For Calvinism Paperback – October 16, 2011

A very good presentation of the Biblical arguments for the system of theology known as Calvinism. The strength of the arguments presented is seen in the companion work, Against Calvinism, in which no attempt is made to counter the Biblical arguments presented here. Of the many efforts that have been made to explain the Calvinist system, this is one of the best. A good addition to one's reading list and library. The Calvinist will find it encouraging and often exhilarating.Nonetheless, there are issues that the careful reader might have with this presentation of the Calvinist system.The failure to include a chapter on God's sovereignty is a notable omission, especially dealing with God's omniscience and omnipotence. Such a chapter would highlight the deficiencies of non-Calvinist systems. Such a chapter would make clear that Universalism is the major opposition to Calvinism: either all are saved or some, but not all, are saved. Arminianism suffers from trying to adhere to the Biblical arguments on which Calvinism is built while trying to disown the conclusions of those arguments. Arminians get caught up in "free will" issues and try to resolve this by portraying God has looking into the future to see who would freely accept Christ. Unfortunately, Arminians have God doing this prior to creating the world so that the world that is then created becomes a Calvinist world. It is not surprising then that some Arminians have recently embraced Open Theism and denied God the ability to know what a person will do with respect to salvation until they make that decision in real time. The Calvinist God becomes the Open Theist god. It would be good for a book explaining Calvinism to lay this foundation before plunging into an explanation of TULIP.The author (p 64) says, "While predestination refers to God's foreordaining `whatsoever comes to pass' (Westminster Confession 3.1), election refers specifically to his decision to save sinners." Not so. The WCF is careful in the language it uses. It says, "God from all eternity, did...ordain whatsoever comes to pass..." It then divides that which God ordains into two parts; those "predestinated unto everlasting life;" and those "foreordained to everlasting death." Thus, that which God ordains (all things) includes those God predestines (the elect) and those God foreordains (the reprobate). God actively intervenes into the life of the elect to bring them to salvation but need only allow natural events to play out in the life of the reprobate as prelude to their judgment.On Total Depravity (p 41), the author says, "the `Total' in total depravity refers to its extensiveness, not intensiveness:...It does not mean that we are as bad as we can possibly be..." The difficulty here is explaining the "good works" we see in those who are so depraved. There is only one explanation. The totally depraved are not as evil as they could be because God restrains them and restricts the evil which they are allowed to do. Thus, Hitler differs from a doctor/nurse only in that God restrains the latter more than the former. Otherwise, they are equally depraved and this will be evident at the judgment when all restraint will be removed. As the author writes (p 104), no one is "basically good" but each has a heart that is "deceitful above all things and desperately sick." Any good coming from those depraved can be attributed to God's restraint on the evil that they are allowed to do.When the author writes, (p 45), "Total depravity never meant that human beings are as bad as they can be...," we understand that God never allows human beings to be as bad as they could be. The depraved do not act out of charity, benevolence or other noble purpose. The baker would as soon kill another to sustain himself but is so restrained by God that he bakes bread to sell and thereby sustains himself. It is through such restraint that God provides bread to the elect. If not restrained, the world would have devolved from that which existed prior to the flood. God restrains sin in order to provide for His elect.The author writes, (p 46) that common grace "enables humanity even in its perversity to arrive at some semblance of truth, goodness, and beauty in things earthly." This common grace comes in the form of God's restraint on sin and God's abundant provision for the elect from which the reprobate enjoy good things. God causes rain to fall on the elect for their benefit, but because of His love even for the reprobate, they also receive the same rain. Without the purpose of blessing the elect, God would have no purpose in causing it to rain. The purpose of common grace is to protect, sustain, or otherwise bless the elect as they proclaim the gospel (while not denying that tribulation may also be present in the life of the elect). If common grace has some purpose with respect to the reprobate, this book does not explain it.The author objects (p 105) to "the caricature of Calvinism as teaching that God drags people into heaven kicking and screaming against their will." He might have challenged the reader to explain why this would be bad. On being dragged into heaven and looking back to see that which they have escaped, would anyone complain? Obviously, God draws people to Christ by removing blindness (2 Cor 4), quickening (Eph 2), replacing the stony heart (Eze 11; 36) and other methods. In the end, the kicking and screaming give way to humility and repentance. Would those not changed by God in this manner really object to being dragged into heaven kicking and screaming against their will?These are minor objections. If anything, the author has tried to accommodate those who have learned Calvinism from those who do not like Calvinism and has to contend with a good deal of ignorance on the part of many who spend more time listening to that which people claim the Bible to say and not enough time personally investigating what the Bible really does say.

Michael Horton according to Roger E. Olson (the author of "Against Calvinism") in the forward of this book writes, "Anyone interested in reading the best case possible for Calvinism must read this book. It is informative, engaging, clear, and self-critical."I would like to use Olson's own adjectives to give 4 reasons why Arminians, Calvinists, or the undecided should take the time to carefully read this book.1) It is Informative - the author takes the time to clearly articulate the historical developments preceding the debates before the Reformation, and the resulting consequences leading to our very day. He concisely and cogently defines, describes, and exegetes the key figures, movements, and factors that brought about the distinct views that have come to be known (for better or worse) as Calvinism and Arminianism. The author does a fantastic of job of synthesizing the historical, philosophical, and biblical exegetical elements that make up what we call Calvinism today. Incidentally, Horton makes a great case for why we should call Calvinism the "doctrines of grace" and how this is really what the Bible, Calvin, and many reformers before and after him would prefer - because it isn't about articulating one man's "system," but more about what the Bible says from Genesis to Revelation regarding God, man, sin, salvation, and consummation. There is more to Calvinism than the acrostic Tulip.2) It is engaging - from tackling misconceptions and misperceptions, Horton pulls the reader into the controversy, but does a fantastic job of disseminating the truth and dispelling the falsehoods of both Calvinism and Arminianism. He has great integrity in seeking to focus on the best of Calvinism and the best of Arminianism and then honing in one what the Bible has to say about the crucial doctrines and how they are interpreted in both camps. I love how Horton develops what he says early on in the book, "It has become a habit to speak of `the Reformed faith,' but properly speaking there is no such thing. There is only the Christian faith, which is founded on the teaching of the prophets, and apostles, with Jesus Christ as its cornerstone. It is better, then, to speak of the Reformed Confession of the Christian Faith." In other words, Horton is seeking to articulate what the Bible teaches - the Christian faith - what all Christians believe - because it is merely the "faith delivered once and for all to the saints." He is more concerned about Christians having a biblical theology, than merely adhering to a system of theology.3) It is clear - Horton deals with an incredibly wide expanse of material and synthesizes it all with great theological insight, exegetical precision, and practical wisdom. One of the most outstanding features of the book is when he writes about the missional impact that true Calvinists have made and are making because of their understanding of, and desire to obey the great commission.4) It is self-critical - Especially in the last chapter of the book Horton dissects the strengths and weaknesses of Calvinism throughout history and today. He is humble, honest, bold, and courageous in his personal and corporate diagnosis of modern Calvinism, and in rebuking and exhorting all believers to be balanced in their love of God, truth, other believers, and the lost.I highly recommend this book in that it will do several things: it will help you understand theology better, it's historical development, and it will help you to be a more careful interpreter of the Scriptures. I believe that it will be used to help Arminians, Calvinists, and the undecided to be careful students of the Word, of church history, and to be gracious toward one another in their pursuit of the truth as revealed in the Scriptures. It will help you to wrestle with doctrine and make you better equipped to know what you believe and why you believe it. It will help you to appreciate your salvation even more because of the heights and depths of a Holy God that has sought us, and bought us, with His redeeming blood. It will encourage you to share the good news with passionate precision of a Savior who has come to seek and to save the lost.

Michael Horton does a good job exploring the teachings of Calvinism, but with few surprises. As a reformed theologian he obviously knows his subject well. It is interesting to see that there is a companion volume, AGAINST CALVINISM by Roger E Olson. Each author writes the foreword for the other book. For me, Olson is more convincing in his arguments against Calvinism than Horton perhaps is for Calvinism in his book. However, both books are well written and have clearly presented discussions. Readers will possibly have already come to their own conclusions regarding their theological position before they read either book. But it is is good to be well informed about these quite different doctrinal teachings.

Well versed author and writer. Knowledgable and fair to answering critical and misconceptions about Calvanism. A useful read for anyone looking for a proper representation of what reformed theology is truly about.

This book is an excellent resource for anyone who is trying to figure out where he/she stands in his/her theology. Like the author, I too have been greatly blessed and awakened to the greatness and grandeur of God as taught in reformed theology. The author offers helpful and insightful advice to people like me who were raised Armenian, but have been rocked by reformed theology.