality....” (Latest posts of: rodgertutt)
Most Calvinists will distance themselves from fatalism by focusing on what is humanistic fatalism, while ignoring the fact that their theology is theistic fatalism.
Calvinist, R.C. Sproul, recalls his conversion to Calvinism: “I no longer feared the demons of fatalism or the ugly thought that I was being reduced to a puppet. Now I rejoiced in a gracious Savior who alone was immortal, invisible, the only wise God. (Chosen By God, p.13, emphasis mine)
In other words, all of his preconceived notions against Calvinism were quelled by his new found perspective that now, to him, God is more secure.
Adrian Rogers states: “Now I want to make it very clear. I believe in the Sovereignty of God. I believe in Election. I believe in Foreknowledge. I believe in Predestination. But I do not believe in Fatalism, that says that some can never, ever, be saved, no matter what.” (Let the Earth Hear His Voice, 2004)
Adrian Rogers states: “There are those who believe that some being born today, no matter what age they may attain, whether they die in infancy, or whether they die of old age, will never have an opportunity, a chance, to be saved, no matter what else happens, if they are not one of the elect, they cannot be saved.” (Let the Earth Hear His Voice, 2004)
Adrian Rogers states: “Did you know that there are some people who believe, honestly believe this, have a form of theology that teaches this, they’re very serious about this, that God does not love everybody. ... that God only has a select few that He loves, but that He does not love the entire world, that some are loved and therefore predestined for heaven, and there are others who are not loved of God, not chosen, not elect, and therefore, have no chance, none, nada, none, of ever going to heaven. There’s some who believe that. There’s some who teach that. I reject that with all of the unction, function and emotion of my soul! I believe that God wants everybody saved!” (Let the Earth Hear His Voice, 2004)
Calvin writes: “There are some, too, who allege that God is greatly dishonored if such arbitrary power is bestowed on Him. But does their distaste make them better theologians than Paul, who has laid it down as the rule of humility for the believers, that they should look up to the sovereignty of God and not evaluate it by their own judgment?” (Calvin’s New Testament Commentaries: Romans and Thessalonians, pp.209-210, emphasis mine)
Calvin writes: “…the reason why God elects some and rejects others is to be found in His purpose alone. … before men are born their lot is assigned to each of them by the secret will of God. … the salvation or the destruction of men depends on His free election.” (Calvin’s New Testament Commentaries: Romans and Thessalonians, p.203, emphasis mine)
Calvin on God’s eternal Decree: “We also note that we should consider the creation of the world so that we may realize that everything is subject to God and ruled by his will and that when the world has done what it may, nothing happens other than what God decrees.” (Acts: Calvin, The Crossway Classic Commentaries, p.66, emphasis mine)
Calvin writes: “First, the eternal predestination of God, by which before the fall of Adam He decreed what should take place concerning the whole human race and every individual, was fixed and determined.” (Concerning the Eternal Predestination of God, p.121, emphasis mine)
Calvin explains: “God had no doubt decreed before the foundation of the world what He would do with every one of us and had assigned to everyone by His secret counsel his part in life.” (Calvin’s New Testament Commentaries: Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians and Colossians, p.20, emphasis mine)
Calvin adds: “At this point in particular the flesh rages when it hears that the predestination to death of those who perish is referred to the will of God.” (Calvin’s New Testament Commentaries: Romans and Thessalonians, p.208, emphasis mine)
Calvin writes: “But here he runs full sail against God for determining some from their very creation to destruction.” (Concerning the Eternal Predestination of God, p.78, emphasis mine)
Calvin writes: “...the secret counsel of God whereby He chooses some to salvation and destines others for eternal destruction.” (Concerning the Eternal Predestination of God, p.53, emphasis mine)
Calvin writes: “...why God delivers one man and not another are matters constituting His inscrutable judgments and His univestigatible ways. Again, if it be examined and enquired how anyone is worthy, there are some who will say: By their human will. But we say: By grace or divine predestination..” (Concerning the Eternal Predestination of God, p.64, emphasis mine)
Calvin writes: “...God has chosen to salvation those whom He pleased, and has rejected the others, without our knowing why, except that its reason is hidden in His eternal counsel.” (Concerning the Eternal Predestination of God, p.53, emphasis mine)
The Calvinistic, Westminster Confession of Faith, states: “God, from all eternity, did, by the most wise and holy counsel of his own will, freely, and unchangeably ordain whatsoever comes to pass: yet so, as thereby neither is God the author of sin, nor is violence offered to the will of the creatures; nor is the liberty or contingency of second causes taken away, but rather established.” (Westminster Confession of Faith, III. Of God’s Eternal Decree, emphasis mine)
WCF: “III. By the decree of God, for the manifestation of his glory, some men and angels are predestinated unto everlasting life; and others foreordained to everlasting death.” (Westminster Confession of Faith, III. Of God’s Eternal Decree, emphasis mine)
WCF: “VII. The rest of mankind, God was pleased, according to the unreachable counsel of his own will, whereby he extendeth or withholdeth mercy, as he pleaseth, for the glory of his sovereign power over his creatures, to pass by; and to ordain them to dishonor and wrath for their sin, to the praise of his glorious justice.” (Westminster Confession of Faith, III. Of God’s Eternal Decree, emphasis mine)
Calvinist, R.C. Sproul, comments: “This statement refers to God’s eternal and immutable decretive will. It applies to everything that happens. Does this mean that everything that happens is the will of God? Yes.” (What is Reformed Theology?, p.172, emphasis mine)
Calvinist, R.C. Sproul, writes: “Predestination seems to cast a shadow on the very heart of human freedom. If God has decided our destinies from all eternity, that strongly suggests that our free choices are but charades, empty exercises in predetermined playacting. It is as though God wrote the script for us in concrete and we are merely carrying out his scenario.” (Chosen by God, p.51, emphasis mine)
Sproul adds: “If He decides to allow something, then in a sense he is foreordaining it. ... If there is one single molecule in this universe running around loose, totally free of God sovereignty, then we have no guarantee that a single promise of God will ever be fulfilled. Perhaps that one maverick molecule will lay waste all the ground and glorious plans that God has made and promised to us. ... If we reject divine sovereignty then we must embrace atheism.” (Chosen by God, pp.26-27, emphasis mine)
Sproul explains: “In Reformed Theology, if God is not sovereign over the entire created order, then he is not sovereign at all.” (What is Reformed Theology?, p.27, emphasis mine)
Since some form of Fatalism cannot logically be denied by Calvinism, the attempt now is to suggest that it’s not blind Fatalism, but Fatalism in good hands, that is, in the hands of God:
Calvinist, Charles Spurgeon, explains: “Now, there may be Calvinists who are fatalists, but Calvinism and fatalism are two distinct things. Do not most Christians hold the doctrine of the providence of God? Do not all Christians, do not all believers in a God hold the doctrine of his foreknowledge? All the difficulties which are laid against the doctrine of predestination might, with equal force, be laid against that of Divine foreknowledge. We believe that God hath predestinated all things from the beginning, but there is a difference between the predestination of an intelligent, all-wise, all-bounteous God, and that blind fatalism which simply says, ‘It is because it is to be.’” (Exposition of the Doctrines of Grace, 1861, emphasis mine)
Again, the Calvinist will distance himself from fatalism by focusing away from Theistic Fatalism.
Calvinist, Colin Maxwell, explains: “Calvinists are not fatalists. All things are ordained, not by blind random chance, but by the sovereign decree of Him who works all things after his own will (Ephesians 1:11)” (A Word to those who take it upon themselves to write against Calvinism, emphasis mine)
Ultimately, Calvinists simply define Fatalism as “X,” and then just reject that they believe in “X.” However, you merely need to ask the Calvinist, “Do you believe that God predetermines the fate of all, and that no one can do anything apart from that predetermination?” If so, then you believe in Fatalism, and all of the fancy sleight of hand tricks, aren’t going to change that. People have been linking Calvinism to Fatalism for hundreds of years, and for obvious reasons. Calvinists are not unaware of it. What Calvinists are very concerned about is the perception that it gives them, and they don’t like it.
Calvinist, Richard Mouw, writes: “There is no denying that a belief that we are predestined to eternal life can lead to a deterministic, even fatalistic, understanding of the Christian life. If it is God who does the choosing, then we may be tempted to think that our own choosing, our own responding to God, is a charade. It is all preprogrammed. But Calvinist theologians go out of their way to deny this implication.” (Calvinism in the Las Vegas Airport, p.66, emphasis mine)
Yes, they do go out of their way for that, but again, is it anything more than just Special Pleading?
Question: Do Calvinists believe that “whatever will be, will be”?
Question: If you believe that everything that exists (every single molecule), exists according to the “script” of God, then how is anything other than Him its true source?
Answer: This is why Calvinism inevitably makes God the author of all things, both good and bad, to whom the Bible attributes sinlessness. (James 1:13, 17)
Question: Obviously, the conclusion of Calvinists is that “whatever will be, will be”? So how is that not a form of Theistic Fatalism?
Question: How is Calvinism a form of Theistic Fatalism?
Answer: According to Dictionary.com, fatalism is the doctrine whereby “all events are predetermined by fate and are therefore unalterable.” It is the “acceptance of the belief that all events are predetermined and inevitable.” So does Calvinism teach that? Calvinism teaches that God predetermined the fate of all men by an immutable decree, such that from eternity past, every man’s “lot” in life has been “fixed and determined” by the “arbitrary power” of God:
