The Impotent Deity of C.H. Spurgeon and Other Calvinists

Often, in an attempt to teach the sovereignty of God, Calvinists tend to over-emphasise such, and instead of propping up God’s sovereignty, end up making him utterly impotent. Note the following from Charles Haddon Spurgeon (1834-1892), a well-known Baptist preacher:

 

I believe that every particle of dust that dances in the sunbeam does not move an atom more or less than God wishes,--that every particle of spray that dashes against the steamboat has its orbit as well as the sun in the heavens,--that the chaff from the hand of the winnower is steered as the stars in the courses,--that the creeping of an aphid over a rosebud is as much fixed as the march of the devastating pestilence, and the fall of the sere leaves from the poplar is as fully ordained as the tumbling of an avalanche. He who believes in God must believe this truth. (C.H. Spurgeon, The Treasury of the Bible, The Old Testament, vol. 4 [Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1962], 212, as cited by Erwin W. Lutzer, 10 Lies About God and the Truths that Shatter Deception [Grand Rapids, Mich.: Kregel Publications, 2009], 105)

 

R.C. Sproul, echoing the sentiments of Spurgeon, wrote the following in his defence of the Reformed doctrine of predestination:

 

If there is one single molecule in this universe running around loose, totally free of God’s sovereignty, then we have no guarantee that a single promise of God will ever be fulfilled. Perhaps that one maverick molecule will lay waste all the grand and glorious plans that God has made and promised to us. If a grain of sand in the kidney of Oliver Cromwell changed the course of English history, so our maverick molecule could change the course of all redemption history. Maybe that one molecule will be the thing that prevents Christ from returning. (R.C. Sproul, Chosen by God [rev ed.; Carol Stream, Ill.: Tyndale House Publishers, 1986], 16).

Calvinism makes God into an impotent tyrant who, ultimately, is the author of sin. The true understanding of God, the one taught in both the Bible and in the theology of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, is a God who allows humanity to have genuine free-will and yet know he will be victorious at the end. That is a potent God; not the impotent deity of Spurgeon, Sproul, et al.

For more Reformed theology, including how the Bible is both God-centred and man-centred (not "either-or"), see:

An Examination and Critique of the Theological Presuppositions Underlying Reformed Theology