c. 1997 Religion News Service

UNDATED _ Calvinism is a theological system formulated in 16th-century Swiss reformer John Calvin’s central writing,”Institutes of the Christian Religion,”and codified by the Synod of Dort (1618-1619) in the Five Points of Calvinism.

Although Calvin’s theology involves much more than his theories on salvation, the Five Points are the most often quoted _ and the most controversial. They are:

_ Total depravity, or total inability: Humanity is unable to believe in God and is totally corrupt. Faith is a gift from God to the sinner, not the sinner’s gift to God.

_ Unconditional election: God’s choice of certain individuals for salvation is conditioned only upon God’ own sovereign will, not on the virtue of the believer. God’s choice of the sinner, not the sinner’s choice of God, is the determining factor in salvation.

_ Limited atonement, or particular redemption: Christ’s redeeming work on the cross was intended to save only the elect, or the chosen. The salvation of all the chosen is guaranteed.

_ Irresistible grace, or the efficacious call of the Spirit: The Holy Spirit gives the elect a special inward call that inevitably brings them to salvation. It cannot be rejected, and always results in conversion for those to whom it is extended.

_ Perseverance of the saints: All who are truly chosen by God and redeemed by Christ are eternally saved. They are kept in faith by the power of God and persevere to the end.

Other concepts associated with Calvin’s doctrines include the belief that God’s will for a just society is most likely to be achieved through a representative government and the democratic process; everyone should be educated, since all truth is from God and the intellect must be developed; all Christians should be open to change and must constantly submit themselves to self-criticism.

MJP END LONG