A recent conversation on Facebook on the topic of "Calvinism" went like this:
From an Arminian "friend" :)
A man having 100 dogs took them to the far end of a long driveway. Having placed 96 of them in a cage he attached a long rope to the remaining 4 and went to the opposite end of the driveway. Once there he called, with a general call, to all of them. None of them responded. The ones in the cage of course could not and the others could not understand the meaning of the call. Taking the rope in hand the man proceeded to force the 4 to come willingly. (force to come willingly, this is the exact statement used in the book “The Five Points of Calvinism to describe the actions of God the Holy Spirit.) The 4 the man now called elect and born again. These were to be showered with treats and happiness forever. On the remaining 96 he poured flammable liquid and set them afire with a flame that would burn forever because they had not responded to his call.
All of this was to demonstrate the love and mercy of the man and show forth his glory.
I much prefer the allegory of the man walking down a long road when on the side of the road he sees a door over which is a sigh which reads “Whosoever will may come”. He steps through the door into a glorious wonder world. Looking back at the door that he just came through he sees another sign that says, “Chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world”.
If the allegory of the man and the dogs is not an accurate picture of Calvinism please correct me. If it is accurate then please join me by passing through the door, which is Christ, and receive Him by faith as the Lord of your life.
My reply:
Your allegory fails because all of the 100 dogs that are to represent all of mankind would have to be in the cage because creation is less than perfect, only God is perfect, God had made all of creation good at creation however it isn't perfect because only God is perfect. To make your allegory line up with scripture, the dogs would have to ALL be in the cage, and then it is God who opens the cage door and drags a few of the dogs out that are actually content to remain in a cage that is destined for eternal fire...
....and to make your allegory even more correct with the Bible, the dogs have to be blind, lame, and actually in every way dead, and then God takes only some of them, according to His purpose, revives them back to life, gives them sight, and ability to walk as He drags them unwilling and unable to come by their own ability, He drags them out of their terrible situation, and only THEN do they realize with amazement (after they have been dragged out) what they have escaped.
From an Arminian "friend" :)
A man having 100 dogs took them to the far end of a long driveway. Having placed 96 of them in a cage he attached a long rope to the remaining 4 and went to the opposite end of the driveway. Once there he called, with a general call, to all of them. None of them responded. The ones in the cage of course could not and the others could not understand the meaning of the call. Taking the rope in hand the man proceeded to force the 4 to come willingly. (force to come willingly, this is the exact statement used in the book “The Five Points of Calvinism to describe the actions of God the Holy Spirit.) The 4 the man now called elect and born again. These were to be showered with treats and happiness forever. On the remaining 96 he poured flammable liquid and set them afire with a flame that would burn forever because they had not responded to his call.
All of this was to demonstrate the love and mercy of the man and show forth his glory.
I much prefer the allegory of the man walking down a long road when on the side of the road he sees a door over which is a sigh which reads “Whosoever will may come”. He steps through the door into a glorious wonder world. Looking back at the door that he just came through he sees another sign that says, “Chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world”.
If the allegory of the man and the dogs is not an accurate picture of Calvinism please correct me. If it is accurate then please join me by passing through the door, which is Christ, and receive Him by faith as the Lord of your life.
My reply:
Your allegory fails because all of the 100 dogs that are to represent all of mankind would have to be in the cage because creation is less than perfect, only God is perfect, God had made all of creation good at creation however it isn't perfect because only God is perfect. To make your allegory line up with scripture, the dogs would have to ALL be in the cage, and then it is God who opens the cage door and drags a few of the dogs out that are actually content to remain in a cage that is destined for eternal fire...
....and to make your allegory even more correct with the Bible, the dogs have to be blind, lame, and actually in every way dead, and then God takes only some of them, according to His purpose, revives them back to life, gives them sight, and ability to walk as He drags them unwilling and unable to come by their own ability, He drags them out of their terrible situation, and only THEN do they realize with amazement (after they have been dragged out) what they have escaped.
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