What is a Calvinist.?

Question

There is a deranged participant here who has accused me of targeting Calvinists.

I don't even know what a Calvinist is, much less who is one.

I am assuming they are some kind of fundie.

Oh Colson, I am blushing.

*winks*

Answer 1

Let's have some fundie ourselves sweetie!!!!!!

I wear Calvin Klein underwear at the grocery store. Good pants too sometimes.

Answer 2

There are two things that far and away distinguish a Calvinist (properly a conservative Presbyterian but it pervades the entire Evangelical Bapitist, Church of christ, Nazarene, etc denominations nowadays) :

(1) EXTREME Biblical literalism. The Bible is 100% error free and internally consistent. The God who had the Jews slaughter, rape, and enslave the innocent nations occupying Palestine is exactly the same God who gave his only begotten some for all people in the world and offers grace freely. The Ten Commandments an dthe Levitical Law have equal or superior authority to the Golden Rule or that whole turn the other cheek business.

(2) Predestination. God softens or hardens the hearts of those he chooses. he decides who will get into Heavena nd who goes to hell before they're born and then we act out the scripted drama. Calvinists still have to proseletyze, that's how God reaches those he has chosen. If you reject Christianity it's because God didn't want you anyway.

Answer 3

Calvinism is a theological system and an approach to the Christian life that emphasizes the rule of God over all things. Named after John Calvin, this variety of Protestant Christianity is sometimes called the Reformed tradition, the Reformed faith, or Reformed theology.<1>

It is the basis of most non denominational protestant christian rituals as well as Presbyterian doctrines. Although Calvinists in England had some depraved history.<1>

The most fundamental tenet of calvinism ...at least it' most recognizable is no graven images.
The beleive thatno graven image or statue be placed at or above the alter save a simple wooden cross. Calvinists were against the Catholic tradition of praying to statues of saints and Jesus.

It has been said that the Calvanists developed as a result of the Royal England's excesses.

Answer 4

Calvinism is basically the systematic theology of the doctrine of election/God's sovereignty. It basically states that, without taking away man's free will, God sovereignly ordains *everything* that happens, including who will get saved.

Here's is a link to the five points of calvinism (though not allcalvinists believe all points, a lot quibble with #3, that is, limited atonement).

http://www.calvinistcorner.com/tulip.htm

Just for the record, I've never seen you target calvinists at all. (I haven't noticed that many calvinists on this site, I confess).

Edit to add: No calvinist I've ever met (and I've known a *lot* of them) thinks that most Christians are going to hell. From the answers here, people seem to have a misperception of what calvinism is --- maybe because they've met jerks who happen to be calvinists.

Answer 5

As far as I can tell, a Calvinist is someone who whines about being persecuting, vandalizes Yahoo!Answers, the Yahoo!Answers board for reporting violations, and Wikipedia, who stalks people and who is completely unaware that he's a troll.

He's also someone who has never heard the "Have you stopped beating your wife?" rebuttal of strawman arguments.

Now I have to admit that my understanding of Calvinism is based on an N of 1. It's quite possible that some of those characteristics aren't shared by Calvinists in general.

Answer 6

A Calvanist is someone who follows the teachings of John Calvin. He was an early Protestant precher who popularized the idea of "predestination". It is a belief that everything is preordained by God, that he as already decided which people will be saved and which will not, and there is nothing you can do to change any of it. It totally rejects any kind of an idea of "freewill". God controls it all.

As such, God loves some people and hates others. Everything that happens is God's doing. And man has no choice but to sin if that is what God has decided he will do. But man is still punished for his actions even though God forces him to do it.

The Pilgrims were Calvanist in many of their doctrines.

Answer 7

nicely Calvinism has been somewhat distorted for the duration of background. My father's fringe of the relatives considers themselves all Calvinist, using fact they say that Calvin taught that we are all below Grace, and no volume of works can "win" us a value tag to heaven. whether this is no longer possibly what early Calvinists believed. Early Calvinists believed in predestination, that God chosen who could and who would not bypass to heaven, so he fairly made people who could bypass to hell, and to that end they type of rejected the concept of unfastened will. in addition they believed in toddler damnation, that if a 2 year previous dies they'll nevertheless bypass to hell. Many Christians have not got self belief this, they think of infants type of bypass to heaven regardless using fact of innocence and lack of expertise. They have been additionally of the attitude which you had to repent for almost each and every sin you commited, you could't merely say, "God forgive me of all my sins" you type of had to repent for each form of sin you commited, i think of. this is sparkling using fact Calvinists have been commonly in great concern of loss of life, fearing that they could sin and die earlier they are waiting to repent for it. additionally, traditionally, the Calvinists considered the Bible mandatory, and that it replaced into heretical for somebody to be led by way of something, even the Holy Spirit. The believed the Bible replaced into the main suitable observe of God and that no Holy Spirit replaced into somewhat even mandatory. yet lower back, those are merely different the historic concerns. My relatives reported that could no longer be Calvinism in any respect, yet this remains what his followers believed, in his call. using fact of this I now no longer considered myself a Calvinist.

Answer 8

They are an extremely conservative and literalist branch of Christianity. As far as they are concerned, those who are going to Heaven and Hell have already been determined and there is nothing to be done about it. A sign that you are going to be one of the few going to Heaven is...naturally...being a Calvinist.

Answer 9

Calvinists are just Puritans re-invented.

Answer 10

One who follows the murderer John Calvin.