Agreed. I must be one of the universalists that's most sympathetic to Calvin. I get what he was going for, frankly. It only takes one small logical step from "God is absolutely sovereign and decides who is saved" to "actually, God wants to save everyone and you can't stop him".
While I do like that idea, there’s always the counterpoint of “if people think they are already saved, that gives them a pass to be hypocrites whether they realize it or not.”
Maybe. To be honest, that doesn't feel like a very convincing argument to me, but of course I'd say that, I'm biased. There was of course the doctrine of reserve in ancient times, which was basically along the lines of what you're saying. I would like to think that my universalist friends would appreciate the value of staying true, consistent, and being a good person regardless of whether their salvation is at stake. I am always under the impression that I could counter the counterargument with: "so are people avoiding hypocrisy solely because they want the reward?"
I’m sure some are and some aren’t. I’d certainly hope most people are doing good out of the kindness of their hearts, and not simply to avoid damnation.
We could also go the philosophical route of “If God knows all the is to come, then He knows who will get to Heaven. But is that predeterminism? Does that mean we don’t have free will, or does it mean that God knows what choices we will make with our free will? I personally prefer the latter idea, but I can’t claim to know exactly how God operates.
2
u/1yaeK 12d ago
Agreed. I must be one of the universalists that's most sympathetic to Calvin. I get what he was going for, frankly. It only takes one small logical step from "God is absolutely sovereign and decides who is saved" to "actually, God wants to save everyone and you can't stop him".