This is my compilation from the writings of Pastor David Berg and Family International publications what he had to say about John Calvin and his doctrine of Calvinism.
From: CALLED, CHOSEN & FAITHFUL! DO 2234 6/85
CALVINISM!
17. CALLED–MANY ARE CALLED BUT FEW ARE CHOSEN! Isn’t it sad, the predestinarians interpret that to mean that everybody’s called, but even when they come in answer to the call as volunteers, God, like a military officer, just picks out this one, that one & that one. Even if they answer the call, He just picks out certain ones that are worthy to be saved. What a horrible doctrine!
18. THAT’S THE ULTIMATE OF WHAT THEY CALL CALVINISM, because John Calvin was one of the ones that promoted it. He was a great reformer, great theologian, great preacher & he was one of the first, besides Martin Luther, who really preached real genuine Eternal Salvation. But his kind of Eternal Salvation was just bestowed on certain people by God just picking out special preferences to be saved.
19. TO SHOW YOU WHAT SOME PEOPLE LIKE THAT CAN GET TO BE LIKE, HE WAS A REFORMER & A FUGITIVE & A REFUGEE, fled from the persecution of the Catholics to Switzerland where he continued to promote Protestantism etc. But then when some guys began to disagree with him & his church & his beliefs & his new orthodoxy, his new system, he stood by while his friends burned these guys at the stake! They were doing the same things to people who dissented with them, that he was complaining about the Catholics doing to the Protestants.–Sad, huh?
20. WELL, IN SPITE OF SUCH HORRIBLE MISTAKES, I REALLY EXPECT TO SEE CALVIN IN HEAVEN! Well, he didn’t do it, but he didn’t do anything about it, he didn’t stop’m! When they insisted on doing it to some of the new heretics, who were heretics from the new Protestantism, he stood by & let it happen.–So they say, I wasn’t there. Maybe we’ll find out the true story when we get to Heaven! Maybe that’s a Catholic tale, I don’t know, probably a Jewish tale. Because he was a great preacher & really did preach the Gospel & was a great sacrificial suffering reformer who suffered a great deal of persecution himself back in the days of the Reformation.
From FAMOUS CHARACTERS! in Good Thoughts vol 2
CALVIN, John
(1509-1564) French Protestant Reformer whose doctrines of religion & civil liberty were to change the lives of half the World. Born in Picardy, he became a chaplain at the age of 12. Going to Paris to study, he met the teachings of Luther & had a “sudden conversion” at the age of 24 & allied himself with the Reformation, a growing movement against the traditions of the Roman Catholic church. To avoid persecution, he was forced to be constantly moving. Farel, the Reformer of Geneva, persuaded Calvin to help consolidate the Reformation there. In 1537 the townspeople were called upon to swear loyalty to a Protestant statement of belief. But he met such opposition that both he & Farel were expelled. He then went to Strasbourg & did a great deal of writing, before being invited back to Geneva in 1541. He then set about attaining his aim of building a mature church by preaching daily to the people! Luther strongly influenced Calvin’s ideas. For Calvin, all knowledge of God & Man was to be found in the Word of God. “Calvin was a Frenchman who had to take refuge in Switzerland, where John Knox visited, studied under & became a follower of Calvin & then returned to Scotland & led the Reformation there, organising the Presbyterian church. So the modern-day Baptists & Presbyterians are usually considered descendants of the Calvinist movement of those days, although there were Anabaptists before that. They followed Calvin & were called Calvinists, & their major doctrine was called Calvinism, of which you & I are firm advocates!: Salvation by grace!–Eternal salvation!–Once saved, always saved! That was Calvin’s strong doctrine: Salvation purely by grace, not by works. Because at the time of the Reformation, the Catholic church was strictly a religion of works & practices & church-going & ceremonies & all the rest.” (1385:5-6) Calvin was also the most missionary-minded of all the Reformers. He not only sent dozens of evangelists back into his homeland of France, but also commissioned four missionaries to establish a colony & evangelise the Indians in Brazil. [Art–18, Conviction–5, 8, Patience–3]
From: NEW REVELATIONS!–Endtime Review, Daniel 12 , Revelation 13-16 , Salvation & Deborah & the End! DO 1900 1/85
40. SO FINALLY JOHN WESLEY CAME ALONG & PREACHED FREE SALVATION FOR EVERYBODY THAT WANTED TO BE SAVED! Luther in a way at first preached the same thing, by grace. But I guess Calvinism was a hangover from the Catholic church. They preach almost the same thing, just do the best you can & do good & hope that your good works will outweigh your bad works & maybe you’ll be saved. They don’t know, it’s up to God. I’ve had them tell me that! I said, “Do you know you’re saved?” “I don’t know, it’s up to God.” In other words, they think they don’t have anything to do with it, there’s nothing they can do about it, poor folks! God is a kind of a monster that’s just going to save some people & be partial & a respecter of persons just of certain people & save them & send the rest of the whole caboodle to Hell!–Not so! God is giving everybody a chance!
41. IN FACT, HE SAYS SPECIFICALLY, “THIS IS THE LIGHT WHICH LIGHTETH EVERY MAN THAT COMETH INTO THE WORLD!” (Jn.1:9) Everybody is going to have their chance sooner or later! Maybe they haven’t had it yet, but everybody is going to have their chance at “the Light which lighteth every man that cometh into the World” sooner or later. I’ve had some other folks list a lot of Scriptures along this line & some time maybe we ought to get more into it, that God is going to give everybody a chance! It sounds to me like most people are going to eventually get saved, or at least reconciled to God, even if they have to wait till they’re either on the New Earth or they’re in Purgatory.–After they’ve been sufficiently punished according to the way they react.
For more information about Calvinism, please see: Is Calvinism Biblical? Douglas Wilson and Steve Gregg Debate
