A Calvinist pastor's 9-11 sermons (vs. C.S. Lewis)

In "honor" of the anniversary of 9-11, I thought I'd share on my blogs some quotes from my Calvinist ex-pastor's sermons about 9-11 or around the anniversary of 9-11.  

I'm so sorry to share these.  Please don't read them if you were greatly hurt by 9-11, or any other tragedy.  (And speaking of tragedy: It's absolutely horrible and heartbreaking that Charlie Kirk was assassinated.  It's just so senseless.  It's not like he was a powerful political leader who made laws or rules that people didn't like or that affected their families or anything like that.  He was just a normal guy who debated views and shared his opinions - opinions that some people didn't like.  And for that someone killed him!?!  Something isn't right here.  May God expose what it is, and bring about justice, and protect and care for his family.  My heart goes out to them!  Heartbreaking!)  

But these 9-11 sermons are great examples of how hyper-focused Calvinists can be on God's "sovereignty," to the point that they can't even hear how heartless and tone-deaf (and unbiblical!) they sound about a horrible tragedy that destroyed many people and families and that greatly wounded our country.  (And I admit that it's sickening timing to share these sermons right after Charlie was killed, because these Calvinist sermons are all about God ordaining all evils and tragedies.  Ugh.😔)  

Calvinists can't even comprehend - or don't care about - the damage they might be doing to someone's faith in God.  All they can think about is that they are supposedly glorifying God by singing the praises of His "sovereign control" and encouraging others to do the same, regardless of the tragedy that happened.  (And they wonder why Calvinism makes people sick!)

My goal here is not to sling mud or to break people's hearts or shake people's faith, but it's to expose Calvinism for the anti-gospel, anti-truth, anti-God theology that it is.  My goal is to wake people up and, yes, to be divisive - to do what I can to cut out a cancer that's invaded the church and is slowly killing it.  Calvinism has hijacked our churches for far too long, and it needs to be stopped.  But it can't be stopped if we keep ignoring it or politely tolerating it.  And so I keep writing and sharing these things.  [God, help us!  What a mess the Church has become!]

[My comments are in brackets, black, and italics.]  

Sourdough Sandwich Bread Recipes and Videos

My son recently got a new job and brings a turkey sandwich to work every day for lunch.  And to keep up with his bread-consumption and make it easier for him, I've been buying loaves of non-organic white bread every week.  Yuck!  (And even just the thought of turkey every day makes me gag.  I don't know how he can stand it.)   

I hate it that I have to buy non-organic white bread, but he's a picky eater and won't eat the heavy whole-wheat organic ones, especially if they have seeds or nuts in them.  But that seems to be all I can find out here lately.  

And while the organic, artisan-type loaves of sourdough I've been baking are wonderful (I'll share my recipe and process eventually), they're too large and holey for his sandwiches.  So we've been stuck with the non-organic white bread for now.

But no more!  I'm sick of it.  And I hate feeding it to him.  And so it's time to find a good sourdough sandwich bread recipe, one that makes a nice, softer, tighter-crumbed loaf of sourdough that slices thin and holds together well (and freezes nicely, because we always freeze the extras - sourdough freezes and thaws beautifully).  

Hopefully one of these will work.  It's worth a try.   

Baker Bettie (video): Sourdough Sandwich Bread Full Process, Soft Sourdough Loaf (I want to try this one next)... and here's the written recipe on a blog post: "Sourdough Sandwich Bread"

Lovely Bell Bakes (blog): "Super Soft Fresh Milled Sourdough Sandwich Bread"

Farmhouse on Boone (blog): "Sourdough Sandwich Bread"

Wagon Wheel Farmstead (blog): "Soft Sourdough Sandwich Bread, Easy Recipe"

Feast and Farm Cooks (video): Sourdough Sandwich Bread Recipe (easy beginner recipe)

Muscle Momma Sourdough (video): Soft Sourdough Sandwich Bread, step by step beginners guide... (and written recipe)

The Bread Code (a video that's not about sandwich bread but helpful in general, and I really enjoy this guy for some reason, maybe it's his accent or neighborly personality): 18 Sourdough Basics you should know

When Calvinists say "But predestination!" (tiny, bare-bones version)

[This is from my other blogs, but I figured I'd put it here too.  Just to heavy things up a bit.  It's my tiniest version of my "But predestination!" post.  The short version with more memes and quotes and information can be found here, and the longest version (a series of posts full of many more Calvinist comments, my Calvinist ex-pastor's sermons, and my replies to them, written for my own amusement and for my ex-church) can be found by starting here.  But this tiny version includes only the most basic parts you need to know, with a few memes and quotes thrown in to spice it up.]

At the heart of Calvinism is predestination and God's sovereignty (among other things, like "total depravity"), which according to Calvinism essentially amounts to: "God preplans and controls everything, even sin and evil and all our decisions, and so He pre-picks who goes to heaven and who goes to hell.  He causes the 'elect' to believe in Him and be saved, but He made sure the 'non-elect' have no chance or ability to believe and be saved because He predetermined they'd go to hell (and so Jesus never died for them anyway), all for His glory."

And if we push back against this - if we say Jesus died for all people and God offers salvation to all people and that He lets us decide to accept or reject it - Calvinists go "But God is sovereign, and predestination is in the Bible, and so you have to believe it!"  

But the problem is not that we misunderstand the Bible or can't accept biblical truth.  It's that Calvinists mis-define both sovereignty and predestination (among other things).  

Calvinism for beginners

How do you help someone understand the errors, dangers, and cult-like tactics of Calvinism when they aren't even really sure yet what it is or what it teaches?  Where do you start?  

My kids know that my husband and I believe Calvinism is a corruption of God's truth and character.  They know because we left our church over it in 2019 - the church they grew up in for many years - and because we haven't stopped researching and talking... venting?... lamenting?... complaining?... about it since.

They know we want them to avoid it.  But I'm not sure how much they really understand for themselves what it is and why it's wrong... or if they would know how to recognize it if they encountered it unexpectedly in a church or book, if we weren't there to point it out and explain it.  

And so to help them (teenagers right now) understand for themselves what it teaches and why it's wrong, we recommended that they watch some Soteriology 101 videos about it.  But then after clicking on a few, I realized how overwhelming it could be to try to find clear, concise videos that would help a beginner understand the basics in a simplified, easy-to-understand-yet-comprehensive way.  Many videos about Calvinism online seem to jump right into the middle of it, assuming that you already know something about it, about its teachings, errors, use of terms/Bible verses, tactics, about what Scripture really teaches, etc.  

Do babies go to heaven or hell? A critque of Calvinism's answer

[This is an update of my original post on this topic.  I wanted to shorten it a bit, make it more readable, and add few notes, verses, and links.]

(Okay, so, I'm gonna try to contain my anger with Calvinism on this one, but I'm not going to do a good job of it.)

Let me start by saying that I believe that babies and mentally-handicapped people are not held accountable for being unable to trust in Jesus as Lord and Savior.  I believe that in their innocent state, God covers them with His saving grace.  As we age, though, we learn about right and wrong and become capable of making conscious decisions, and it is then that we become accountable for our decisions.

But Calvinism doesn't - can't - agree.  [Many Calvinists believe that babies who die go to heaven, but they are being inconsistent with their theology.  And I'll explain why later.]

I do not claim to know for sure what the Bible teaches about this issue or to be able to explain how everything works out.  This is just the best I understand it, based on what I believe the Bible says.  Also, please know that I've never lost a child, so this isn't coming from a place of emotional distress.  It's coming from a place of anger - righteous anger - for what Calvinism does to God's character, the Word, and people's hope, faith, and their relationship with God.

God's Greatest Priority (and why there's a hell)

Calvinists believe that God's greatest priority - His primary reason for making people - is to get more glory for Himself, and that He gets it through ordaining sin and predestining people to hell.  They think that this is why people are in hell: for God's glory, that He gets glory when He shows off His justice by punishing sin and evil.  And so He needed sin and evil and non-elect people to punish or else He couldn't fully display all His attributes to get praise and glory for them.  

[But remember that - in Calvinism - people don't actually get to choose whether or not they want to believe in Jesus.  God decides for them.  He decides who won't believe and prevents them from being able to believe, and then He punishes them for not believing, even though they never had the chance or ability to believe, by God's decree.  This is a far different kind of "justice" than punishing people who actually deserve it, who had a choice.  In fact, it's no justice at all.  It's injustice passed off as justice.]    

The 9 Marks of a Calvinist Cult (tiny version)

Here is the teeniest-tiniest version of my "9 Marks of a Calvinist Cult" post, the bare bones.  (For the shortened version, click here.  And here are links to the individual long chapters: #1 deception ... #2 hidden agendas ... #3 multiple layers ... #4 strategic tactics ... #5 isolation and control ... #6 fear/coercion ... #7 mind-control/thought-reform ... #8 gaslighting ... #9 authoritarian narcissists ... conclusion and links)

A Psychology Today article - Understanding Cults: The Basics - shares some characteristics of cults and how they operate (I've condensed some of them here to three main points): 

The 9 Marks of a Calvinist Cult (short version)

 Here is the shorter version of my "9 Marks of a Calvinist Cult" post.  I took out almost all the memes and quotes and my comments and the Bible verses and links, leaving just enough to give you a full-enough picture.  But I highly recommend reading the original version someday, if you haven't already, because it's quite eye-opening.  At least, I think so.  But it does take almost 3 hours to read, which is why I made this short one.  [And here are links to the individual long chapters: #1 deception ... #2 hidden agendas ... #3 multiple layers ... #4 strategic tactics ... #5 isolation and control ... #6 fear/coercion ... #7 mind-control/thought-reform ... #8 gaslighting ... #9 authoritarian narcissists ... conclusion and links]

A Psychology Today article - Understanding Cults: The Basics - shares some characteristics of cults and how they operate (I've condensed some of them here to three main points): 

1. No one knowingly, voluntarily joins a cult, but they are "recruited" into it by cult leaders who take advantage of the vulnerabilities of the recruits, using deception and manipulation to suck them in.

2. Cults use isolation, control, fear, coercion, mind-control, and thought-reform to enslave the members to the cult.  The members' "inner voices" are suppressed.

3. Cults are authoritarian (disagreeing with or opposing the leader is not allowed), and cult leaders are malignant narcissists.

And I think this kinda fits Calvinism, especially Stealth Calvinism.  And so, based on these, I came up with 9 marks that I think identify Calvinism as a cult.  Or more accurately, "cult-ish."  You decide if you agree or disagree.  

But don't take my word about any of this.  Who am I?  I'm nobody.  Don't trust me.  Dig into the research and Bible for yourself before forming your conclusions.  Be a good Berean!

“Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.” (Acts 17:11)

Say a prayer for Russell Brand

It sounds like Russell Brand is on quite a journey to find truth... actually, to find the Way, the Truth, and the Life.  He seems, to me, to be on the cusp of true believing faith.  He's at least on the right track, headed in the right direction.  Say a prayer for him.

Russell brand says Christ is becoming 'more important,' desires a 'personal relationship' with God 

9 Marks of a Calvinist Cult: Conclusion and Links

(I'll be posting a lot less in the New Year, gonna focus on reading instead of writing.  Happy New Year.  And God bless you all!)

[This series is "The 9 Marks of a Calvinist Cult" split up into smaller, individual posts.] 

Conclusion:

Sadly, the Psychology Today article lists some of the lasting effects of cults, the devastation it has on people's hearts and minds, such as (among others): extreme identity confusion, panic/anxiety attacks, depression, anger and guilt and shame, inability to make their own decisions (to trust their own judgment), fear of intimacy and commitment, distrust of others, grieving the loss of family and friends, loss of meaning or purpose, PTSD, etc.

I think Calvinism does this to people too.  I think the longer someone stays in a Calvinist church, the more it will destroy their faith (what should be a simple faith), their relationship with God, their trust of God, and their ability to discern truth for themselves, to understand the Bible the way God meant it to be understood.  And if and when someone leaves a Calvinist church, it may destroy their relationships with others and their ability/desire to get involved in a new church.

9 Marks of a Calvinist Cult #9 (authoritarian narcissists)

[This series is "The 9 Marks of a Calvinist Cult" split up into smaller, individual posts.] 

Cults are authoritarian (disagreeing with or opposing the leaders is not allowed), and cult leaders are malignant narcissists.

9. "Cults are authoritarian (disagreeing with or opposing the leader is not allowed)"...

The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association - in the article "How do cults differ from Christianity?" - lists these things as characteristics of a cult (my paraphrase): 

Cults reject the basic beliefs of the Chistian faith.  They act like they alone have the truth and that we must come to them to get it.  They have their own writings which they add to the Bible or replace the Bible with. They have a strong leader who demands obedience and claims to speak for God. 

Now, of course, Calvinists don't reject the basic beliefs of the Bible; they just redefine them, qualify them, or add other layers to them until they become something completely different.  

And they do believe they have the truth.  But don't we all?  We all think we have "the truth."  No one willingly believes a lie.  

But what makes Calvinism different than mere Christianity is this: 

9 Marks of a Calvinist Cult #8 (gaslighting)

[This series is "The 9 Marks of a Calvinist Cult" split up into smaller, individual posts.] 

(Merry Christmas, everyone!  Hope you have a blessed holiday season.)

8. Silencing the members' inner voices

Gaslighting: manipulating people into doubting their own sanity, memory, or powers of reasoning.  

And "manipulating people into doubting their own power of reasoning" is what Calvinists do (even if they don't mean to).  It's one of the reasons it spreads so unopposed, so easily.

In addition to manipulative-shaming, Calvinists have ways of getting us to doubt our abilities to correctly think, judge, and understand things.  They make us feel like if we disagree with Calvinism, then there's something wrong with us, not with their theology.  This causes us to question our discernment and to possibly ignore any doubts or "red flags" we get.  (Or at least to keep quiet about them because we fear others distrusting our discernment too.)

And if we can't trust our own judgment and discernment, guess whose we'll trust?  

That's right: theirs.  Just like they want.  

Celebrating with Danica McKellar!

 "... there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents." (Luke 15:10)

Let's celebrate the new birth of another celebrity who recently-ish came to faith in Christ: Danica McKellar (best remembered by those in my generation as Winnie Cooper from "The Wonder Years")

"'The Holy Spirit Came to Me': Hollywood Star Danica McKellar Embraces Christianity, Finds 'Amazing Freedom'"

(Click on the video in the article.  She's such a darling.)  

God bless her!  And...

9 Marks of a Calvinist Cult #7 (thought-reform)

 [This series is "The 9 Marks of a Calvinist Cult" split up into smaller, individual posts.] 

7. Mind-Control, Thought-Reform

Reforming people's thoughts is absolutely necessary for Stealth Calvinism (or even non-stealth Calvinism) to be effective.  Strategic brainwashing.  (A lot of how they control/modify our thoughts has already been addressed, so I won't repeat all that.  Much.)

Controlling the language: Remember, whoever controls the language also controls the conversation and destination.  

Calvinist pastors control the direction of the church by controlling not just the resources and staff, but also controlling the definitions of words, the theological language we speak.  And by controlling the words (and verses), they can slowly modify our thinking and our perspectives on God and His Word, causing us to see everything through the lens of Calvinism - until we can't remember how to read the Bible in a clear, plain, commonsense way anymore.

(See "Calvinist Bad Logic #1: Never Let a Calvinist Define the Terms!".)

9 Marks of a Calvinist Cult #6 (fear, coercion)

[This series is "The 9 Marks of a Calvinist Cult" split up into smaller, individual posts.] 

6. Fear and Coercion

None of us wants to be an unhumble, divisive, God-dishonoring, glory-stealing Christian, do we?  These are fears of any good Christian.

Calvinist pastors know this and use it their advantage (even if it's not totally deliberate).

In that "10 things to know..." article I linked to above, the author points out this mark of a cult: "Cults maintain their power by promoting an 'us vs. them' mentality."

Calvinists will use flattery and shaming (forms of manipulation) to do just this: to create an "us vs. them" dichotomy, to coerce people into Calvinism.  They will talk in such a way that makes those who agree with them feel like good Christians and those who disagree feel like bad Christians.  

Calling Out High-and-Mighty, Holier-Than-Thou Judges in Defense of Kat Von D

I read a post from a Christian the other day that bugs me so much I've gotta address it.  It's a post from the Rapture Ready website called "An Artist's Testimony or Agenda?"  And it's basically a Christian calling a newly-born-again celebrity a "false convert."  

And the "proof" that this Christian uses to support their case are things like the celebrity said she wasn't planning on changing her goth looks, that she didn't burn her witchcraft books but merely threw them out, that she's "BFF's" with a satanist, that she thinks skulls are beautiful, that she recently released a song with some nasty lyrics (and yes, I agree they're nasty), and that she said she refuses to talk about her faith on her social media accounts anymore, etc. 

And because of things like these, this Christian "judge" (named Candy) declares the celebrity guilty - a "false convert" and possibly one of the "Satanists/Luciferians" who are "God-haters who use every chance they get to mock our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, even to the point of using 'Trojan Horse assimilation' into the church."

But do you know what I think?

9 Marks of a Calvinist Cult #5 (isolation, control)

[This series is "The 9 Marks of a Calvinist Cult" split up into smaller, individual posts.] 

Cults use isolation, control, fear, coercion, mind-control, and thought-reform to enslave the members to the cult.  The members' "inner voices" are suppressed.

5. Information Isolation and Control

Of course, Calvinists don't physically isolate members in a commune or anything like that, as more extreme cults have.  But Calvinist pastors do practice various forms of "mental" isolation by controlling the information and resources.  

From the very beginning, Calvinist pastors set out to carefully control the information we get, the resources we have access to, the verses we hear, who's in charge, etc.

Verses: Calvinists will ignore verses that contradict or disprove Calvinism, but highly favor those that can be twisted/interpreted to support it.  

For example: Calvinist pastors fill their sermons with verses that appear to fit their view that God preplans, causes, controls everything, such as Job 42:2 "... no plan of yours can be thwarted" and Proverbs 21:1 "The king's heart is in the hand of the Lord; he directs it like a watercourse wherever he pleases".  [Notice that these verses record Job and Solomon's words about God.]

But they ignore verses that contradict their Calvinist views, such as Jeremiah 19:5 "They have built the high places to Baal to burn their sons in the fire as offerings to Baal - something I did not command or mention, nor did it enter my mind" and 1 Kings 20:42 "He said to the king, 'This is what the Lord says: 'You have set free a man I had determined should die.''" [Their response to a verse like this would be the ridiculous - and possibly blasphemous - "God decrees that people break His decrees." (And notice that these verses record God's own words about Himself.)]

Celebrating with Rob Schneider!

"... there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents."  (Luke 15:10)

I don't really pay attention to the personal lives of actors or actresses, because I don't really care what they do.

But I do pay attention when anyone comes to the faith in Jesus Christ, because I really care about people and want everyone to experience the forgiveness, healing, hope, and eternal life that can only be found in Jesus.  And I especially enjoy the testimonies of people who come to Christ as adults.  They usually have such rich stories to share, such thoughtful reasons for why they left the life they had to turn to Christ.

And so today I am writing this in honor of actor Rob Schneider who recently came to faith in Jesus.  

The angels are celebrating his salvation right now, so let's celebrate it too!

(And I had no idea he had such deep thoughts about some really significant things until I read this message from him on X.  It's really good!  Thank you for sharing, Rob.)

Congratulations, Rob!  God bless you and guide you on your journey of faith.  And welcome to the family!

9 Marks of a Calvinist Cult #4 (strategic tactics)

[This series is "The 9 Marks of a Calvinist Cult" split up into smaller, individual posts.] 

4. The Fun Stuff (Strategic Tactics)

Besides their hidden "buts" and multiple layers, Calvinists employ a wide range of other tactics to hook, trick, trap, and reel us into Calvinism slowly, covertly.  (But they don't do it to just us.  They are victims of these tactics too, having allowed themselves to be tricked and trapped by them also.)  

The tactics they use (no matter how unintentional they might be) are things such as: 

... false dichotomies.  

      "Either God saves us, or else we save ourselves... Either God controls everything, or else He controls nothing... Either God is in charge, or else we are in charge."  It's super-polarized - and badly-polarized - on purpose, to force you to reject the ridiculous option and pick the Calvinist one.  See Calvinist Bad Logic #7: False Dichotomies. 

Healing your soul from Calvinism's damage

[updated April 2024]

For the 6 years that the new Calvinist pastor was at our church, subtly teaching his Calvinism, my soul was starving.  I'm not kidding; I could feel it starving.  Shriveling up dry.  It wasn't dying - because I have a very strong faith, and my faith is in God, not in some preacher - but it was starved for truth and encouragement and joy, etc.  (See "Why Is Calvinism So Dangerous?")

And it wasn't just because of what he was teaching, but it was also because of what he wasn't teaching.  He hardly talked about God's love for us, how God cares about us, how He helps us in the hard times, etc.  There was no real encouragement, compassion, grace, love, hope, etc.  At least not in my eyes.  

Instead, it was often lofty, academic knowledge for the head, hardly ever comfort for the heart.  (I think he was more "professor" than "shepherd," more "this is what I think and how I do things, and so should you" than "Let me come alongside you in this hard life and help you on your journey of faith."  But maybe that's just me.)  And it was often about how depraved we are, how much we don't deserve God's love, how much we deserve hell, how we should just ignore that God predestines people to hell and be thankful that He chose to save any of us wretched sinners (the lucky lottery winners!), and how God "ordains" every evil that happens and every tragedy we go through - including childhood abuse - for our good, for His glory, and to keep us humble.  

No wonder my heart was aching and my soul was starving!  

(See "Are we only here for God's glory?  What about God's love?" and "Is God only concerned about His glory and being famous?" and "Does God cause childhood abuse?" for more on this.)