My take on Calvinism’s Five Points

I do agree with much of what the five points of Calvinism say, such as irresistible grace and perseverance of the saints, but I do not think that all of these points are strictly biblical.

One thing that really surprised me was how much the Calvin’s borrowed from sources such as Dante Allegheny and John Milton. The whole concept of the fall was never so much minutely detailed in the Bible as it was In Paradise Lost. Some of their five points seem to be heavily influenced by literature and not the “divine” word. In particular I believe that the concept of total depravity comes directly from Paradise Lost.

The Calvinist concept of unconditional election seems a lot like The Inferno. In the inferno Dante’s guide through the underworld explains to him that God chose to take some of the souls who lived before the resurrection up to Heaven with him. I did not necessarily see this in the Bible except in an abstract way when Jesus is speaking with Moses and another spirit.