Dear Editor,
I don’t often write, but want to thank you for all the good things that reach us and Christ’s church through the medium of en.
I was sorry to read that Andrew Clayton-Stead (en March 2023) has written off Calvinism as unbiblical. Acknowledging that Calvinism is neither identical to ‘what Calvin taught’ nor can be reduced to ‘believing in election’, it nevertheless seems the best effort so far to do balanced justice to doctrine found in the whole of Scripture, with a special concern for God’s glory.
I readily admit that the acronym TULIP is ripe for the scrap heap, having produced more confusion than clarity: there is a lot more to Calvinism than ‘five points’ or five chapters of confessional output from the 1618–1619 synod in The Netherlands (The Canons of Dort) which TULIP supposedly represents, but with which it has no historical association. The Canons are a reactive consensus document, formulated in response to the five chapters of the Arminian Remonstrance. Since the Canons speak in a much more nuanced way on [the] ‘five points of Calvinism’ than TULIP simplistically suggests, I personally now use TULIP as a summary of what the five points do not state – Total depravity: sin pervades all aspects of life, but by grace we are not as bad as we could be; Unconditional election: God’s grace is toward all that He has made, His sovereignty extends to all aspects of life and creation, including our salvation; Limited atonement: as a result of His divinity the value/worth/sufficiency of Christ’s sacrifice is inexhaustible, there is a crucified Saviour for the whole world; Irresistible grace: God’s purposes will be most surely realised, but much of His grace goes unacknowledged and is rejected; Perseverance of the saints: their safe arrival in glory is entirely due to the certainty of God’s purpose, His grace, patience and continued forgiveness.
An in-depth analysis of the inadequacy of TULIP (‘It is remarkable how quickly bad ideas catch on’, p.58) is found in Richard A. Muller’s Calvin and the Reformed Tradition (Baker Academic 2012). You may find that you are more of a Calvinist than TULIP made you believe you were…
Yours sincerely,
Dr Nijs Stam Tonbridge, Kent
