Customer Reviews

What Love Is This? Calvinism's Misrepresentation of God

5 star:		(61)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(65)

 

 

I read an online version of this book. Then I read some of the one star reviews posted at Amazon by Calvinists. Besides this book, I recently read the "5 points of Calvinism weighed and found wanting."

Hunt's book is a fairly long (over 400 pages). It is written more at the popular level than, for example, Life in the Sun and Elect in the Sun by Robert Shank or God the Ruler by Cottrell. Shank's books frequently include references to Greek Grammar and quotations from the Greek New Testament. Hunt does not get down and dirty with the Greek exegisis.

Though written at a popular level, Hunt still includes many references to scriptures and his book continually argues scripturally against Calvinism. The 400 pages allow Hunt to develop his arguements in detail, yet it is not so long as to beat dead horses. It also is an easy read: the pages turn quickly and the points Hunt makes are clear, understandable, and easy to remember.

Many of the one star reviews say he misquotes or mischaracterizes those of opposing positions. This may be occaisionaly true, given the length of the book, perhaps a mistake in quotation inadvertingly now and then occurs, but, on the whole, he gets the Calvinistic position correct, he uses extensive and extended quotes from those on both sides of the debate. Overall, these do not mischaracterize.

Let's think about the debate for a moment: Hunt's book is only one chapter in this debate that has been ongoing since the days of Augustine (circa 400 AD) and John Calvin (mid 1500s). If the Lord tarries, Hunt's book certainly will not be the last.

For all the ire expressed here at Amazon in these one star reveiws, you would think Hunt had resorted to ad hominem attacks against Calvinism. Nothing could be further from the truth. What Love is This is not a polemic diatribe against Calvinism. Hunt merely has shown: here is what the Apostles taught, here is what the Calvinists teach. He has merely pointed out the differences between scriptural Christianity and Calvinism. These differences are real and they are substantial. This is the tenor of the entire book. Hunt is not tyring to skewer John Calvin, he is merely trying to point out why Calvin is wrong biblically. If you have read Shank's "life in the Sun" or "Elect in the Sun" you will find the same irenic spirit in What Love is This.

Instead of trying to debunk Hunt's persuasive biblical arguements, Hunt's critcs, who have submitted reviews to Amazon, must think it is easier to assasinate the messanger than to deal with his message! It appears to me that Hunt's book has hit a sore spot or two!

If you are looking for a biblically argued refutation of Calvinism written at a popular, irenic level, Hunt's book is a great choice.

First, a little background. I grew up as a believer blissfully unaware of the Calvinism debate. Then, a couple of years ago I got exposed to Calvinism through R.C. Sproul's ministry. Despite nagging questions, I became an ardent and enthusiastic 5-Point Calvinist. I read nothing but Calvinist authors (like Piper, Boice, Boettner, Lutzer, Macarthur and Sproul) and I began to filter everything through the grid of Calvinism. I also listened to Sproul every day.

However, since the "apparent" inconsistencies in Calvinism still haunted me, I decided to put Calvinism on trial. Since I had already heard one side, I decided to hear the other.

Despite the fact that Calvinists universally berated Dave Hunt as being an ignorant yokel, I figured I would have to read his book to find out what the hubbub was about.

Dave's book, along with George Bryson's, poked so many holes in Calvin's case that it could no longer hold water (at least in my mind.) I concluded that, at worst, Calvinism is flat out wrong, and at best, there is at least enough reasonable doubt about each of the five points to reject the whole system as a unbiblical.

Read this book, put Calvinism on trial. As for me, I will never call myself a Calvinist again.

Dave Hunt has done it again. Some 20 years after his highly controversial, yet highly important book "The Seduction of Christianity", Dave has come up with another shocker! This time he examines what is surely the most divisive issue in Evangelical Christianity - namely CALVINISM.

From start to finish the reader of this book, regardless of his or her stand on the issues, will be compelled to hear Dave out. He does all he can to clearly explain what Calvinism is - not by simply telling the reader what Dave thinks it is, but by providing the reader with quote after quote from those leaders in the Christian community who are themselves Calvinists. Dave Hunt leaves no room for guessing here. He makes his case clear. Calvinism, in Dave's book, is clearly a false theological system that has its beginnings in 4th and 5th Century Rome. If anyone wants to understand the genesis of this doctrinal system, this book is a must.

Dave goes on to point out the glaring inconsistencies, the misapplied logic, and the oft used Scriptures that supposedly support the TULIP. He then proceeds to throughly dismantle the system with a plethera of scripture references and an overview of the true nature of God (which Dave feels is attacked by the concept of Calvinism).

This book will undoubtedly upset the staunch Calvinists. In fact, from the early returns, it appears that even reviews such as mine will suffer because I give the book a high rating. But the fact remains that if someone wants to know how non-Calvinists view the TULIP this book is a must! Dave Hunt clearly and concisely sums up the "other side" for everyone. Even if the reader disagrees with his conclusions, he or she can at least have a better understanding of how other Christians look at their doctrinal distinctives (ie Calvinism's 5 points).

I wholeheartedly recommend this fascinating book to Calvinists and non-Calvinists alike!

The book brings up some interesting points that Calvinists seemingly sidestep.
I have studied this a lot and still found things here that:
1. I had thought of myself, but heard no other authors saying. So...Bravo someone finally did.
Thought I was going to have to write a book myself....but Hunt covered some of those things herein.
2. Things I had not heard and was shocked to learn.
I would not be surprised at all that all the low scores on this book are reviews by Calvinists, who are motivated by their sectarian zeal. Don't be swayed by that.
So... I enjoyed the read and found it informative.

"What Love is This" by Dave Hunt is a valuable resource in understanding Calvinism and its implications. It won't be popular with Calvinists, but it presents the truth in clear, easy to read language. Dave Hunt has done a mountain or research and deserves a great deal of credit for his balanced and loving approach to what can be a very divisive subject. It is a must read for anyone involved in the predestination debate.
Roger Paull, Glendale, AZ

If you are confused about Calvinism or are a Calvinist, I heartily recommend you break away from Sproul/Piper/McArthur/White/Calvin (or whoever) long enough to give this book a try. As with any of Mr. Hunt's books, this one is Biblically grounded and well researched. It's also quite the page-turner, and I found it hard to put down (I even bought the MP3 version, so I could listen through the book again at work). Calvinism had stormed our church body, and the repugnant views of a god who isn't all-loving (according to Calvinism, Jesus didn't die for everyone like the Bible states), or that god is apparently a fiend (the Calvinistic god punishes some for sins he forced them to commit, and berates some for failing to repent though he has witheld their ability to repent), or that one cannot have assurance of eternal life/salvation (according to Calvinism) bothered me considerably (not to mention other problems and also contradictions one is supposed to swallow in order to believe Calvinism). The Lord drove me back to His Word and I looked to see whether the things my pastor & his staff (and the books they were gorging themselves on, instead of The Bible) were Biblically correct, and found them wanting, but unable to clearly define my objections and frustration. This book clarified everything about this un-biblical doctrine (and I would probably go as far as to say anti-Biblical). Please read this book, though of course if you lack the time and/or money, I always recommend you read The Bible (sans commentary... or at least until you have a good enough handle of scripture to reasonably determine what is truth and what is in error). Search the scriptures daily and may God help you find him (yes, despite what Calvinism teaches, you are free to seek him! Don't delay! If you are not saved yet, you can put your faith and trust in him today! Why not pick up a copy of the Bible and read the Gospel of John and the book of Romans? Also, I highly recommend TheBereanCall.org, where you can download (free of charge) radio broadcasts of "Search The Scriptures Daily" and many articles and helps by Dave Hunt and the Berean Call staff). Have a great day! :)

The 3rd edition of What Love Is This? is a very thorough and fair treatment of the topic of Calvinism, unlike the negative reviews, obviously by people who have not read the book but are only interested in defending Calvinism, rather than the Gospel. The book is well researched and the footnotes are excellent. Mr. Hunt shows us a side of the Calvinist doctrine that the Reformed Theology movement likes to avoid.

[...]

I recently switched to a Baptist church after moving to a new state. However, I did not realize that Calvinism was so prevalent until I sat in on some of the Sunday morning discipleship classes at my new church. One of the books that we read was J. I. Packer's "Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God" (which Hunt cites in this book). I didn't know much about Calvinism at the time, but some of Packer's views seemed so contrary to my understanding of the Bible that I started to research Calvinism a bit more. I was very surprised at how strange TULIP Calvinism seemed, and so I looked around for some works to defend and refute it so that I could develop my opinion better.

"What Love is This" contains a large number of quotes from historical and contemporary Calvinist authors, including many quotes from Calvin's works. From what I have read from Packer and McArthur and from what I have heard during many sermons on the radio and in church, I believe that Dave Hunt was able to accurately represent Calvinist theology (and its modern variations). For instance, I actually heard one of the radio broadcasts where R.C. Sproul (whom I respect) declared that those who are not elect are, through no action on their part, predestined to an eternal hell according to God's "good pleasure" - a notion that seemed shocking and abhorrent given my understanding of salvation according to the New Testament.

Ultimately, I have to agree with Hunt's conclusion that Calvinism misrepresents God's character in a bad way and can even lead people to resent God. I also have to agree that many Bible verses and terms (such as sovereignty) have to be altered from what seemed to be their clear, original meaning in order for the Bible to be in-sync with Calvinism. While he can be a bit redundant at times, I understand this to be a result for his passionate desire to refute Calvinism.

Finally, I believe that book is relevant because, to my surprise, Calvinists have a strong influence on today's evangelical Christians and they seem to be gaining some momentum, especially among young adults. The fact that this book has so many negative reviews serves as an indicator of how many people today stand behind Calvinism.

I am not sure I agree with Spurgeon that the debate over God's sovereignty and man's free will was, or is `really healthy and ... done us all a vast amount of good.' (p22). When we try and make God into either a Calvinist or an Arminian we come precariously close to blasphemy, which is really the way the current debate is going. Arminians should realize that Calvinism would never have stood the test of time so well, nor would have boasted the likes of Jonathan Edwards, Knox, Witfield, Spurgeon, Loyd Jones, Schaeffer, Packer, Sproul, Piper, MacArthur and many others, if there were not something fundamentally, uniquely and authentically Christian about it. At the same time Calvinists should realize that you cannot blame any sincere Christian for recoiling in horror from statements like `God created the reprobate for the day of judgment' and `God has only a sovereign hatred for the non-elect'.

Clearly we are dealing with a great and mysterious truth that refuses to subject itself to the logic of the space-time capsule. To systematically work ourselves into a dark background containing predetermined lists of names, and to emerge with a clinical system of thought cut loose from God's saving acts in Jesus Christ, expressed in hypotheses such as limited atonement and double predestination, is every step of the way as bad as the folly of decisional regeneration by which God is reduced to the status of the cosmic butler, and salvation to a sovereign choice of man. Both these routes lead to nonsense, and all efforts to choose for one at the expense of the other equally so. Brunner has said it well in his comments on the debate: `Which is more important - light or vision? Stupid question! Vision and light belong together.'

The book is a noble effort by Dave Hunt to disarm Calvinism and its 5 points, and probably a useful perspective for those who wish to understand more about the debate. Of course, you dare not touch it unless you have read an equal amount of pages from the other side. I would recommend Pink's The Sovereignty of God, Sproul's Willing to Believe, and Piper's 5th chapter in The Pleasures of God, called The Pleasure of God in Election, which will bring you to roundabout 413 pages for Hunt's 415. (In the name of objectivity, remember.)

Once you've done that, and before you finally choose whose side you are on, take some time and meditate on 1 Cor 1:10-17, and 3:1-9. If, after this, you can still bear to call yourself a Calvinist or Arminian, go ahead and do so. If, however, you are convicted by the Word of God, take those truths that have warmed your heart whilst reading the books mentioned above, embrace them, but keep yourself from constructing a logically cohesive system in the name of someone other than Christ, and refrain from using them as additional fodder for your ecclesiastical cannon.

This is truly an excellent book. Mr. Hunt has listed detailed information concerning the theology of Calvinists and has documented his sources very well. Many Calvinists are critical of him and say he does not understand the topic well enough to elaborate on it because of its complexity. With unmitigated arrogance, Mr. James White stated the following in an open letter to Mr. Hunt, "You pressed on despite the best efforts of many who have spent years studying the issue that you seemingly mastered in less than a year. Now the work is out, and the issue is beyond your personal welfare." I must agree, it is a very complex doctrine, but only because it has been fabricated by man and steeped in tradition and conjecture. However, Mr. Hunt understands its tenets well enough to give an informed and factual rendering of the subject.

Mr. Hunt gives us the historical background of this theology in a proficient manner. Many have criticized his portrayal of John Calvin and say he characterized him unfairly by discounting the social and political climate of the times. This is a spurious assertion and lacks any credibility. John Calvin, as Mr. Hunt purports, was instrumental in the execution of Servetus, accusing him of heresy. Some seven years before Servetus was executed, John Calvin wrote to his friend, Farel, on February 13, 1546 and stated, "He offers to come hither, if it be agreeable to me. But I am unwilling to pledge my word for his safety; for if he does come, and my authority be of any avail, I shall never suffer him to depart
alive." Furthermore, John Calvin never showed remorse for his actions. Nine years after executing Servetus, John Calvin stated, "Certainly his arrogance destroyed him not less than his impiety. And what crime was it of mine if our Council, at my exhortation, indeed, but in conformity with the opinion of several Churches, took vengeance on his execrable blasphemies... posterity owes me a debt of gratitude for having purged the Church of so pernicious a monster."

It is without justification, that a professing Christian could participate in an atrocity as reprehensible as this one was and not feel, through the moving of the Holy Spirit, a terrible and great conviction of their sin, unto repentance. Christ never gave permission to murder someone based on the accusation of heresy. Perhaps John Calvin did not have a very good understanding of God's Holy Word, which would explain the confusion perpetrated by Calvinists in the theological realm today, or chose to defiantly ignore the teachings of Christ. Nevertheless, the facts listed in Mr. Hunt's book are accurate.

Mr. Hunt also shows that John Calvin based much of his theology on the teachings of Augustine of Hippo. Augustine is considered the greatest of the Latin Fathers of the Roman Catholic Church and is also considered one of the most prominent Western Doctors of the same Church. The Roman Catholic Church has dedicated a feast day to Augustine, on August 28, which is the day of his death. John Calvin stated, "Augustine is so wholly with me, that if I wished to write a confession of faith, I could do so with all fulness and satisfaction to myself out of his writings." Augustine had a great influence on Calvin, and many of the fallacies of Calvinism are a result of this influence.

Much to the chagrin of Calvinists, Mr. Hunt displays a solid and exemplary understanding of Scripture in his book. They try to circumvent this fact by stating that he does not know the original tongues, Hebrew and Greek. Although this is true, it is not necessary for a clear and comprehensive understanding of Scripture. This line of thinking, if it can be called such, is akin to past teachings of the Roman Catholic Church, wherein only priests were allowed to read the Word. It was thought that the commoner was inept and unable to comprehend Scripture. Anyone who can read, even a child, can understand God's gift of Salvation as stated in the Bible. It is absurd to predispose that one must have many years of training to properly analyze and grasp the elements of the Holy Word.

Calvinists harbor a disdain for those they consider less educated than themselves, similar to the elitist attitude of the Scribes and Pharisees towards Jesus and his Disciples. In 1 Corinthians 1:19-20 we are told, "For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent. Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?" Mr. Charles Spurgeon, considered a champion of Calvinism, made the following comment concerning these verses, "Let this be remembered still, and it will help to cure the craving after learned and intellectual preaching. What have we to do with setting up what God means to destroy? The plain gospel of Jesus, simply preached, is infinitely superior to all the "deep thinking" and "exact criticism" of modern times." Let it also be noted, Mr. Spurgeon never attended college. I am somewhat astonished that Calvinists would consider Mr. Spurgeon "intelligent" enough to be included in their camp.

The debate between Calvinists and those who adhere to Holy Scripture will no doubt thrive until the return of Christ. Calvinists will continue on in their elitism and conceit. Unfortunately, no amount of exhortation will penetrate their pompous minds. Education is a great tool, but when used without wisdom from God, i.e. Calvinism, it becomes a stumbling block to all mankind.

Although repetitious, Mr. Hunt's book is factual and inspiring. Any individual, desiring undeniable truth, should read this book, pray for wisdom from God, and compare Reformed Theology to Scripture. Contrary to the contemptible opinion of Calvinists, the gift of Salvation was presented as a gift to all, not to just a select few. All glory to God, and his Son, Jesus!