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Calvinism and Arminianism:

Myths & Realities

One member of The Society of Evangelical Arminians: “I have always confronted Calvinists that their belief system is similar to Hinduism. Calvinism sets up a spiritual caste system. There are the haves and the have nots. Some Calvinists even treat the non-elect as the untouchables. They usually don’t like it when I say these things but it’s their belief system not mine....”

Question: Does Calvinism teach a Caste System

in which a small minority are born “elect” as the

haves (predetermined for salvation), while the

majority are born “non-elect” (predetermined

for damnation, or predetermined simply to be

passed over), as the have-nots?

Answer: A major difference is that the caste

system in India is just for this life, while the

cast system in Calvinism is for all of eternity.

But regardless, the Bible does not teach a caste

system since God stated that He genuinely

desires the salvation of “all men” (1st Timothy

2:4), made evident in the giving of His Son to

the world (John 3:16), though which, by faith

in Him, any man in the world can be saved.

John Calvin: “Hence Augustine, having treated of the elect, and taught that their salvation reposes in the faithful custody of God so that none perishes, continues: The rest of mortal men who are not of this number, but rather taken out of the common mass and made vessels of wrath, are born for the use of the elect.” (Concerning the Eternal Predestination of God, p.107, emphasis mine)

John Calvin: “All are not created on equal terms, but some are preordained to eternal life, others to eternal damnation; and, accordingly, as each has been created for one or other of these ends, we say that he has been predestinated to life or to death.” (Institutes of Christian Religion: Book 3, Chapter 21, Section 5, emphasis mine)

Arminian, Robert Shank: “Thus the mass of mankind are created with no prospect of salvation, but exist only for the benefit of the arbitrarily and unconditionally elect minority, to provide the milieu within which the purpose of election may be unfolded.” (Elect in the Son, p.225)

For Calvinists to allege that Arminianism gives rise to boasting, seems to be a charge that falls fairly flat, considering that according to Calvinism, if one is born “elect,” then by virtue of being born into an elect caste system, the Calvinist not only has something for which to boast (i.e. having a superior birth right, and unconditional favor with God), he also has something for which to look down upon others, as having been born “non-elect,” by virtue of having been born into an inferior caste (i.e. inferior birth right, and unconditional disfavor with God). So it seems that Calvinism is the ultimate caste system, and certainly does give more of a reason to boast than its chief rival, Arminianism.

For more on this point, here is an article entitled: The Caste System in India... and Jesus

Here is another article.

One of the significant issues looming, is the question of why one person is born Calvinistically elect, while another person is born Calvinistically non-elect. Obviously in Hinduism, the same question applies. Why is one person born into a favored caste, while another is born into a slave caste, otherwise known as the “Untouchables.” The Hindu answer is “bad karma,” in paying for the sins of past lives (i.e. reincarnation). In contrast, Calvinism simply has no answer, other than arbitrary choice:

John Calvin: “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)

For more on this point, see here.

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The caste system in India is just for this life.

The caste system of Calvinism is for all of eternity.