Why I'm not a Calvinist, even though I probably should be

I wrote a couple of years ago about my biggest problem with Calvinism (hint: it rhymes with "evangelism"). I still don't embrace what are euphemistically called the doctrines of grace; if anything, I've moved farther away.

Note that this doesn't mean that I'm denying either God's sovereignty or his grace. It also doesn't mean that I'm Arminian or any kind of Pelagian, which are words used mostly by Calvinists for people who disagree with them. For anyone who doesn't know, Calvinism, or Reformed theology, is often summed up in English by the acronym TULIP.

T -- Total depravity. People are born bad, and everything they do is tinged with self-serving evil.

U -- Unconditional election. God chose who to save regardless of what they would do or not do.

L -- Limited atonement. Christ only died for those he'd decided to save.

I -- Irresistible grace. Since God is stronger than everyone else, he'll save people against their Willard.

P -- Perseverance on the saints. People who are saved will stay saved.

If I've misrepresented any of the Five Points, I hope someone will tell me.

Since I've stopped trying to believe in eternal security (functionally identical to perseverance of the saints), I can honestly say I don't hold to any of the petals of the TULIP. The first only partially right, and the others are just wrong.

But why should I hold to them? Why do I say I probably should be a Calvinist? To start with, most of my favorite preachers, authors, and teachers are Calvinists, though that's partly explained by the fact that Calvinists never stop talking or writing, and partly by the fact that they tend to be very careful biblical scholars ... about everything but Calvinism.

Add to that that Birmingham has a very high percentage of Presbyterians for a Southern city (Presbyterians are descended from Scottish Calvinists), that most of my education as a Southern Baptist was during the Calvinist revival of the early 21st century, and that the majority of people I've spent time talking with about this sort of thing at least lean toward Calvinism.

Really, I can't think of any natural reason why I'm not Reformed. I can only thank God.

As for objections to Calvinism, other than the issue of evangelism, the biggest problem I have is that it just isn't in Scripture. Since Calvinists have always maintained that their system is eminently biblical, give me just a second to explain myself.

My objection is twofold. First, specific examples don't necessarily indicate general rules. The Bible is clear, for example, that God planned Joseph's life, but it doesn't say he did it for everybody and everything.

Second, the Bible is not a commentary on Romans. Too many people read the Letter to the Romans through a particular lens and then try to make the rest of the Bible fit that understanding. I'm pretty sure that isn't how Scripture should be approached.

There are a lot of differences between a Calvinistic understanding of the world and my own. It's still an in-house debate, though; it's hardly a sin leading unto death.