Tulip: The Five Points of Calvinism in the Light of Scripture [Paperback]

Duane Edward Spencer (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0801063930 | ISBN-13: 978-0801063930 | Publication Date: January 1, 2002 | Edition: 2nd

Formerly of Arminian persuasion, Duane Edward Spencer presents a classic book about the five points of TULIP, helpfully contrasted with the five points of Arminianism. Spencer shares insights he gained while searching the Scriptures to "see if these things be so" and supplies snippets of church history and selections from the Westminster Confession of Faith (1648) to complement his succinct explanations.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

TULIP is a popular acronym for the five points of Calvinism-total depravity, unconditional election, limited atonement, irresistible grace, and perseverance of the saints.

In this classic book, these five points are concisely explained in the light of the Bible. They are also helpfully contrasted with the corresponding five points of Arminianism, which originally prompted the Calvinistic five-point statement at Dort.

Formerly of Arminian persuasion, Duane Edward Spencer shares insights he gained while searching the Scriptures to "see if these things be so." He supplies snippets of church history and selections from the Westminster Confession of Faith (1648) to complement his succinct explanations of the five points.

The basic beliefs of both Arminians and Calvinists, along with the Scriptures used by each to support its views, are summarized at the end of the book for quick and easy reference.


Duane Edward Spencer was the pastor of the Grace Orthodox Presbyterian Church in San Antonio, Texas.

About the Author

Duane Edward Spencer was the pastor of the Grace Orthodox Presbyterian Church in San Antonio, Texas.

Product Details

• Paperback: 96 pages
• Publisher: Baker Books; 2nd edition (January 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0801063930
• ISBN-13: 978-0801063930
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.4 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #486,766 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good, if one sided, introduction, April 25, 2002

By 

J. F Foster - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Tulip: The Five Points of Calvinism in the Light of Scripture (Paperback)

As can easily be deduced from the other reviews of this book, Duane Edward Spencer has charged headlong into a theological minefield with his effort here to succinctly outline the 5 points of Calvinism. I found this book to be a solid introduction to explaining the 5 points, as well as providing the Scriptural support that is regularly called upon to defend the 5 points. I am frankly startled that the negative reviews of this book are so seething, given that the purpose of this book is to explain the 5 points in summary fashion and citing what Spencer believes is Biblical support. If that is the purpose of the book, and since the negative reviews of this book have little to do with critiquing whether Spencer adequately achieved this purpose, I'm not sure the negative reviews are a good reflection of whether the author achieves what he sets out to do here. This book is a succinct introduction to the theology of Calvinism, and I think the author does a good job of presenting Calvinism in an honest light. Whether someone personally agrees with Calvinism is a separate issue. My review is based on whether Spencer does a good job or not of honestly presenting Calvinism to the reader. I believe he does, and does it well.

This book is definitely a summary. The book is less than 100 pages, and devotes between 10-15 pages to each of the 5 points. These chapters, in a succinct and precise way, explain each point, the Biblical passages that Calvinists believe support each point, and there is also a discussion of the Arminian point that the Calvinist point is responding to. Clearly, the reader should recognize that this book is not even close to exhaustive of the myriad of issues that separate Arminianism and Calvinism, and does not delve into many of the nuances that have been the source of ongoing debate and friction for centuries between the two camps. But the book is not intended to do that. What this book is trying to do is to give a reader who wants to get their feet wet on Calvinist theology a way to do so.

I gave the book 4 stars instead of 5 for a few reasons. First, the negative reviewers of this book do make one valid point in saying that Arminianism, as presented in this book, is not given its full due. The author rightly feels compelled to offer a summarized view of the 5 points of Arminianism since the 5 points of Calvinism were drafted as a direct response to the 5 points of Arminianism. Therefore, it is appropriate and necessary that in order for the reader to get a deeper understanding of the origins of the 5 points of Calvinism, one must have some knowledge of what these 5 points were/are responding to, which would be the 5 points of Arminianism. I found Spencer's summary of the 5 points of Arminianism to be too summary oriented, and not totally explaining the rationales and Scripture passages that Arminians tend to rely on to support their view. So in that respect, the comparison between the 5 points of both camps is not as good as it could have been.

Secondly, as mentioned previously, this book, if read by an inquisitive reader, will likely leave that reader hanging a bit. After reading about the 5 points of Calvinism, a reasonable reader may well be left with burning questions concerning the Calvinist view of human free will, the problem of evil, the role of missions in Calvinist thought, and whether Calvinism endorses a sort of fatalistic determinism. All of these issues are huge, and none are explored in any great detail in this book. And while I understand that it was not the author's intention to explore these issues since they are somewhat beyond the scope of a basic examination of the 5 points, the author should have done a better job of anticipating these kind of issues and referring the reader to other Calvinist resources that deal with these issues. Spencer includes a very basic bibliography at the end, but I think it could have been beefed up considerably in such a way to offer relevant resource suggestions to readers who raise the above issues.

So in summary, this book gets into a redhot theological area, so it isn't surprising that emotions run high in many of the reviews of this book. But as someone who is still wading through some of these concepts, I found this book to be helpful, succinct, and beneficial for anyone who wants to begin their theological journey without trying to digest a lengthy and nuanced treatise. To be fair, the open minded reader who sincerely wants to arrive at a satisfactory conclusion on these issues should also pick up an introductory Arminian book and see the other side before coming to any definitive conclusions about these vital issues.

27 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Well organized, well balanced discussion. The best yet., February 4, 1999

By 

[e-mail] (New Jersey) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Tulip: The Five Points of Calvinism in the Light of Scripture (Paperback)

A superb look at the issues surrounding the debate. Perfect for the reader who does not want a 500 page treatise on the issue. I highly recommend it to anyone seriously interested in this topic. Presents a clear, biblical argument for "Calvinism", while fairly pointing out the arguments from the opposition, and presenting a strong rebuttal to them. This book opened my eyes to the truth of the Bible. This book is NOT for the person who thinks with their emotions, and cannot approach scripture with clear, deductive, deliberation.

17 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Truthful Insight into the Biblical Doctrine of Grace, December 16, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Tulip: The Five Points of Calvinism in the Light of Scripture (Paperback)

The Five Points of Calvinism in the Light of Scripture, by Duane Edward Spencer presents in wonderful detail the arostic principles behind the acronym TULIP. Dr. Spencer references the Scriptures (KJV) over and over again to uncover God's Salvation Plan for mankind through TULIP (Total Depravity, Unconditional election, Limited atonement, Irrestistible Grace, Perseverance of the Saints.) I would HIGHLY recommend this short and concise book to anyone interested in the studying the Bible.