Sophisticated rationalizations
November 10, 2011
The problem with rigid Calvinism — or Arminianism, for that matter — is that they are rationalizations of Scripture, and that in two senses.
They are rationalizations in that they attempt to force a binary either/or framework onto the rich, multifaceted, often paradoxical truth of God’s Word. They also are rationalizations in the sense that they begin with an opinion — “Man is free” or “Man is not free” — and then twist, distort and ignore Scripture to make their case.
They are not crude rationalizations. In fact, they are wondrously sophisticated. The complexities of Calvinist sophistry is one reason Calvinism is experiencing a resurgence in this generation. Young people who have not understood the Scripture, left hungry for substantial truth by their parents’ dumbed-down evangelicalism, mistake complexity for profundity.
A sophisticated rationalization, however, is not any more true than a crude one. It’s just more effective at deceiving people.
