Killing Calvinism: How to Destroy a Perfectly Good Theology from the Inside [Paperback]

Greg Dutcher (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 18, 2012

Something wonderful is happening in Western Evangelicalism. A resurgence of Calvinism is changing lives, transforming churches, and spreading the gospel. The books are great, the sermons are life-changing, the music is inspirational, and the conferences are astonishing. Will this continue or will we, who are part of it all, end up destroying it? That depends on how we live the message. As "insiders" of the Calvinist resurgence, there are at least eight ways we can mess everything up. -By loving calvinism as an end in itself -By becoming theologians instead of disciples -By loving God’s sovereignty more than God himself -By losing an urgency in evangelism -By refusing to learn from non-Calvinists -By tidying up the Bible’s “loose ends” -By being a bunch of arrogant know-it-alls -By scoffing at the emotional hang-ups others have with Calvinism

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Greg Dutcher (M.Div., Biblical Theological Seminary) pastored an Evangelical Free Church in Catonsville, Maryland for six years before sensing a call to plant Christ Fellowship Church in Harford County, Maryland. He has served as Senior Minister of Christ Fellowship since its inception in 2003. He is the author of You Are the Treasure That I Seek: But There's a Lot of Cool Stuff Out There, Lord (2009), and Living Free in Enemy Territory: Christ's Triumph over Satan (2011). Greg and his wife, Lisa, have four children.

Product Details

• Paperback: 120 pages
• Publisher: Cruciform Press (April 18, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1936760533
• ISBN-13: 978-1936760534
• Product Dimensions: 5.1 x 0.2 x 7.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (32 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #52,322 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #29 in Books > Christian Books & Bibles > Protestantism > Calvinist

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

68 of 70 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Only One Disappointment June 14, 2012

By Tracy Smith

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

I am not a seminary student, deacon, or pastor. I haven't even read The Institutes of the Christian Religion by Calvin himself. I am in fact a stay at home mom with four children and I love to read. As a relatively young Christian almost 20 years ago, through personal study of the book of Romans and after just a few chapters into my little purple hardback copy of Sproul's "Chosen By God", I embraced what is known as Calvinism.

While I have read and enjoyed all of Greg Dutcher's books, "Killing Calvinism" is my favorite.

Dutcher has a personal style of writing; an unusual style that makes you feel as if you are sitting across from him sharing a conversation at a local Starbucks. Deeply immersed in Scripture, yet filled with personal examples of his own sinful responses towards others, Killing Calvinism forced me to evaluate my own attitude (outward and inward) toward others who love Jesus but hold to different views than my own. I particularly appreciated the prayers at the end of each chapter and found myself using them as a tool to take the first step to put into practice the very truth I was being confronted with. I prayed the words of the author and continued beyond with words that formed in my own heart, enjoying the freedom and renewed hope that comes through repentance.

The only disappointment I have is that I wish a book like this was written 15 years ago. It certainly would have been a great help to me and my zealous comrades, who out of pride and ignorance, killed Calvinism for several years.

But the temptation is still there.

That's why this is such an important work.... If you identify with the "young, restless, and reformed" crowd or if you're an old-timer who has swam in reformed circles for years, please do your own soul (& others around you) a favor and take the time to prayerfully read Killing Calvinism. If you totally disagree with Calvinism and hold to an Arminian view, this little book might surprise you in the best of ways. Seriously.

I thank God for this book because it will serve as an excellent resource for my children, hopefully providing practical help so they can avoid the pitfalls that so many of us have fallen into, head first. Dutcher ends his book with a prayer for our children, but I used it as a prayer for all those who see my life up close and personal.

"I pray that they will be able to use your life as a model for Calvinism well lived and well applied." (p.105)

Amen. Read more ›

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Written by a Calvinist for Calvinists. July 19, 2012

By onewifeonly

Format:Paperback

Timely and helpful book. The point is not to disparage reformed thinking, but rather to guard against distorting it. Young, restless and reformed men and women would do well to read this book and use it as a means to evaluate their attitudes and the way they govern their relationships and conversations. It is not a deep, weighty or academic book, but unlike many reformed books, it is incredibly practical. Each chapter closes with a prayer, and they are solid prayers, one of them saying, "I confess that too often I have contented myself with knowledge when I have not even begun to pursue holiness. I have rested arrogantly on what I know, instead of humbly acknowledging what I don't. I have over fed my intellect while letting my affections go hungry." p. 33

Another excellent point he made was "[it is possible] Our knowledge of theology and church history may grow exponentially, but in radical disproportion to character change."

We'd better check ourselves before we wreck ourselves.

19 of 22 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars The Common Temptations of Calvinists June 25, 2012

By Tom Farr

Format:Paperback

I should probably start this review by mentioning that I'm not a Calvinist. However, I don't land in the Arminian camp either, though that often seems to be the catch-all category for non-Calvinists in the Calvinist mind. I do believe that God is solely responsible for any man's salvation, but I also believe that man is solely responsible for his own condemnation by rejecting Christ. If I had to describe my theological position, I agree with about 90% of what Dr. Kenneth Keathley has to say in his book SALVATION AND SOVEREIGNTY. All that is really to say that I read KILLING CALVINISM by Greg Dutcher as a non-Calvinist who cares deeply about the interaction between Calvinists and non-Calvinists and the picture of God that is portrayed to a world that desperately needs him.

KILLING CALVINISM: HOW TO DESTROY A PERFECTLY GOOD THEOLOGY FROM THE INSIDE is a call for Calvinists to examine the common temptations that Calvinists can fall into that might cause people to be shut off to Calvinism. What I love about this book is that it was written by a Calvinist who was humble enough to acknowledge the shortcomings that those in the Calvinist camp often fall into. The specific ways that Dutcher mentions that Calvinists often kill their theological system were no surprise to me because I've witnessed every one of them in Calvinists I've known. But what's great about KILLING CALVINISM is that Dutcher, as a Calvinist, has a heart to help other Calvinists be aware of the temptations they may face as Calvinists who are also fallen human beings, and his heart for this is about making sure the gospel is communicated freely and beautifully to a lost world without a theological system acting as a stumbling block on the path toward faith in Jesus.... Let's face it, it would be really hard for a non-Calvinist to convince a Calvinist that these things are often true of them, and therefore need to be changed. We're much more prone to listen to someone within our own camp, so Dutcher has done a great service to Calvinists and non-Calvinists alike with this book.

So how does a Calvinist "kill Calvinism"? Dutcher describes eight ways:
1. By Loving Calvinism as an End in Itself
2. By Becoming a Theologian Instead of a Disciple
3. By Loving God's Sovereignty More Than God Himself
4. By Losing an Urgency in Evangelism
5. By Learning Only From Other Calvinists
6. By Tidying Up the Bible's "Loose Ends"
7. By Being an Arrogant No-It-All
8. By Scoffing at the Hang-ups Others Have with Calvinism

Dutcher spends eight chapters elaborating on each one and calling Calvinists to a humble, loving, and God-glorifying way of life.

Non-Calvinists reading this book need to be able to accept that Dutcher is a Calvinist and believes that non-Calvinists are wrong, but Dutcher is graciously calling Calvinists to act in love toward non-Calvinists and to even learn from them, even if they don't agree on issues related to soteriology.

My hope for this book is that it will get into the hands of the many Calvinists who struggle with the temptations that Dutcher to describes. My hope is that it will change lives and that believers, whether Calvinist or non-Calvinist, will be able to love one another as fellow members of the body of Christ, as well as share the goal of reaching people for Christ, even if they don't agree on exactly how Salvation is worked out.

I received this book for free for review from Cruciform Press, and the opinions contained in this review are completely my own Read more ›

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars This Book Kills It July 7, 2012

By Michael Leake

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

Calvinism is on the upswing. So much so that it made Time Magazines list of 10 Ideas Changing the World Right Now. Calvinism is a big deal in the current climate of evangelicalism, whether you are for it or against it.

Greg Dutcher, is for it. Yet, he also warns that Calvinists could easily destroy this good theology from the inside. In his book, Killing Calvinism, Dutcher gives eight ways that Calvinists can throw on the brakes to this resurgence and kill a perfectly good theology. Here are his eight ways that Calvinists can destroy Calvinism

By loving Calvinism as an end in itself
By becoming theologians instead of disciples
By loving God's sovereignty more than God himself
By losing an urgency in evangelism
By refusing to learn from non-Calvinists
By tidying up the Bible's "loose ends"
By being a bunch of arrogant know-it-alls
By scoffing at the emotional hang-ups others have with Calvinism
These eight points serve as the eight chapters and fill the 120 pages of this little book. Dutcher argues each point forcefully and yet graciously. He writes as a former "caged-Calvinists" that has been re-captured by the sovereign grace that he adopted theologically.

My Take:

Honestly, I did not anticipate being deeply challenged by this book. Not that I'm not a Calvinist and not that I did not expect to agree with the book. Problem is I assumed that I would just nod my head with everything Dutcher said, promote it to a few newer Calvinists I know, and move on.

You see I too was once a caged-Calvinist but the Lord has mightily worked in my heart to humble me and help me to live and proclaim the sovereign grace that I theologically affirm.... So, I've already been through the fire and I don't struggle with being a bad Calvinist anymore.

At least I thought I didn't.

Reading through Dutcher's work exposed a few vestiges of both pride and inconsistency in my walk with Christ. There were a few moments in the book where I found myself soundly rebuked. Funny thing is I think I had even taught some of these points myself, but the way that Dutcher worded them and proclaimed them brought conviction to my soul.

Here is a helpful sample for you to see how Dutcher is passionate, forceful, and yet very gracious:

A disciple is a student of Christ--someone who spends time with the Savior in order to come to know him better and resemble him more closely. As a pastor, I have found that many Christians simply assume that learning more and more about the Bible and theology--Reformed theology in particular--is the same thing as growing as a disciple. It isn't. Robust theology can be a powerful catalyst in this process, but like anything else, we can turn it into an idol. The danger is that, while we may begin with Reformed theology as the framework by which we more coherently understand and appreciate our faith, over time it can become the substance of our faith. At that point, daily living is more about mastering Reformed doctrine than being mastered by Jesus and his total claim over every area of life.

Should You Buy It?

Every Calvinist needs to read this book, whether you're a new member to club Calvin or you've been a Calvinist longer than Charlton Heston has been Moses. Even those that are non-Calvinist ought to read this book and see the heart of many within the Reformed/Calvinistic movement. We truly do want to live out the doctrines of grace as Greg Dutcher describes in this book. When we don't it's not a fault of the "system" but of our own hearts. Read more ›