The following came from a Letter to the Editor in the Alabama Baptist:

Calvinism paints an ugly picture of God. I’ve been a pastor of four Southern Baptist churches over the last 25 years. I tell every one I speak to that God loves them and has a plan for them. I could not stand in the pulpit and face people every Sunday and tell them that God created some of them to love and keep and some to toss into hell and there is nothing they can do about it. What a horrible message.

I honestly don’t understand how anyone who is unashamedly Calvinist can face a person and ask the key question knowing that person has no choice in the matter.

If I thought for a minute that there are people for whom the gospel of Jesus Christ is not meant, I’d go back to a secular job and just let God do what he’s going to do.

In my opinion, this heretical doctrine is the result of men who think they are so intelligent they can figure out what God knows, when he knows it, and what He would do with that information. They then squeeze an amazing, loving, patient and caring God into their tiny human minds and spit out this abhorrent thing called Calvinism.

I am not a Calvinist and I am not an Armenian (sic): I am Southern Baptist. My message from God’s Word will always be that God loves everyone He created and offers them a chance to come to Him through the blood of Christ. God bless Southern Baptist preachers and leaders who cling to that precious promise.

It continues to surprise me that Calvinists are the ones accused of being divisive. Twice this week I have seen or read things like this. What is almost tragic is that what they oppose does not exist or rarely exists. People who meet a real live Calvinist are often to surprised to find that the Calvinist is not the stereotype. That does not mean everyone will want to embrace Calvinism, but it does remind us that we need to be well informed before we publicly oppose something. At the very least, present it accurately!

As for the letter quoted above, most of what he opposes I also oppose. I’m just curious why he decided to label it Calvinism.