The Evangelical Universalist Forum

A Roman Catholic Looks At T.U.L.I.P.

ewtn.com/library/ANSWERS/TULIP.htm

he simply passes over the remainder

That a good hearty Calvinist approach! Of course, on an EU website, it won’t get a lot of traction. In fact is was just exactly that phrase that finally caused me to get my sorry butt out of Calvinism and into the light. :smiley:

It’s not only Calvinism that teaches sovereign grace but so does Catholicism. And, I might add, sovereign grace is something I hold to because it is humbling. There is no room to boast. Granted, man chooses but the paradoxical mystery is that God is in control. I learned this also in A.A. Quoting from the Big Book:

Trusting that God is in control when He promises to work all my circumstance together for my good brings peace and hope getting rid of bitterness and anxiety. In this way I love from a position of humble security. Rather than insecurity.

Also, knowing that God doesn’t owe me anything keeps me grateful for what I do have. This in turn also keeps me humble.

God is not the author of evil.

Either God directly causes something or He permits something (evil) to happen. It’s a mystery how God’s grace transforms the heart and moves the will yet at the same time we freely choose love. Moreover, God doesn’t directly cause evil. For this would make Him the author of evil. Rather He permits it (for morally sufficient reasons) to bring about His overall plans and purposes. For example: Satan gets permission from God to torment Job. God allowed Satan to take Job’s family and make Job sick. Yet Job says, “The Lord has given and the Lord has taken away” and “Shall we receive good from God and shall we not receive evil” - to which the writer responds: “In all this Job did not sin with his lips”. This too is a mystery. God can bring about His plans and purposes by permitting the free actions of evil choices. His wisdom is that much greater than ours. He is in control yet we are responsible agents. It’s a paradox.

It is a paradox. That was a well-thought-out post, thank you Cole.