Why I'm A Calvinist

I know some people who think that the word Calvanism is equal with arrogance, or maybe even ignorance. I know others who used to think Calvanism was wrong purely on anecdote. I know still more who have never even heard of Calvansim, but I'm not a calvanist, nor do I delcare so, for any of these people or reasons. The reason is because I don't judge doctrine  by how sinful, utterly sinful people live it out. That would be dumb.

I call myself a Calvanist for the same reasons I call myself a Christian. I'm trying to identify with a belief system, in the hopes that through communication  you might understand more quickly what I believe. This is a problem for a language like American-English.

Yes, it's a problem because while words do have meaning, even in the strictest sense, Calvanism doesn't mean the same thing to everyone. Nor should it really, since it has so many definitions. "Why....don't you Calvanists believe that you don't have to preach the Gospel?" You might hear someone say. I've heard people say that before, but I've never met ONE calvanist who believes that. I even know of a famous hyper-calvanist, whose particular brand of hyper calvanism predisposes him to the non-evangelizing type...yet at every funeral for american soliders and at gay parades, there he is; evangelizing.

There are so many things to think about but if I boil it down to the simplest component, it's hard determinism. God plans and executes his sovereign, immutable will on his creatures. This is what I spend the most time thinking about. Why? Because it affects every part of the way I think about things. Does evangelism do that? Hardly. Does feeding the poor? Hardly. And like I said, I don't go around trying to create false dichotomies, whose evidence for veracity is rooted in sinful people not adhereing to the true and right doctrine of the Gospel. My belief is, thinking about God's sovereign, immutable will, eventually creates a disciple. And those disciples WILL go forth and preach and teach and feed the poor. I'm living proof to myself that, that is true.

To believe any different is to assume God doesn't have all this under control; or worse...you DO!