What is Calvinism?

I. Preliminaries

I've discussed this before, but now I'd like to offer a more comprehensive statement. This will reflect my own understanding.

Calvinism is often defined by the "five points of Calvinism". But while that's an integral element of Calvinism, it's a reductionistic definition. 

There's a distinction between Reformed distinctives and Reformed essentials. Calvinism shares many essentials in common with other theological traditions. Usually the question "what is Calvinism" has reference to things that distinguish Calvinism from freewill theism or (traditionally) Catholicism. But it's misleading to define a theological tradition primarily by what makes it different from other theological traditions. 

Even in that respect, Reformed distinctives aren't necessarily unique to Calvinism. Calvinism is not the only predestinarian theological tradition. There's Augustinianism, classical Thomism, and Jansenism. 

This post is not a defense of Calvinism, but an exposition of some key tenets.

II. Snapshot definitions

i) Philosophical definition

Calvinism is the view that everything happens for a reason. 

ii) Theological definition

Calvinism is the view that salvation is by grace alone. Sinners make no independent contribution to their salvation.

III. Absolute universal predestination

God has predestined every event. Physical events and mental events. "Blueprint" predestination. A master plan or plot. 

Predestination is absolute in the sense that nothing outside of God conditioned his plan. Predestination isn't based on what will happen; rather, what will happen is based on predestination.

Calvinism allows for alternate possibilities. However, what might have been isn't independent of God. Rather, possible worlds reflect God's imagination. 

Events are conditionally necessary by virtue of predestination. Given predestination, everything must happen according to plan. 

That doesn't mean predestination is antecedently necessary. Leibniz thought there was a best possible world, and the principle of sufficient reason required God to choose the best possible world.

However, I don't believe there's a best possible world. There are better possible worlds and worse possible worlds. No one world history contains all possible goods. 

In principle, God could create more than one possible world. In principle, God could create a less good world. 

Predestination means human agents lack freedom in the sense that human agents can never think or act contrary to what has been predestined. That doesn't preclude other concepts of freedom. The definition of freewill didn't fall from the sky. Rather, that's a philosophical issue subject to various constructions. 

IV. Unconditional election

Election is unconditional in the sense that God's choice isn't base on human merit or foreseen receptivity to the Gospel. 

That doesn't mean election is a roll of the dice. God can still have reasons for electing some individuals and reprobating others. Humans are agents. A world in which you have a different distribution of elect and reprobate will have a different world history. If God reprobated Abraham, that would change the course of world history. Election can take into consideration the plot that God prefers. 

V. Reprobation

There's an asymmetry between election and reprobation. Unlike election, reprobation has an element of conditionality–although it's not contingent on anything independent of God. God doesn't damn anyone who's innocent. Guilt is a necessary but insufficient condition of reprobation. If guilt was a sufficient condition, all sinners would be damned. 

VI. Meticulous providence

Providence is the mirror-image of predestination. Providence is predestination in its execution while predestination is providence in its intention (Warfield). The scope of providence is commensurate with the scope of predestination. God's plan unfolds by means of primary causation and secondary causation, creation and miracle. 

VII. Original sin

i) All humans are held guilty in Adam

That doesn't preclude actual sin. 

ii) All humans are morally corrupted. 

Original sin includes spiritual inability. Absent monergistic regeneration, humans are unreceptive to the Gospel. 

That's another sense in which humans lack freedom. That's narrower than lack of freedom due to predestination, and unlike predestination, where inability to do otherwise is absolute, spiritual inability is not absolute. Spiritual renewal enables a sinner to be receptive to the Gospel.

Spiritual inability doesn't preclude other kinds of freedom. It's not an intellectual impediment to understanding the Gospel. People can hate an unwelcome truth. 

VIII. Redemption

i) Limited atonement

Christ died to redeem elect sinners.

ii) Vicarious atonement

Christ died on behalf of and in place of the elect.

iii) Penal substitution

The sacrificial death of Christ satisfies the justice of God.

IX. Regeneration

Regeneration is causally prior to faith. Regeneration is a source of faith. The Gospel is the object of faith while regeneration restores an irrepressible predisposition to believe the Gospel. 

X. Justification

i) Although sanctifying grace is a necessary condition of salvation, justification is contingent on faith alone. 

ii) When God justifies sinners, he imputes the merit of Christ's atonement to believers (an ascribed status). 

XI. Perseverance

Those whom God elects, redeems, and regenerates cannot fail to be saved. While it's possible for a professing Christian to commit apostasy, it's not possible for a born-again Christian to lose his salvation.