“THE OBSESSIVE SELF CENTERED CALVINIST”

With the Calvinist’s obsession with his own internal and moral condition … he calls it total depravity … he elevates his focus … over and above … the purpose of Christ on the cross.

God’s purpose … first and foremost … at the cross … was to pay himself the highest honour of fulfilling his own law.

It was a LEGAL act.

With the understanding of a baboon in a chemistry class, the Calvinist misunderstands the phrase of dead in trespasses and sins as being his internal moral condition of total depravity … NOT his legal standing to the law.

And this psychological, mental and spiritual albatross will continue to his death, with only his piety and perseverance … being his only salvation assurance.

Furthermore, the scriptures state … by simply believing … a man can have legal and righteous standing with God … free from the curse of the law (John 3:16).

Q: “What if no man ever availed himself of this?”

A: You can almost hear God in heaven say … “No worries! I paid the ultimate price for man … too bad so sad that no-one got saved … I’ve done my bit.”

The Calvinist’s anthropomorphic internal anxiety with himself ... let’s call it his MORAL condition … has blinded his eyes to seeing the more important LEGAL aspect of the cross.

We use the example of Neville Nitwit, the country clown, who has a horse called LEGAL and cart called MORAL.

One morning, he woke up woke … and decided to put the MORAL cart before the LEGAL horse.

We can all laugh at the stupidity of Nev, but this is exactly what the Calvinist does … he places the importance of his internal MORAL condition before his LEGAL standing with God.

This is the wrong order of salvation … as extrinsic justification places the LEGAL before MORAL … always has and always will.

And of course, the secondary aspect of the cross was God’s love for the sinner … such that … should man have legal right standing with God, he would then be placed into the death of Christ … the result leading to the fruit of the Spirit … being MORAL.  

The LEGAL must not only be given the prime position in the salvation order, but it must take precedence over the MORAL.

Christ’s work on the cross was NOT to address man’s internal moral condition but man’s right standing to the law.

Despite Herculean efforts, the Calvinist’s election is unpreachable … and they know it … that Christ will have all men to be saved … but he only elects some.

According to the Pub Test, the Calvinist’s God emerges as a cruel, hardfisted unpredictable determinist … you know … we all deserve to go to hell … but praise God he saved some!

“Oh! Wowee! What wonderful love is that!” is the scorn and derision.

As mentioned, one who follows the Calvinist/Reformed view of election, is led to seek his sense of security in his own piety.

The only proof a Calvinist has of his own election is the subjective experience of his own pious perseverance … you know … bordering on will-worship, and voluntary humility … to the point of neglecting the body … and all being vainly puffed up by his fleshy mind … you know … “Look how holy I am!”

But Dear Reader, here’s the rub … the Reformed/Calvinist is prepared to live with these doctrinal difficulties rather than accept the ‘intolerable’ consequences of the alternative system.

If put in a corner about any of the difficulties arising from his theological system, he will defiantly not jump out of the frying pan of Calvinism into the fire of free will.

As he looks at the supposed difficulties of the alternative, it makes it much easier to live with his own difficulties.

Unfortunately this means, that like the snake (Calvinist) refusing to release the chook (total depravity) in its mouth, he would rather suffer the farmer’s axe (God).

So shackled with the albatross of total depravity, the Reformed has NO PEACE … being subconsciously … if not consciously … reminded and punished of his guilt and shame before God.

Calvinism is nothing but pure Roman Catholic doctrine, that God must internally or morally change you before he will accept you … like gobbling down Jesus the Wafer

Harley Hitchcock
November 2025

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“CAN TOTAL DEPRAVITY BE REFORMED?”