In Calvinism where is the love

Theophilus

Well-known member
Luke 6:35
But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil

Unfortunately, Calvinists sometimes seem to have a blind spot for the love of God. Consider this question from The Shorter Catechism, which is an abbreviated version of The Westminster Confession of Faith, a classic Calvinist statement of faith. The Catechism asks this most fundamental theological question: “What is God?”

Here is the answer that is given: “God is a Spirit, infinite, eternal, and unchangeable, in his being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth.”

Do you notice anything missing from this definition? Where is the love? The definition mentions God’s power, his wisdom, and his justice, along with other attributes, but amazingly enough it leaves out perhaps the most beautiful definition of God in the entire Bible: “God is love”. 1 John 4:8,16


Calvinist theologian Arthur W. Pink: “When we say that God is sovereign in the exercise of His love, we mean that He loves whom he chooses. God does not love everybody . . . .”

How does that work? The bad news is not really well. Is it not the very heart of the gospel that God loves everyone? Is that not the good news that we joyfully share with all persons? “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whosoever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life”. John 3:16


In the Institutes of the Christian Religion by John Calvin there is not one time in this book does Calvin ever quote “God is love.” Hard to believe that in is massive book that is 1,521 pages long and that discusses thousands of biblical texts and discusses God’s nature extensively, Calvin never one time cited 1 John 4:8 or 1 John 4:16. Not even once! This is a stunning omission.

I'm still looking for the love in Calvinism.
 
Luke 6:35
But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil

Unfortunately, Calvinists sometimes seem to have a blind spot for the love of God. Consider this question from The Shorter Catechism, which is an abbreviated version of The Westminster Confession of Faith, a classic Calvinist statement of faith. The Catechism asks this most fundamental theological question: “What is God?”

Here is the answer that is given: “God is a Spirit, infinite, eternal, and unchangeable, in his being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth.”

Do you notice anything missing from this definition? Where is the love? The definition mentions God’s power, his wisdom, and his justice, along with other attributes, but amazingly enough it leaves out perhaps the most beautiful definition of God in the entire Bible: “God is love”. 1 John 4:8,16


Calvinist theologian Arthur W. Pink: “When we say that God is sovereign in the exercise of His love, we mean that He loves whom he chooses. God does not love everybody . . . .”

How does that work? The bad news is not really well. Is it not the very heart of the gospel that God loves everyone? Is that not the good news that we joyfully share with all persons? “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whosoever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life”. John 3:16


In the Institutes of the Christian Religion by John Calvin there is not one time in this book does Calvin ever quote “God is love.” Hard to believe that in is massive book that is 1,521 pages long and that discusses thousands of biblical texts and discusses God’s nature extensively, Calvin never one time cited 1 John 4:8 or 1 John 4:16. Not even once! This is a stunning omission.

I'm still looking for the love in Calvinism.
Because Calvin does not quote "God is love" You imply there is no Gods love in Calvinism?? Why?
 
I'm still looking for the love in Calvinism.
Sola Scripturists look in the Bible...

God is Love...

And God is Holy Holy Holy. He is Light, Life, Truth; and his Word is Truth. His Word teaches us more than 'God is Love'. Since God is Life, yet All do not Live; God doesn't have to Love All people. God Hates those who Sin...

Sola Scriptura!
 
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Sola Scripturists look in the Bible...

God is Love...

And God is Holy Holy Holy. He is Light, Life, Truth; and his Word is Truth. His Word teaches us more than God is Love. Since God is Life, yet All do not Live; God doesn't have to Love All people. God Hates those who Sin...
Kind of a weird OP
 
Kind of a weird OP
It's the kind of OP that someone will soon start Posting quotes from Calvinists preaching/teaching the Love of God. That's how things work here. These type of Threads don't last long, before they start rambling; and the indiscriminate FIGHT begins!

Theophilus started out like Johnny; kind of in the middle. Now he's converted like Johnny was. Now there is a Theo who agrees with civic...
 
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Sola Scripturists look in the Bible...

God is Love...

And God is Holy Holy Holy. He is Light, Life, Truth; and his Word is Truth. His Word teaches us more than 'God is Love'. Since God is Life, yet All do not Live; God doesn't have to Love All people. God Hates those who Sin...
If God hates literally hates the sinner then he had to hate you too did he not? And yet you would claim God is unchangeable? So God changed his mind about YOU even though you were a lawbreaker the same as the rest?
 
If God hates literally hates the sinner then he had to hate you too did he not? And yet you would claim God is unchangeable? So God changed his mind about YOU even though you were a lawbreaker the same as the rest?
He hates sin not necessarily the sinner. Romans 5;8
 
If God hates literally hates the sinner then he had to hate you too did he not? And yet you would claim God is unchangeable? So God changed his mind about YOU even though you were a lawbreaker the same as the rest?
I have an answer, but I'm busy. I've answered it before...
 
Luke 6:35
But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil

Unfortunately, Calvinists sometimes seem to have a blind spot for the love of God. Consider this question from The Shorter Catechism, which is an abbreviated version of The Westminster Confession of Faith, a classic Calvinist statement of faith. The Catechism asks this most fundamental theological question: “What is God?”

Here is the answer that is given: “God is a Spirit, infinite, eternal, and unchangeable, in his being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth.”

Do you notice anything missing from this definition? Where is the love? The definition mentions God’s power, his wisdom, and his justice, along with other attributes, but amazingly enough it leaves out perhaps the most beautiful definition of God in the entire Bible: “God is love”. 1 John 4:8,16


Calvinist theologian Arthur W. Pink: “When we say that God is sovereign in the exercise of His love, we mean that He loves whom he chooses. God does not love everybody . . . .”

How does that work? The bad news is not really well. Is it not the very heart of the gospel that God loves everyone? Is that not the good news that we joyfully share with all persons? “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whosoever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life”. John 3:16


In the Institutes of the Christian Religion by John Calvin there is not one time in this book does Calvin ever quote “God is love.” Hard to believe that in is massive book that is 1,521 pages long and that discusses thousands of biblical texts and discusses God’s nature extensively, Calvin never one time cited 1 John 4:8 or 1 John 4:16. Not even once! This is a stunning omission.

I'm still looking for the love in Calvinism.
LOL ...
 
If God hates literally hates the sinner then he had to hate you too did he not?

So God is not allowed to choose who to love, according to you?
Your false assertion makes God "a respecter of persons", making him "hate" someone based on him being a sinner.

We believe God has the FREEDOM to love whom He chooses, and hate whom He chooses.

And yet you would claim God is unchangeable?

Of course He is unchangeable.
But we all know you reject the Bible, so I guess you're allowed to believe God is changeable.

So God changed his mind about YOU even though you were a lawbreaker the same as the rest?

Of course not.
No Calvinist has ever said that.
Why do you people insist on MISREPRESENTING Calvinism and Calvinists?
 
Wow, so, all the dismissed posts, disregarded posts, false charges on what we believe, misrepresentations, implications we are of the devil, lost, teach from the pit of hell, follow a man, think we are special because we adhere to Biblical election, and they ask "where the love is" in Calvinism?

Unreal.

Waste of time, this is just another thread designed to insult, sow discord, cause division, and troll others.
 

In Calvinism where is the love​


This is sad.
If you don't think there is any love in Calvinism, then that must mean you have NEVER met any Calvinists in person. Because in my experience, they are the most loving people I've ever met.

Even online, it is only the anti-Calvinists who are so mean that they try to kick Calvinists out of heaven. We don't kick Arminians out of heaven, we welcome them, despite our disagreements.

And if you're referring to God, I think it's truly sad that you look to a random sentence and then conclude, "There is no love in Calvinism". Why don't you ASK Calvinists what they believe? We read the same Bible you do. Did YOU rip "God is love" (1 John 4:16) out of your Bible? Did YOU rip John 3:16 out of your Bible? Because we never did. Why is this even an issue? If anti-Calvinists have to argue about "God is love", then they are so angry that they will argue about ANYTHING.

But I will repeat my testimony. When God finally convinced me that "Calvinism" is the true representation of Biblical theology, I suddenly realized that God was a MILLION times more loving than I have ever imagined Him as an Arminian. My sins were a MILLION times greater than I realized, and for God to save me meant He was a MILLION times more loving.

Luke 6:35
But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil

Again, Calvinists are the most loving people I've ever been privileged to know.
But answer me this, why don't "free-willers" love their enemies? Why do they continue to treat Calvinists with rudeness and disrespect?

Unfortunately, Calvinists sometimes seem to have a blind spot for the love of God.

What is your evidence for this bankrupt claim?

Consider this question from The Shorter Catechism, which is an abbreviated version of The Westminster Confession of Faith, a classic Calvinist statement of faith. The Catechism asks this most fundamental theological question: “What is God?”

Here is the answer that is given: “God is a Spirit, infinite, eternal, and unchangeable, in his being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth.”

Is love not "good"?
Is love not "truth"?

Where does the Catechism say, "God is NOT loving"?
Nowhere, does it?
So why do you ASSUME something that is not there?

Do you notice anything missing from this definition? Where is the love? The definition mentions God’s power, his wisdom, and his justice, along with other attributes, but amazingly enough it leaves out perhaps the most beautiful definition of God in the entire Bible: “God is love”. 1 John 4:8,16

It's in the Bible!
So why does it have to be in the catechism?!
Why don't we just write a catechism which is 100% word-for-word copy of the Bible?

Calvinist theologian Arthur W. Pink: “When we say that God is sovereign in the exercise of His love, we mean that He loves whom he chooses. God does not love everybody . . . .”

See?
So right there Pink readily asserts that God is loving!
So what are you complaining about?

Oh, I'm guessing you think God HAS to love "everyone", or else He's not "loving" at all.
That's NOT what the Bible teaches.

How does that work?

How does what work?
Why is God not allowed to hate sinners?
Why is God not allowed to choose whom He loves and choose whom He hates?
Who died and made YOU God's boss?

The bad news is not really well. Is it not the very heart of the gospel that God loves everyone?

No, of course not.
"Jacob I loved, and Esau I hated."
"Thou hatest workers of iniquity".

By denying the reason God has every RIGHT to hate us, you destroy the purpose of the gospel!

Is that not the good news that we joyfully share with all persons?

We share the gospel with all persons, because (1) we don't know who the elect are, and so we share it with everyone, and (2) proclaiming the gospel glorifies God!
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whosoever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life”. John 3:16

Amen!

In the Institutes of the Christian Religion by John Calvin

Maybe you should lose your obsession with Calvin?

there is not one time in this book does Calvin ever quote “God is love.”

So what?
In church we study the BIBLE, not the "Institutes".
Maybe you should try it sometime?

I'm still looking for the love in Calvinism.

Maybe you should try meeting some Calvinists, and not hating on them.
It's shown me a GREAT DEAL of love.
 
Luke 6:35
But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil

Unfortunately, Calvinists sometimes seem to have a blind spot for the love of God. Consider this question from The Shorter Catechism, which is an abbreviated version of The Westminster Confession of Faith, a classic Calvinist statement of faith. The Catechism asks this most fundamental theological question: “What is God?”

Here is the answer that is given: “God is a Spirit, infinite, eternal, and unchangeable, in his being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth.”

Do you notice anything missing from this definition? Where is the love? The definition mentions God’s power, his wisdom, and his justice, along with other attributes, but amazingly enough it leaves out perhaps the most beautiful definition of God in the entire Bible: “God is love”. 1 John 4:8,16


Calvinist theologian Arthur W. Pink: “When we say that God is sovereign in the exercise of His love, we mean that He loves whom he chooses. God does not love everybody . . . .”

How does that work? The bad news is not really well. Is it not the very heart of the gospel that God loves everyone? Is that not the good news that we joyfully share with all persons? “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whosoever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life”. John 3:16


In the Institutes of the Christian Religion by John Calvin there is not one time in this book does Calvin ever quote “God is love.” Hard to believe that in is massive book that is 1,521 pages long and that discusses thousands of biblical texts and discusses God’s nature extensively, Calvin never one time cited 1 John 4:8 or 1 John 4:16. Not even once! This is a stunning omission.

I'm still looking for the love in Calvinism.
Does this mean "Calvinist" arn't saved?
 
If God hates literally hates the sinner then he had to hate you too did he not? And yet you would claim God is unchangeable? So God changed his mind about YOU even though you were a lawbreaker the same as the rest?
That's exactly the problem I see with Calvinism. It seems for them defending their Theology is more important than sharing the love of God. It's what I call making Jesus look bad. Thats just one of many serious complaints that one may level against Calvinism and their portrayal of God and His love for His creation.

Biblical revelation clearly shows God to be loving, gracious, personal, responsive, caring, just, impartial, desiring life for everyone, and a hater of sin. Unfortunately, Calvinism, in nearly every case, projects a God who contradicts these characteristics. God’s love is selective, God’s salvific, grace is either completely lacking (for the non-elect) or irresistible in the case of the elect.

Jesus came so that all could have access to God, not just holy priests or members of the Sanhedrin. Faith wasn’t based on keeping rules or performance, but on believing in God’s love and being obedient to His will.

The tearing of the temple curtain in two meant that we, as God’s people, could return to the relationship that we once had with God during the time of Adam and Eve. We didn’t have to go through another human to connect with God; we have the bridge to God made possible by Jesus’s sacrifice on the cross. And as much as the Sanhedrin might have tried to bring people back to the rules and regulations of Mosaic Law, it was clear God wanted us to come to Him more for strength and guidance than looking to ourselves.

I see Calvinists as being somewhat like the Sanhedrin. In that where God requires believers to love their enemies, God instead is permitted to be a hater of his enemies. Where the Bible requires Jesus’s followers to be impartial in their dealings with men, God instead is demonstrably partial in his unilaterally and unconditionally selecting some for salvation while damning the rest to hell when he could, if he chose, save all.


While the Bible says that God “desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Tim 2:4), God by his secret and eternal decree actually does not desire all me to be saved, for if he did he could easily ensure it through his decree. Where the Bible clearly reveals God to be a hater of sin, God is seen to be the author and instigator of every sin manifested in history in Calvinism theology.
 
That's exactly the problem I see with Calvinism. It seems for them defending their Theology is more important than sharing the love of God. It's what I call making Jesus look bad. Thats just one of many serious complaints that one may level against Calvinism and their portrayal of God and His love for His creation.

Biblical revelation clearly shows God to be loving, gracious, personal, responsive, caring, just, impartial, desiring life for everyone, and a hater of sin. Unfortunately, Calvinism, in nearly every case, projects a God who contradicts these characteristics. God’s love is selective, God’s salvific, grace is either completely lacking (for the non-elect) or irresistible in the case of the elect.
Q
Jesus came so that all could have access to God, not just holy priests or members of the Sanhedrin. Faith wasn’t based on keeping rules or performance, but on believing in God’s love and being obedient to His will.

The tearing of the temple curtain in two meant that we, as God’s people, could return to the relationship that we once had with God during the time of Adam and Eve. We didn’t have to go through another human to connect with God; we have the bridge to God made possible by Jesus’s sacrifice on the cross. And as much as the Sanhedrin might have tried to bring people back to the rules and regulations of Mosaic Law, it was clear God wanted us to come to Him more for strength and guidance than looking to ourselves.

I see Calvinists as being somewhat like the Sanhedrin. In that where God requires believers to love their enemies, God instead is permitted to be a hater of his enemies. Where the Bible requires Jesus’s followers to be impartial in their dealings with men, God instead is demonstrably partial in his unilaterally and unconditionally selecting some for salvation while damning the rest to hell when he could, if he chose, save all.


While the Bible says that God “desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Tim 2:4), God by his secret and eternal decree actually does not desire all me to be saved, for if he did he could easily ensure it through his decree. Where the Bible clearly reveals God to be a hater of sin, God is seen to be the author and instigator of every sin manifested in history in Calvinism theology.
QUESTION BEGGING
 
That's exactly the problem I see with Calvinism. It seems for them defending their Theology is more important than sharing the love of God. It's what I call making Jesus look bad. Thats just one of many serious complaints that one may level against Calvinism and their portrayal of God and His love for His creation.

Biblical revelation clearly shows God to be loving, gracious, personal, responsive, caring, just, impartial, desiring life for everyone, and a hater of sin. Unfortunately, Calvinism, in nearly every case, projects a God who contradicts these characteristics. God’s love is selective, God’s salvific, grace is either completely lacking (for the non-elect) or irresistible in the case of the elect.

Jesus came so that all could have access to God, not just holy priests or members of the Sanhedrin. Faith wasn’t based on keeping rules or performance, but on believing in God’s love and being obedient to His will.

The tearing of the temple curtain in two meant that we, as God’s people, could return to the relationship that we once had with God during the time of Adam and Eve. We didn’t have to go through another human to connect with God; we have the bridge to God made possible by Jesus’s sacrifice on the cross. And as much as the Sanhedrin might have tried to bring people back to the rules and regulations of Mosaic Law, it was clear God wanted us to come to Him more for strength and guidance than looking to ourselves.

I see Calvinists as being somewhat like the Sanhedrin. In that where God requires believers to love their enemies, God instead is permitted to be a hater of his enemies. Where the Bible requires Jesus’s followers to be impartial in their dealings with men, God instead is demonstrably partial in his unilaterally and unconditionally selecting some for salvation while damning the rest to hell when he could, if he chose, save all.


While the Bible says that God “desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Tim 2:4), God by his secret and eternal decree actually does not desire all me to be saved, for if he did he could easily ensure it through his decree. Where the Bible clearly reveals God to be a hater of sin, God is seen to be the author and instigator of every sin manifested in history in Calvinism theology.
LOL
 
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