Calvinism is, more than any other doctrine, often misrepresented. Most people have many misconceptions about Calvinism that arise not from ambiguities or complexities in the doctrines of grace themselves, but from distortions and falsehoods as people malign Reformed theology to others. My goal here is not to convince you of Calvinism. Honestly, I feel no need to. I already have a few posts which can serve that purpose, and I do not feel it is an urgent concern. Instead, I intend here merely to defend the system from common attacks, to demonstrate that what I believe, along with John Piper, John MacArthur, D. A. Carson, R. C. Sproul, Jonathan Edwards, Charles Whitefield, Charles Spurgeon, John Calvin, Martin Luther (kind of), and St. Augustine to list a few, is perfectly coherent and Biblical, and glorifies God in truth. My problem isn't so much with people disagreeing, but with people dismissing. The doctrines of grace are neither incoherent nor offenses to God, and this is what I want to establish. So, here are the most common objections.
Calvinist Predestination Makes us Robots
First and foremost, we are not defined by free will, and neither are robots defined by lack of free will. So this entire objection is based on a bad analogy. No Calvinist believes that we are just machines, for we know that we are distinguished from machines in many ways. For one thing, we are far more complex than any machinery. We don't just have gears, programming, or mechanics. We have emotions, thoughts, desires, relationships, introspection, intentions, and a host of other immaterial elements of consciousness. These alone are enough to distinguish us from all machines and robots. According to Calvinism, we do not act as we do because God has programmed us to perform specific actions. Instead, we act as we do because we want to act that way, even though we have very limited control over what we want. Our wants are a product of our nature, our memories, and our circumstances, all of which are properly ours. Therefore we have our own will, and we act according to that will, despite the fact that we are not free to do absolutely anything. Man is free to do as he wills, but he may not will as he wills.
Relevant Scriptures (NET Bible):
"But there is little hope for you ever doing good, you who are so accustomed to doing evil. Can an Ethiopian change the color of his skin? Can a leopard remove its spots?" Jeremiah 13:23
"the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot accept, because it does not see him or know him." John 14:17a
"For the flesh has desires that are opposed to the Spirit, and the Spirit has desires that are opposed to the flesh, for these are in opposition to each other, so that you cannot do what you want." Galatians 5:17
If Our Choices are Predetermined, We Aren't Making Choices
This is a metaphysical assumption with no evidence or reasoning behind it. Making a choice is simply making a decision. We can make decisions even if we don't have a real alternative course of action. For example, imagine a man who loves his wife beyond imagination, far more than himself. If a thug gives him a choice—"You die or your wife dies"—he will obviously choose to give himself for her. This action is of his own will, out of his own love. Yet was there really a chance he would do anything else? If he truly and sincerely loved her, and there was really no way out, was it an actual possibility that he would give her up to save himself? Of course not! He made a choice to give himself up because he would rather do that than let his wife die, and this is how we make all choices. However, imagine that his life had been controlled. Someone genetically engineered him before birth to have a certain personality disposition. This person arranged for him to be put up for adoption and sent him to a specific family with certain next door neighbors. He arranged for the guy to meet his future wife (who he made sure had a certain compatible personality) as a small child, and did everything possible to keep them in close relationship throughout their lives. When they became teenagers, he urged them to begin dating, and he carefully engineered their dates so that that they would fall in love. Finally, he convinced the guy to propose and the girl to accept, and he gave them extensive pre-marriage and later marriage counseling to ensure a strong relationship. With everything in place, he paid the thug to attack them. Now, since this mysterious man did all this manipulation, was the husband's choice any less of a genuine choice? Obviously not. In the same way, God controls the ends by controlling that happens along the way. God doesn't force us to make choices, but orchestrates everything so that we make the choices He plans for us to make. As for the question, "Do people have a choice to be saved?" the answer is best served through an analogy. A rebellious child steals a man's car and kills his son to run away from home, but he gets in a terrible car wreck in his reckless driving. The poor man then comes and rescues him, taking him to the hospital. The boy is then saved. Now, did the child have a choice to be saved? No, not really. However, it was the child's choice to wreck his life, commit murder, and nearly destroy himself, and the victim of his crimes would have been perfectly justified to leave him alone, acknowledging that the kid made his choice. Basically, we make the choice to destroy our lives with sin because we are evil sinners at heart (yes, God created corrupt people, but He also created us if Calvinism is wrong, so this is irrelevant). It's up to God's sovereign hand to decide whether or not to rescue us.
Relevant Scriptures (HCSB):
"A man's heart plans his way, but the LORD determines his steps." Proverbs 16:9
"A man's steps are determined by the LORD, so how can anyone understand his own way?" Proverbs 20:24
"I know, LORD, that a man's way of life is not his own; no one who walks determines his own steps." Jeremiah 10:23
God Does Not Love Everyone If He Only Elects Some
This objection is based on a failure to apply the logic of God's distinct love for His people. We all agree that God loves believers in a deeper and more intimate way than He does unbelievers. It is not for unbelievers that God works all out for good, but believers (Rom. 8:28). Unbelievers are not God's children, but believers are (1 Jn. 3:9-11). Since God is immutable, eternal, and omniscient, knowing the whole of the saved and the unsaved through all eternity, His love for them has always been distinct. God choose to love His elect believers with salvation (Ezek. 16:8; Rom. 1:7, 8:29-30, 9:13, 25; Eph. 1:4-5, 11) and love the reprobate unbelievers with common grace (Ps. 145:9; Matt. 5:45; John 1:9; Acts 14:17; Jas. 1:17) in eternity past. Let me restate an important point: God does love unbelievers. We know that God loves the world in general (John 3:16), and as the passages I just listed about common grace prove, God mercifully and graciously provides them with happiness and goodness briefly while on earth. Even more explicitly, God's love for unbelievers is seen in passages such as Ezekiel 18:23, 32, which says,
"Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked?" This is the declaration of the Lord GOD. "Instead, don't I take pleasure when he turns from his ways and lives? For I take no pleasure in anyone's death." This is the declaration of the Lord GOD. "So repent and live!"
This message appears also in the New Testament.
"The Lord…is patient with you, not wanting any to perish but all to come to repentance." 2 Peter 3:9
"[God our Savior] wants everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth." 1 Timothy 2:4
How do passages like these reconcile with the Calvinist view of unconditional election? Well, God's greatest desire and goal is to glorify Himself (Ex. 9:16; Isa. 48:9; Ezek. 20:9; John 11:4, 17:3; Rom. 3:23, 5:2, 15:7; 1 Cor. 10:31; Phil. 2:9-11). This requires the extensive display of all of His attributes and powers, including His just and holy wrath against sin (Ps. 90:11; Prov. 16:4; Rom. 1:18, 9:17, 22; 2 Pet. 2:9). This goes along with His display of mercy for His glory (2 Kg. 19:34; Ps. 79:9; Isa. 43:25; Ezek. 36:22; Dan. 9:19; Rom. 5:21, 9:23; Eph. 1:6). In order to glorify His mercy and His justice, we sinners had to come into view (Rom. 9:22-23). Anyway, since God loves everyone individually to some extent, when He sees any given person He does not want them to perish, but would like to see them be saved and come to repentance (1 Tim. 2:4; 2 Pet. 3:9). However, God's fuller plan is to glorify Himself in holy justice, which leads Him to condemn some people rightfully for their sin, glad to be glorifying Himself (Josh. 11:20; 1 Sam. 2:25; John 12:39-40; Ps. 115:3, 135:6). Therefore "He hardens those He wants to harden" (Rom. 9:18; cf. Ex. 4:21; Rom. 1:24-28; 2 Thess. 2:10-12). On the other hand, out of pure mercy God decides to grace some with election to salvation (John 1:12-13, 6:37, 65; Rom. 8:29-30; Eph. 1:4-5, 11). There is no injustice here, because God is impartial. According to His sovereign place which He made mysteriously within Himself (Isa. 40:13, 46:10; Jer. 23:18; Rom. 11:34; Eph. 1:5, 9, 11), He graciously chose some to salvation and some to leave to their own condemnation (John 3:18) without respect to their future works, character, or faith (Deut. 7:7; Rom. 9:11, 11:5; 1 Jn. 4:10). Let me reiterate that unconditional election is not arbitrary election or random election. It is not a lottery. God has a plan, but we cannot know it. It is a secret, and by His own wisdom and counsel He decides who to save and who not. Does this sound wrong of God? Paul thought people make think that, but look how he responded under the influence of the Holy Spirit:
What should we say then? Is there injustice with God? Absolutely not!
So then, He shows mercy to those He wants to, and He hardens those He wants to harden. You will say to me, therefore, "Why then does He still find fault? For who can resist His will? " But who are you, a mere man, to talk back to God? Will what is formed say to the one who formed it, "Why did you make me like this?" Or has the potter no right over the clay, to make from the same lump one piece of pottery for honor and another for dishonor?
Romans 9:14, 18-21
God loves all people, but some He has chosen from eternity past for a deep, intimate relationship with Himself. All people deserve condemnation, but in grace God chose a few to be spared. This is love, pure and simple.