What’s So Bad About Calvinism?
While I would never say someone is not a Christian just because they are a Calvinist,[1] Calvinism is nevertheless egregiously unbiblical for many reason, two of which I’ll discuss in this article.
Calvinist Error #1: God does not want a relationship with everyone.
While the vast majority of Christians agree the Bible teaches that God loves and wants a relationship with everyone, Calvinism says that’s false. In fact, Calvinism claims God predestined the lost to their fate. They were “doomed from the womb,” Calvin said. These people never even had the ability to repent and turn to God because of the total depravity[2] they were born with. Yet they will be eternally condemned for their sins, nevertheless, as if they were responsible.
Does this in any way resemble the God of the Bible?
“I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn, turn from your evil ways! For why should you die?” (Ezek. 33:11).
“God does not wish that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance” (2 Pet. 3:8).
“[Jesus] desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” (1 Tim. 2:3-4).
“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!” (Matt. 23:37).
Do these passages in any way sound like God does not want certain people to be saved, or that certain people don’t have the ability to turn to God? Not to most people, which is why even many Calvinists admit they came to Calvinism kicking and screaming. They did not want it to be true.[3] (Note: The kicking and screaming was their moral consciences repulsed by the injustice of such a theology.)
A God who would punish people for not doing something they were incapable of doing would be like the Egyptian Pharoah commanding the Hebrews to make bricks without providing the needed straw and then punishing them for not doing it—which God’s word deems evil (see Exodus 5)! It would be very hypocritical, indeed, if God then did something like this.
Calvinist Error # 2: God decreed wickedness.
Another major problem with Calvinism it that it claims everything that happens was decreed or predestined by God—including moral evil! It’s one thing to say God creates “calamity” (Isa. 45:6-7), which some Bible versions translate “evil.” All this means is that God brings calamity as judgment on evil people. But it’s quite another thing to say God decreed or predestined or desired all the wickedness in the world, such as child molesting, murder, theft, etc. Consider what God says about this topic:
“Because the people have forsaken me and have profaned this place by making offerings to other gods, because they have burned their sons in the fire as burnt offerings to Baal, WHICH I DID NOT COMMAND OR DECREE, NOR DID IT COME INTO MY MIND, therefore I will judge them” (Jer. 19:4-5).
“For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life (in other words sin)—IS NOT OF THE FATHER but is of the world.” (1 John 2:16).
“For You are not a God who takes pleasure in wickedness, nor shall evil dwell with You” (Ps. 5:4).
These passages straight out say God does not decree or desire or bring about wickedness. Moral evil comes from “the world”!
Calvinism is not only blatantly unscriptural, but it also slanders God’s holy character. It makes God worst then the devil. Think about it. The devil never had a choice in the matter, other than to be the devil that God predestined him to be. But God did have a choice, and he chose to decree the devil’s wickedness. Such a God would be worse than the devil, not to mention the author of evil!
I think God sheds a tear every time someone claiming to speak for him teaches Calvinism. It’s not only blatantly unscriptural, but it maligns God’s holy character, and it repels anyone with a conscience away from Christianity.
Possible Objection
The standard Calvinist reply to this is: But God predestined the murder of Jesus, which was the worst moral evil ever:
“For truly against Your holy Servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, were gathered together to do whatever Your hand and Your purpose determined before to be done” (Acts 4:27-28).
Response: First, even if God had predestined these specific individuals to crucify Jesus—and that’s a big IF—that still would not mean God predestined all moral evil. All it would mean is that God predestined this event for a very importance purpose. For the passage to make the Calvinist point, it would need to say something like: “God predestined these specific people to crucify Jesus, as God predestined all people’s sins.” But the passage says no such thing.
Second, God did not predestine specific individuals to kill Jesus. What God predestined was to allow evil people—whoever they may be—to kill Jesus in order to bring about his plan of salvation. God knew that Jesus’ message would offend the powers that be (the Jewish religious establishment and the Gentile political leaders of that day) and would lead to violence; so God determined beforehand to let these offended people—whoever they may be—crucify Jesus in order to bring about his plan of redemption. That’s what God determined, and that’s what the passage teaches!
Third, God never wanted people to sin. God’s plan from the beginning was for people live in communion with him. But man chose to rebel, which is why God sent his son to die on the cross. Did God know people would rebel? Yes, but just because God knew it would happen does not mean he wanted or predestined it. I know people will sin tomorrow, but I didn’t want or predestine it—and neither did God.
By Alex Polyak, Answering Calvinism, 10/15/26
[1] We are saved by Who we know, not what we know.
[2] Calvinism teaches that because of the Fall, all people are born totally depraved, which essentially means they are unable to turn to God unless God first regenerates them.
[3] John Piper said he cried when he first was introduced to Calvinism. The late RC Sproul said he came to Calvinism kicking and screaming. One Calvinist podcaster said he went through stages of grief.