Enter your mobile number or email address below and we'll send you a link to download the free Kindle App. Then you can start reading Kindle books on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

  • Apple
  • Android
  • Windows Phone
  • Android

To get the free app, enter your mobile phone number.
Download to your computer
Kindle Cloud Reader
Facebook Twitter Pinterest <Embed>
  • List Price: $15.99
  • Save: $4.25 (27%)
FREE Shipping on orders with at least $25 of books.
Only 10 left in stock (more on the way).
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com. Gift-wrap available.
The Joy of Calvinism: Kno... has been added to your Cart
Want it Tuesday, Aug. 16? Order within and choose this date at checkout.
Ship to:
Select a shipping address:
To see addresses, please
or
Please enter a valid US zip code.
or
FREE Shipping on orders over $25.
Used: Good | Details
Sold by BK Buys
Fulfilled by Amazon
Condition: Used: Good
Comment: some pages have highlighting/markings; cover has light wear

Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) is a service we offer sellers that lets them store their products in Amazon's fulfillment centers, and we directly pack, ship, and provide customer service for these products. Something we hope you'll especially enjoy: FBA items qualify for FREE Shipping and .

If you're a seller, Fulfillment by Amazon can help you increase your sales. We invite you to learn more about Fulfillment by Amazon .

Sorry, there was a problem.

There was an error retrieving your Wish Lists. Please try again.

Sorry, there was a problem.

List unavailable.
Have one to sell? Sell on Amazon
Flip to back Flip to front
Listen Playing... Paused   You're listening to a sample of the Audible audio edition.
Learn more
See all 3 images

The Joy of Calvinism: Knowing God's Personal, Unconditional, Irresistible, Unbreakable Love Paperback – February 29, 2012

by
Greg Forster (Author)
› Visit Amazon's Greg Forster Page
Find all the books, read about the author, and more.
See search results for this author
Are you an author? Learn about Author Central
Greg Forster (Author)
4.2 out of 5 stars 21 customer reviews
See all 2 formats and editions Hide other formats and editions
Price
New from Used from
Kindle
"Please retry"
$7.41
— —
Paperback
"Please retry"
$11.74
$5.99 $4.70
The Strength You Need: The Twelve Great Strength Passages of the Bible by Robert Morgan
The Strength You Need
The popular new release from Robert Morgan. Learn more
$11.74 FREE Shipping on orders with at least $25 of books. Only 10 left in stock (more on the way). Ships from and sold by Amazon.com. Gift-wrap available.
click to open popover

Frequently Bought Together

  • The Joy of Calvinism: Knowing God's Personal, Unconditional, Irresistible, Unbreakable Love
  • +
  • Killing Calvinism: How to Destroy a Perfectly Good Theology from the Inside
Total price: $21.73
Buy the selected items together
If you buy a new print edition of this book (or purchased one in the past), you can buy the Kindle edition for only $2.99 (Save 70%). Print edition purchase must be sold by Amazon. Learn more.
For thousands of qualifying books, your past, present, and future print-edition purchases now lets you buy the Kindle edition for $2.99 or less. (Textbooks available for $9.99 or less.)
  • Thousands of books are eligible, including current and former best sellers.
  • Look for the Kindle MatchBook icon on print and Kindle book detail pages of qualifying books. You can also see more Kindle MatchBook titles here or look up all of your Kindle MatchBook titles here.
  • Read the Kindle edition on any Kindle device or with a free Kindle Reading App.
  • Print edition must be purchased new and sold by Amazon.com.
  • Gifting of the Kindle edition at the Kindle MatchBook price is not available.
Learn more about Kindle MatchBook.
The latest book club pick from Oprah
"The Underground Railroad" by Colson Whitehead is a magnificent novel chronicling a young slave's adventures as she makes a desperate bid for freedom in the antebellum South. See more

Product Details

  • Paperback: 208 pages
  • Publisher: Crossway (February 29, 2012)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1433528347
  • ISBN-13: 978-1433528347
  • Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 0.5 x 8.5 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #857,247 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

    •  Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?

Customer Reviews

Top Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 starsbest introduction to Calvinism I've read
By Joan N. on February 14, 2012
Format: Paperback
Foster reminds us of the command to rejoice without ceasing. He writes, "...if you want to understand the command to rejoice at all times, and still more if you want to obey it, of all places you might start looking for help with that problem, the best place to start is with Calvinism." (14) More specifically, soteriology - the understanding of how sinners are saved - as developed from Calvin.
"Real Calvinism is all about joy." (16) We Calvinists need to do a better job of communicating that. We need to be affirmative, expressing the joy of living in the truth of Calvinistic theology. Foster gives us a blueprint for that very task in this book.
His goal is, "to tell you what Calvinism says, especially what it says about your everyday walk with God and the purpose of the Christian life, and how you can have the joy of God even in spite of whatever trials and suffering the Lord has called you to endure." (22)
Most people are badly mistaken about Calvinism (even Calvinists) so Foster takes a detour and clears up some mistaken thoughts about Calvinism. (As a Calvinist myself, I really appreciated this section.)
Foster tackles God's love for individuals (as opposed to God loving "humanity" in general), and what that means regarding salvation. (It is an excellent passage.) He also notes that Calvinism is not "all about predestination and God's sovereignty" though he does note Calvinists have a "high" view of those areas to preserve other important doctrines. He notes that a distinctive of Calvin's theology was a "high" view of the work of the Holy Spirit (supernatural regeneration).Read more ›
2 Comments 22 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Sending feedback...
Thank you for your feedback.
Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again
Report abuse
5.0 out of 5 starsIt's Just That Good
By Matt Boswell on March 19, 2012
Format: Paperback Verified Purchase
Last month I had gone back and reread Sproul's "Grace Unknown" (aka "What Is Reformed Theology"). While it still ranks as among my favorite beginner lessons in the "The Doctrines of Grace / The Five Points of Calvinism," it also lacks something that Forster brings to the table - joyful wonder.

I will not go into a long review of this book for one reason; it's so good you should just read it for yourself. I agree with another reviewer who pointed out that writers such as Piper and Packer unpack these things in a more through way, but they do so indirectly. Their works are less about looking at Calvinism's "Five Points" and more about Calvinists looking at God with different "points of five" appearing here and there. Forster on the other hand tackles the doctrines of grace straight on and in a way far more inspirational than just how each point relies on the next for a cogent argument. As an added bonus Forster tosses in obscure factual nuggets or under-utilized philosophical ideas that make the book feel a bit more like learning about the five points all over again. It was that freshness that perhaps most caught my attention and jumps Forster's book to the top of my "favorites on the five points" list.

One thing I am still undecided on is where having some basic knowledge of the five points is helpful or not in reading the book. Forster doesn't make much use of the traditional labels for each point (i.e. TULIP). If you know the points then you know what he is talking about as he speaks to the content of each point while bypassing the brand. If on the other hand you didn't know the traditional labels when you started you still won't by the time you finish. The ideas? Yes! The labels? No!Read more ›
Comment 13 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Sending feedback...
Thank you for your feedback.
Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again
Report abuse
4.0 out of 5 starsDripping with Joy: Learning the Doctrines of Grace the Right Way
By Dr. David Steele on March 19, 2012
Format: Paperback
The title of Greg Forster's book will prompt one of two responses: People will mutter inappropriate words under their breath or they will rejoice in the truthfulness on the cover.

The Joy of Calvinism is meant to be a buffer to the traditional arguments that have ransacked Calvinistic theology for decades. And Forster accomplishes his task with a great deal of skill.

The thesis: "Real Calvinism is about joy." But the author essentially argues that Calvinism has been poorly explained and even misrepresented - especially in the twentieth century. An example is the acrostic, TULIP which he rightly notes is not a formulation of the famous Synod of Dort (1618-1619). Rather, it is more of an expression that was popularized by Lorraine Boettner in his book, The Reformed Doctrine of Predestination. While Forster's argument is a bit overstated, it carries a certain amount of weight. He suggests a new formulation as outlined below:

State of man before salvation: wholly defiled

Work of the Father in salvation: unconditional choice

Work of the Son in salvation: personal salvation

Work of the Spirit in salvation: supernatural transformation

State of man after salvation: in faith, perseverance

The book responds well to the classic arguments that emerge from Arminian and Roman Catholic perspectives. Forster's writing is humble, thought-provoking, challenging, and affirms historic Calvinistic theology with warm-hearted enthusiasm. It is a welcome addition to a growing number of books that eagerly promote Calvinism - what Spurgeon called, "a nickname for biblical Christianity."

[...]
Comment 5 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Sending feedback...
Thank you for your feedback.
Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again
Report abuse

Most Recent Customer Reviews

1.0 out of 5 starsPlease beware. There is nothing "joyful" about this dangerous ...

Please beware. There is nothing "joyful" about this dangerous doctrine. Do not be fooled, and do not fall for what may actually sounds intriguing but is theologically... Read more

Published 10 months ago by MyKe Harbuck, Byron GA
4.0 out of 5 starsThe author understands what it means to love and has lived in the real...

Someone finally has been able to strip down the essence of Calvinism! The author understands what it means to love and has lived in the real world of sin and suffering to explain... Read more

Published 16 months ago by Socio-physicist
5.0 out of 5 starsMark Donaldson's review of The Joy Of Calvinism

Very good read. It takes Calvinism and removes a lot of the esoterica and hyperbole that surrounds Reformed Theology as a whole. It puts it in our world; in our culture. Read more

Published 19 months ago by Mark Ward Donaldson
5.0 out of 5 starsFive Stars

excellent discussion on joy and the reformed position.

Published 21 months ago by Prince Leonil
5.0 out of 5 starsBlessed by this book

We Calvinists have a problem. And it's not Calvin or Calvinism, but our failure to communicate to other Christians what we believe concerning God and his saving work. Read more

Published on March 26, 2013 by Scott Johnson
4.0 out of 5 starsPaints a Beautiful Picture of Calvinism

When I began the book I thought it was going to be a typical book on Calvinism, highlighting the 5 points and explaining the truths of this doctrine in a different way. Read more

Published on March 13, 2013 by Tim Michiemo
5.0 out of 5 starsStirred Joy in Me

Calvinism.

What comes to your mind when you hear that word? Some hear that word and start foaming at the mouth. For many this word elicits debate. Read more

Published on February 15, 2013 by Michael Leake
4.0 out of 5 starsA Reminder of God's Personal Love

Greg Forster's book The Joy of Calvinism (published by Crossway) was not at all what I expected and that was actually refreshing. Read more

Published on July 15, 2012 by Scott
5.0 out of 5 starsCalvinism + Joy = Possible?

Forster, Greg. 2012. The Joy of Calvinism: Knowing God's Personal, Unconditional, Irresistible, Unbreakable Love. Crossway: Wheaton, IL

Dr. Read more

Published on July 13, 2012 by Richard and Mimi Hogaboam
5.0 out of 5 starsLove and predestination

God is Love; the sum of the Ten Commandments is to love God with all your heart and soul plus to love your neighbor as yourself. Read more

Published on May 24, 2012 by Philip S. Roeda

Set up an Amazon Giveaway

The Joy of Calvinism: Knowing God's Personal, Unconditional, Irresistible, Unbreakable Love
Amazon Giveaway allows you to run promotional giveaways in order to create buzz, reward your audience, and attract new followers and customers. Learn more about Amazon Giveaway
This item: The Joy of Calvinism: Knowing God's Personal, Unconditional, Irresistible, Unbreakable Love
Set up a giveaway

There's a problem loading this menu right now.

Learn more about Amazon Prime.