Luther and Calvin Brigade 914: Response to Dave Hunt’s book: What Love is This? subtitled, “Calvinism’s Misrepresentation of God.”

When the soul is cast down, shallow comfort will not hold.

Positive thinking will not carry the weight. Vague spirituality will not anchor the heart. Man-centered religion has nothing sturdy enough for the valley.

Spurgeon knew where weary saints must go.
Not to self-esteem.
Not to religious performance.
Not to the shifting weather of feelings.

But to the old Calvinistic doctrines of grace: God is sovereign. Christ is sufficient. Election is mercy. Grace is effectual. Providence is not panic. The Shepherd does not lose His sheep.

These truths are not cold stones.
They are warm bread for bruised pilgrims.

When your spirit sinks, look again to the God who chose, redeemed, called, keeps, and will glorify His people.

[PHOTO SOURCE: https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=122291957774186135&set=a.122093256320186135]

https://lutherandcalvinbrigade914.blogspot.com/2026/05/endorsing-narrow-path-doctrine.html

As a former Anti-Reformed Christian person, who now loves Reformed Theology, I was misled by the late Dave Hunt’s book, “What Love is This? Calvinism's Misrepresentation of God”. I not only realized that I was misled but I now I have a duty to expose his errors that his writing of the book is very divisive and misleading. I will post an article by Steven J. Cole and below are links of Reformed Christians who love the Doctrines of Grace.

Let me make two disclaimers:

First, I prefer to be called a Reformed or Protestant Christian than be labelled Calvinist. I do not want to be misunderstood as a follower of John Calvin, though I love his teachings. I do not agree 100% with what Calvin taught or did, as no man is perfect only Christ is. I am not siding John Calvin all the time.

Just like most Lutherans and Mennonites will tell you they do not worship Martin Luther or Menno Simons respectively, Reformed Christians will also agree, we do not worship John Calvin but the God of the Bible.

Second, as Dustin Benge said:

Erase John Calvin and his theology from church history, and I still believe in the absolute depravity of man, the unconditional election of God, the definite atonement of Christ, the efficacious grace of God, and the perseverance of all the saints. Because the Bible tells me so. – Dustin Benge

https://lutherandcalvinbrigade914.blogspot.com/2022/07/dustin-benge-on-erasing-john-calvin.html

I still love the Doctrines of Grace, regardless of whether John Calvin and his followers existed or not.

What Theology is This? Dave Hunt’s Misrepresentation of God and Calvinism

Related Media

Steven J. Cole

https://bible.org/users/steven-j-cole

As I read Dave Hunt’s latest book, What Love is This? subtitled, “Calvinism’s Misrepresentation of God,” I felt both profound sadness and righteous anger. I was sad because many unsuspecting and uneducated Christians will believe that Hunt is accurate and thereby miss out on one of the richest spiritual gold mines available, namely, the life and writings of John Calvin and his heirs in the faith. I was angry because Hunt deliberately misrepresents and slanders both Calvin and Calvinism, and in the process grossly misrepresents God Himself. I know that his misrepresentation is deliberate because many Calvinists, including myself, wrote repeatedly to Hunt as the book was being written, pointing out his errors and asking him to stop misrepresenting what we believe. But sadly, he stubbornly ignored our corrections and went full steam ahead.

The resulting book is a first magnitude theological and spiritual disaster. If you rely on the supermarket tabloids as your reliable source of news, you’ll probably find Hunt satisfying for your theology. It will give you the same sort of sensational slander as the tabloids, only it is presented as if it were biblically and historically based. But if you want to grow in your knowledge of the living God, I advise you to leave this tabloid theology on the shelf.

I have had to deal with the book because a former elder is giving it to some of my elders and others, telling them that it is a balanced critique of Reformed theology. On the back cover of the book are glowing endorsements from Chuck Smith, Elmer Towns, Tim LaHaye, and others. LaHaye even states, “Calvinism … comes perilously close to blasphemy” (ellipsis in the quote). Several families have left my church over this issue, because I teach what Scripture plainly affirms, that God sovereignly chooses to save some, but not all. Our salvation rests on the foundation of God’s sovereign choice of us. His choice of us is the causative reason that we choose to believe. Thus no one can boast in his salvation, but only in the Lord (1 Cor. 1:26-31; Gal. 1:15; Eph. 1:3-12).

Does God loves everyone?

[PHOTO SOURCE: https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=1108257808012804&set=a.563324335839490]

Many assume that when the Bible uses the word “ALL ” "ANY," or “WORLD,” it refers to every single person in the WORLD whoever lived without exception. Some have said, “ALL means ALL, and that’s ALL ALL means.” However, this is simply not true. The word “ALL ” rarely, if ever, has no limitation.

Matthew 3:4-5 Now John wore a garment of camel’s hair and a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. Then Jerusalem and ALL Judea and ALL the region about the Jordan were going out to him.

Clearly, the word “ALL ” here does not refer to “every single individual in Judea.” Rather, it means, “people from ALL over Judea and ALL over the region about the Jordan.

Luke 2:1 In those days, a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that ALL the WORLD should be registered.

Obviously, the word “ALL ” here does not refer to “every single individual in the WORLD.” Rather, it means, “everyone in the Roman empire.”

John 3:16 For God so loved the WORLD, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

The phrase, “the WORLD,” in John 3:16 must be understood in the context of both John 3:16 and the rest of the Bible. Even in John 3:16, we see that only “whoever believes” will receive eternal life. So, it is entirely possible that John equating “the WORLD ” with “whoever believes,” in which case John would be saying something along the lines of, “For God so loved people from ALL over the world who believe in Christ…”

The interpretation that John 3:16 is saying that God loves every individual in the world in such a way that every individual has the freedom to believe in Christ is simply one interpretation that is not explicitly taught by this verse, and indeed is contradicted by Scripture’s clear teaching about the doctrine of election.

John 4:39-42 – “Savior of the WORLD”

"Many Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me ALL that I ever did.” (Did he spend years name ALL she ever did? No.) So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them, and he stayed there two days. And many more believed because of his word. They said to the woman, “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is indeed the Savior of the WORLD.”

In this passage, when the Samaritans say that Jesus is the “Savior of the WORLD,” they are saying that Jesus is the savior of not only the Jews but also the Gentiles. They are surprised that Jesus would reach out to a ”’Samaritan”’ woman, when Samaritans were looked down upon by the Jews.

It simply makes far more sense to believe that the Samaritans are using the word “WORLD ” to refer to not only the Jewish group of people, but also the Gentile group of people, than that they are referring to every individual person in the WORLD.

1 Corinthians 15:22 – “in Adam ALL die… in Christ shall ALL be made alive (Bible and “ALL ”) For as in Adam ALL die, so also in Christ shall ALL be made alive.

This verse helps us understand what the word “ALL ” means in relationship to salvation. While the word “ALL ” in “in Adam ALL die” refers to every individual human in the WORLD, the word “ALL ” in “in Christ shall ALL be made alive” simply cannot refer to every individual human in the world because we know from the clear teaching of Scripture that not every human will be saved, or “made alive.”

Instead, what this verse is saying is that ”’ALL who are represented by Adam”’ (every individual human) die, and ”’ALL who are represented by Christ”’ (everyone who is saved) will be made alive.

1 Timothy 2:1-6 – “desires ALL people to be saved”, “ransom for ALL”

The context of 1 Timothy 2 helps us understand what the word “ALL” means in verses 4 and 6. In the phrases, “desires ALL people to be saved” and “ransom for ALL,” the word “ALL ” does not refer to ”every individual person”, but rather to classes, or groups, of people.

In verses 1-2, Paul clarifies how he is using the word “ALL.” He writes, “I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for ”’ALL people, for kings and ALL who are in high positions”’.” Here, “ALL people” does not refer to every individual person, but rather to particular classes, or groups, of people, for example, “kings and ALL who are in high positions.”

Titus 2:1-11 – “salvation for ALL people”

But as for you, teach what accords with sound doctrine. ”’Older men”’ are to be sober-minded, dignified, self-controlled, sound in faith, in love, and in steadfastness. Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good, and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled. Likewise, urge the younger men to be self-controlled. Show yourself in ALL respects to be a model of good works, and in your teaching show integrity, dignity, and sound speech that cannot be condemned, so that an opponent may be put to shame, having nothing evil to say about us. Bondservants are to be submissive to their own masters in everything; they are to be well-pleasing, not argumentative, not pilfering, but showing ALL good faith, so that in everything they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior. 11. For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for ALL people.

The context of Titus 2 helps us understand what the word “ALL” means in verse 11. In the phrase, “salvation for ALL people,” the word “ALL” does not refer to every individual person but rather to classes, or groups, of people.

In verses 1-10, Paul clarifies how he is using the word “ALL.” He refers to ”’groups”’ of people, namely, “older men,” “older women,” “young women,” “younger men,” and “bondservants.” The phrase, “all people,” is used in reference to these groups of people, not to every individual person.

Revelation 5:9 And they sang a new song, saying, “Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation.

Although this verse does not contain the words “ALL ” or “WORLD,” it is directly relevant to the topic because it states who Jesus died for; not every individual person in the WORLD, but rather people from various ”’groups”’ of people, namely, people “from every tribe and language and people and nation.”

It is clear that when the Bible uses the word “ALL or WORLD,” it does not mean every individual in the WORLD without exception.

[PHOTO SOURCE: https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=1108257808012804&set=a.563324335839490]

https://michaeljeshurun.wordpress.com/tag/god-does-not-love-everybody/

https://mikejeshurun.wordpress.com/2015/06/19/does-god-love-everybody/

Hunt’s main gripe with Calvinism is its view that God is not totally loving toward every person. He argues that if God could save everyone, but chose only to save some, He is immoral and unjust, just as someone who could save a drowning man, but chose not to, would be immoral (pp. 111-112, 114-115). Hunt’s view is that God wishes for everyone to be saved and He has made salvation available to all. Now it’s up to the individual to respond and every person is capable, in and of himself, to respond. If people are not able to respond to the gospel by their own free will, then God’s offer of salvation would not be genuine, but a mockery. It would be as if God were dangling a rope above the grasp of a man trapped in a deep well, saying, “Grab the rope.” These are Hunt’s arguments.

These arguments are quite in line with human logic, but the crucial question is, are they in line with biblical revelation? Hunt wrongly assumes that the free offer of the gospel to all requires that those to whom it is offered are able to respond. But there are many Scriptures that directly state the inability of the sinner to respond to spiritual truth (John 6:44, 65; 8:43; Rom. 3:10-18; 8:6-8; 1 Cor. 2:14; 2 Cor. 4:4; Eph. 2:1-3; etc.). Hunt dismisses or waters down all of these texts, saying that they could not mean what Calvinists say they mean, because if they did mean that, sinners could not respond to the gospel and thus the offer of the gospel would not be valid. In other words, he reasons in a circle, assuming what he later “proves.” But he does not accept the plain teaching of God’s Word on the human inability to seek after God due to the fall. In so doing, Hunt pulls God in His absolute holiness down, making Him accessible to fallen man. And he lifts up sinful, proud man by telling him that he is able to choose God at any time he pleases.

“I am bound to the doctrine of the depravity of the human heart, because I find myself depraved in heart, and have daily proofs that in my flesh there dwelleth no good thing.” – Charles Spurgeon

[PHOTO SOURCE: https://www.pinterest.com.au/raulponcetx/sola-fide/]

https://www.ligonier.org/blog/charles-spurgeon-calvinism-total-depravity/

https://reasonabletheology.org/ch-spurgeon-total-depravity/#References

Rejecting depravity (inability), he proceeds to reject all five so-called points of Calvinism. Hunt asserts that God could not possibly have sovereignly elected some to salvation, because then He would be unloving and unjust. Never mind that in one of God’s earliest revelations of Himself, He plainly states, “I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show compassion on whom I will show compassion” (Exod. 33:19). That statement loses all meaning if God is gracious and compassionate to every single person equally. From the outset, God establishes His right as the holy God to choose some and reject others, not based on human merit (there is none), but based on His sovereign will. But Hunt denies God this prerogative, in spite of abundant scriptural revelation.

In the process of setting forth and defending his humanistic (and unbiblical) view of God, Hunt rips Calvin and Calvinism, or at least he thinks that’s what he’s doing. Actually, Hunt does not understand even some of the basic teachings of Calvinism, although he thinks he does. Thus from the very start, and on virtually every page, Hunt misrepresents what Calvinists believe. Even though he does not agree with what they truly believe, for the most part he is setting up and attacking a caricature that at times has some resemblance to the real thing, but more often is so far removed that biblically informed Calvinists would attack it too. They just would not label it as Calvinism, as Hunt erroneously does. Here are a few (of many) examples:

If you believe that salvation is all your choosing, have the courage and conviction to stand before God and tell Him you would like to pause from thanking Him, and thank yourself. — Derek Thomas

[PHOTO SOURCE: https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=1017332907105295&set=a.563324335839490]

https://disntr.com/2024/12/30/lord-lord-did-i-not-jimmy-carter-passes-away/

*Hunt says that Calvinism limits God’s saving grace to a select few, leaving the majority of mankind without hope or possibility of salvation (p. 78). The offer of salvation is extended only to the elect (p. 103). The truth is, Calvinists believe that God’s saving grace is freely offered to the whole world, and that there will be an innumerable company in heaven from every tribe on earth, purchased by Jesus’ blood (Rev. 5:9-12).

Proximity to Jesus is not salvation (Hebrews 6 vs 4 to 6)

Hebrews 6:4-6 KJV - For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, and have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, if they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.

[PHOTO SOURCE: https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=916824787624924&set=a.160266889947388]

Rehoboam loved Maacah the daughter of Absalom above all his wives and concubines (he took eighteen wives and sixty concubines, and fathered twenty-eight sons and sixty daughters). – II Chronicles 11:21 (ESV)

[PHOTO SOURCE: https://bible.art/gallery/2-chronicles-11:21]

Why did God allow polygamy in the Bible?

Southern Seminary

Dec 9, 2019

"Why did God allow polygamy in the Bible?" Dr. Peter Gentry answers in Honest Answers | Episode 84

VIDEO SOURCE: https://youtu.be/io0iV84t-lw?si=1M3LIyzJOuMhLbgr

*Hunt says that Calvinism puts the blame for sin and the damnation of sinners totally upon God who predestined everything to turn out that way (p. 84). God causes all men to sin (p. 42). The truth is, Calvinists believe that while all things are under God’s sovereign decree (Eph. 1:11), He is not the author of sin. Sinners are responsible for their own damnation, and none can blame God for being in hell. I personally referred Hunt to the Westminster Confession of Faith, chapter 3, paragraph 1, for the Reformed statement of how God is sovereign over all and yet not responsible for sin. But Hunt chose to ignore this and persist in his slanderous charge.

³Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, ⁴even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love ⁵he predestined us^[b] for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, ⁶to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. ⁷In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, ⁸which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight ⁹making known^[c] to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ ¹⁰as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. – Ephesians 1:3-10 (ESV)

[PHOTO SOURCE: https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=1021360263369226&set=a.563324335839490]

https://blackforestproject421.blogspot.com/2024/04/the-pastor-of-reconciliation-geri.html

https://lutherandcalvinbrigade914.blogspot.com/2026/03/george-muller-on-doctrines-of-grace.html

*Hunt says that Calvinism denies any genuine choice for mankind (p. 89). Coupled with this, Calvinists deny that men have a will (p. 94). “According to Calvin, salvation had nothing to do with whether or not a person believed the gospel” (p. 42). The truth is, Calvin and Calvinists believe in human choice and will. They assert, however, that fallen men are, as the Arminian Wesley even put it, “fast bound in sin and nature’s night,” unable to choose salvation apart from God’s sovereign working in their hearts. I’m not sure where Hunt dug up the ludicrous charge that Calvin separated salvation from faith. A simple reading of his chapters on faith and repentance in The Institutes (Book 3, chapters 2 & 3) will show that Hunt either has not read Calvin or he is deliberately misrepresenting him.

“I would rather believe a limited atonement that is efficacious for all men for whom it was intended, than a universal atonement that is not efficacious for anybody, except the will of men be added to it.” ~Charles Spurgeon [PHOTO SOURCE: https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=929738183888945&set=gm.2088967297827008]

https://lutherandcalvinbrigade914.blogspot.com/2026/01/universal-redemption-most-hideous.html

*Hunt says, “Calvinism presents a God who fills hell with those whom He could save but instead damns because He doesn’t love them” (p. 116). Hunt brazenly states that if God did not show mercy to all when all were equally guilty, then He perverts justice (p. 115)! The truth is, Calvinists affirm that God is mighty to save all whom He chooses to save (e.g., the apostle Paul). But He owes salvation to none. For reasons known only in the secret counsel of His will, God chose to be glorified both in the salvation of His elect, and in the just damnation of those who have rebelled against Him. Paul’s entire argument in Romans 9 is that as the divine potter, God has the prerogative to make some vessels for mercy and some for wrath, and that we have no basis to question what He does. The Bible is also clear that God’s love is not uniformly revealed to all. He loved Israel, but He did not choose to love the surrounding nations to the same degree (Deut. 7:6-8). In His inscrutable will, He permitted the nations for many centuries to go their own way in spiritual darkness. He gave them the witness of His goodness through creation and common grace, which is enough to condemn them, but not sufficient to save them (Acts 14:16-17; Rom. 1:18-32). Oddly, though, against both Scripture and history, Hunt argues that God loves all the heathen exactly the same as He loves His elect bride, the church. I would like him to answer how God loved the American Indians who lived here 3,000 years ago to the same degree that He loved King David and revealed Himself to him? A quick glance at the world today shows that not all have an equal chance of hearing and responding to the gospel.

Election is God’s decree “whereby on his own free will, he hath ordained certain men to salvation, to the praise of the glory of his grace.” Reprobation is “that part of predestination, whereby God, according to the most free and just purpose of his will, hath determined to reject certain men unto eternal destruction, and misery, and that to the praise of his justice.” – William Perkins

https://lutherandcalvinbrigade914.blogspot.com/2020/10/sermon-by-joel-beeke-william-perkinss.html

20 Best known Puritans

Upon his was he passed by a Blacksmith Shop, and noticed a huge man beating on a piece of metal, and a finely dressed man next to him pointing here, pointing there, and John Flaval was curious, so he walked up to the finely dressed man, and asked him "what are you doing, this man here is doing all the work?", and the finely dressed man said "I'm the Blacksmith" and John Flaval said "you?", and the Blacksmith said, "this man here is a dunce, he thinks he's beating a piece of metal into nothing, but he only hits where I tell him to hit and how hard I tell him to hit, and in the end I'll have a Work of Art.

John Flaval had his sermon, the Devil beats on believers and beats on them, but he can only beat where and how hard God tells him to, and at the end he's beat the Believer into the perfect image of God.

John Flaval, Paul Washer in his teachings of the Puratians, mentioned a Story about John Flaval couldn't come up with a subject for his upcoming sermon, so he took a walk to try to clear his head.

[PHOTO SOURCE: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1EFmZZqupP/]

In order to discredit Calvinism, Hunt has to discredit Calvin and his famous Institutes. Incredibly, Hunt dismisses the Institutes in one sweeping judgment by pronouncing that they came from the two primary sources of Augustine and the Latin Vulgate Bible (p. 38)! Since Calvin was a new convert when he wrote the first edition of the Institutes, they “could not possibly have come from a deep and fully developed evangelical understanding of Scripture.” But Hunt does not mention whether or not they actually do reflect such an understanding! If they were as shallow as Hunt alleges, why did they have such profound impact, not only on his generation, but also on godly Christian scholars through the centuries, up to the present day? I can testify personally, that of the hundreds of human books I have ever read, none rival The Institutes for their profound spiritual insight. Calvin uses Scripture to exalt God and humble me as a sinner as few writers can do.

Without the gospel everything is useless and vain; without the gospel we are not Christians; without the gospel all riches is poverty, all wisdom folly before God; strength is weakness, and all the justice of man is under the condemnation of God. But by the knowledge of the gospel we are made children of God, brothers of Jesus Christ, fellow townsmen with the saints, citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven, heirs of God with Jesus Christ, by whom the poor are made rich, the weak strong, the fools wise, the sinner justified, the desolate comforted, the doubting sure, and slaves free. It is the power of God for the salvation of all those who believe. Read more here: https://www.monergism.com/without-gospel-everything-useless-and-vain-john-calvin

[PHOTO SOURCE: https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=122119893278602293&set=gm.1125041019170946&idorvanity=704858027855916]

https://blackforestproject421.blogspot.com/2024/04/the-pastor-of-reconciliation-geri.html

https://lutherandcalvinbrigade914.blogspot.com/2026/05/endorsing-narrow-path-doctrine.html

As for the man Calvin, Hunt asserts that he was so heavily influenced by Augustine that he never really broke free from his Roman Catholic roots. He totally rejects Augustine’s writings by asserting, “Calvin drew from a badly polluted stream when he embraced the teachings of Augustine! How could one dip into such contaminating heresy without becoming confused and infected?” (p. 51). I must wonder, has Hunt even read Augustine? I have read substantial portions of Augustine’s works, and while he obviously was tainted in a bad way at points by the Catholic Church, he also had a solidly biblical grasp of much essential Christian doctrine. To dismiss the man as “a badly polluted stream” and as promoting “contaminating heresy” shows Hunt’s, not Augustine’s, ignorance and error.

Also, while Calvin often quotes Augustine favorably (because there is much favorable to quote, and because Calvin did not have nearly the theological resources to draw on that we possess), he often disputes with Augustine when he thinks that he failed to interpret Scripture rightly. Calvin’s sole source of truth was the Bible, as T. H. L. Parker’s excellent book, Calvin’s Preaching [Westminster/John Know Press] so capably demonstrates. Again, if Hunt had carefully read either Augustine or Calvin, he would have seen that these men sought to base their teachings on the Bible alone. Of course both men made errors. Who doesn’t? But read these men and you will sense, “They knew God in a way that I do not know God!”

Hunt portrays Calvin as the evil tyrant of Geneva who sought to force Irresistible Grace on the people, in line with his view of denying all power of choice to man (pp. 62-63). “Calvin exerted authority much like the papacy which he now despised” (p. 63) Hunt accuses Calvin of exercising “dictatorial control over the populace” (p. 64). He approved the used of torture for extracting confessions, including the cruel 30-day torture of a victim who was then tied to a stake, his feet nailed to it, and his head was cut off (p. 65). And, of course, Hunt blames Calvin for the burning of Servetus without giving any of the historical context for his readers (pp. 68-70). Hunt concludes, “Calvin’s conduct day after day and year after year was the very antithesis of what it would have been had he truly been led of the Spirit of God” (p. 72). In all of these accusations, Hunt is echoing militantly anti-Christian critics, such as Voltaire, Will Durant, Erich Fromm, and others (see Christian History [Vol. V, No. 4], p. 3).

Of course, Calvin had enemies, even in his own day, who picked up on his weaknesses and exaggerated them in an attempt to smear him, because they did not like his teaching. Every godly man can expect such treatment, to one degree or another (Matt. 5:11-12; Luke 6:26; 2 Tim. 3:12). But anyone who has read T. H. L. Parker’s life of Calvin, his Calvin’s Preaching, or Beza’s life of Calvin (Beza was Calvin’s understudy and successor in Geneva), will be horrified at how a professing Christian can attack a great man of God like Calvin as ruthlessly as Hunt does. Of Calvin, Beza said, “I have been a witness of him for sixteen years and I think that I am fully entitled to say that in this man there was exhibited to all an example of the life and death of the Christian, such as it will not be easy to depreciate, and it will be difficult to imitate” (Christian History, ibid., p. 2).

The plain fact of history is that the godly Puritans, including John Bunyan and John Owen, plus the spiritual giants Jonathan Edwards, George Whitefield, Charles Simeon, Charles Spurgeon, the Princeton theologians, Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Francis Schaeffer, and a host of others have all looked to Calvin not only as an astute theologian, but also as a great model of godliness. I have read the Institutes, about a half dozen biographies of Calvin, thousands of pages of his commentaries, numerous books about Calvin and his theology, and several books of his sermons. I have never picked up anything even close to resembling Hunt’s caricature of the man. I agree with the learned Scottish theologian, William Cunningham, who said, “Calvin is the man who, next to St. Paul, has done most good to mankind” (Christian History, ibid.). Hunt’s attack is simply impossible. An evil, cruel tyrant could not have written such exalted views of God and such deep insights into God’s Word as you find in Calvin’s writings. When so many great men of God pay tribute to Calvin, shouldn’t Hunt at least have stopped to consider that he might be missing something?

“Satan delights in anything which can divide saints from one another.” – Charles Spurgeon

[PHOTO SOURCE: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/19DCmm2gEQ/]

https://www.geelongcats.com.au/news/1288080/10-dads-23-kids-how-the-new-family-club-makes-it-work

https://blackforestproject421.blogspot.com/2026/04/konferenz-fur-gemeindegrundung-2026.html

Another major problem with Hunt’s work is his unscholarly manipulation of source material to suit his purposes. For his attacks on Calvin, he often quotes the militant anti-Christian, Will Durant, without ever acknowledging that he is quoting an enemy of the faith. He often quotes the liberal, Frederic Farrar without acknowledging his theological bias. Even though Hunt in his other writings is militantly anti-Catholic, he uses the pro-Catholic leader of the Oxford Movement, Pusey, when he sides with Hunt against Calvinism. But there is no mention from Hunt, even in a footnote, of the theological bias of his sources. Ignorant readers would think that he is quoting great men of the faith.

But far worse is the way that he uses sources to “prove” blatant historical errors! He cites a source (p. 19) that claims that, among others, Richard Baxter, John Newton, and John Bunyan opposed Calvinism! Anyone who has read those men knows that they all were strong proponents of God’s sovereign election. (Baxter held to a universal atonement, but he also strongly held to human depravity and God’s sovereign election.) On the same page, he pulls a quote from Spurgeon’s Autobiography to prove that Spurgeon was against limited atonement. But in the original context, Spurgeon was arguing in favor of limited atonement (Autobiography of C. H. Spurgeon [Banner of Truth], 1:171-172)! In fact, Spurgeon states (1:172) that the teaching that Christ died for everyone is “a thousand times more repulsive than any of those consequences which are said to be associated with the Calvinistic and Christian doctrine of special and particular redemption.” Later (p. 122), Hunt cites “a British scholar who thoroughly knew Spurgeon’s writings and sermons” again to the effect that Spurgeon definitely rejected limited atonement and that he ascribed freedom of will to men. Yet in his bibliography (p. 428), Hunt lists Spurgeon’s sermon, “Free Will a Slave,” where Spurgeon refutes free will. Iain Murray (The Forgotten Spurgeon [Banner of Truth], pp. 81 ff.) cites numerous references to show that Spurgeon not only affirmed “limited atonement”; he also argued that those who deny it weaken and undermine the entire doctrine of the substitutionary atonement. In his autobiography (1:168), Spurgeon called Arminianism (which is Dave Hunt’s view, even though Hunt denies it, since he holds to eternal security) heresy and states plainly, “Calvinism is the gospel, and nothing else.” Either Hunt is a very sloppy scholar, or he is deliberately trying to deceive his readers into thinking that Spurgeon is on his side when he very well knows that he is not.

On page 102, Hunt quotes Spurgeon again and claims that he “could not accept the teaching that regeneration came before faith in Christ through the gospel.” Obviously, he is quoting Spurgeon out of context for his own ends (as he frequently does), without any understanding of Spurgeon’s theology. Murray (ibid., pp. 90 ff.), thoroughly documents how Spurgeon believed that faith and repentance are impossible before God regenerates the sinner. For example, Murray (p. 94) cites Spurgeon as saying that repentance and faith are “the first apparent result of regeneration.” And, “Evangelical repentance never can exist in an unrenewed soul.” Murray cites many more examples. Spurgeon believed “that the work of regeneration, conversion, sanctification and faith, is not an act of man’s free will and power, but of the mighty, efficacious and irresistible grace of God” (p. 104).

"The Bible does not teach that man has free will in the sense of being able to choose God apart from divine grace. What Scripture teaches is that fallen man is free to sin but not free to come to God on his own." - RC Sproul

DOES THE BIBLE ACTUALLY TEACH FREE WILL?

The Bible never says God gave everyone ‘free will.’

So where did that idea come from?

The phrase "free will" appears nowhere in Scripture.

Not once.

Yet it has become the foundation of how millions of Christians understand salvation.

Romans 3:10-12 - "None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside."

No one seeks for God. Not "some don't seek." Not "the really bad ones don't seek."

NO ONE.

John 6:44 - "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him."

No one CAN. Not "no one will." No one CAN.

If no one seeks God and no one can come to Christ without divine drawing, what exactly is "free will" doing in your theology?

The Bible describes fallen man as:

Dead in sin (Ephesians 2:1)

Slave to sin (John 8:34)

Hostile to God (Romans 8:7)

Unable to please God (Romans 8:8)

That's not a description of freedom. That's a description of bondage.

Before you form your opinion on this, go to the text.

Which passage shapes your understanding of human ability before God?

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On page 100 is another example of how Hunt uses quotations out of context to make his opponent look bad and himself look good. He quotes R. C. Sproul to sound as if Sproul is fully endorsing the view “that God is not all that loving toward” sinners. But in the preceding and following context of Sproul’s book, Sproul is raising an objection that a critic might ask, conceding the critic’s objection as true for the sake of argument, and then raising a further question to show that the critic’s question is misguided. Hunt omits the context and thus makes Sproul appear to be saying something he isn’t stating at all! This is incredibly bad scholarship and argumentation on Hunt’s part.

“If we do not preach about sin and God’s judgment on it, we cannot present Christ as Saviour from sin and the wrath of God. And if we are silent about these things, and preach a Christ who saves only from self and the sorrows of this world, we are not preaching the Christ of the Bible.

We are, in effect bearing false witness and preaching a false Christ. Our message is ‘another gospel, which is not another.’ Such preaching may soothe some, but it will help nobody; for a Christ who is not seen and sought as a Saviour from sin will not be found to save from self or from anything else.

An imaginary Christ will not bring a real salvation; and a half-truth presented as the whole truth is a complete untruth.”

–J.I. Packer, “The Puritan View of Preaching the Gospel,” in Puritan Papers, Vol 1. https://tinyurl.com/5cpxezmk

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https://lutherandcalvinbrigade914.blogspot.com/2026/01/universal-redemption-most-hideous.html

https://lutherandcalvinbrigade914.blogspot.com/2026/05/endorsing-narrow-path-doctrine.html

On page 99, Hunt reveals his ignorance of theology when he says that J. I. Packer contradicts his fellow Calvinists and even himself in declaring that regeneration follows faith and justification. Hunt then quotes a sentence from Packer that speaks of justification by faith, not regeneration! Those are distinct theological terms with distinct meanings, as anyone with even a rudimentary understanding of theology would know! But never mind, Hunt discredits Packer to the unsuspecting reader, which is all that matters to Hunt.

It would be easy to expand this review to book length, since the errors, faulty logic, and gross misrepresentation of Calvinism and the God of the Bible just keep on coming. My quandary both in personal correspondence with Hunt prior to the publication of the book and in reading the book itself has to do with Hunt’s personal integrity. If he is honestly ignorant about what Calvinists believe, he should not have written the book until he gained a fair understanding of their views. It’s not that Hunt was not confronted with this beforehand. A number of Reformed men besides me warned him that he was misrepresenting the Reformed faith. But he ignored these warnings and persisted in blasting away. He acknowledges as much in chapter 2, claiming that Calvinists are elitists and that if Calvinism is so difficult to understand that Hunt can’t understand it, it must not be biblical. However, I know many who are young in their faith who understand these doctrines quite well. Hunt should have stopped long enough to understand the opposing view so as not to misrepresent it. His attacks on his straw man simply discredit him as a reputable critic.

Tyrants may rule today, but Reformed Homeschoolers will rule the future. Our arrows shall blot out the sun.

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https://lutherandcalvinbrigade914.blogspot.com/2025/05/response-to-dave-hunts-book-what-love.html

Although Hunt would vigorously disagree, I believe that at the root of his slanderous attack on Calvin and Calvinists, and his blasphemous charges against the God of the Bible, is his refusal to submit to clear biblical revelation that does not fit human logic. After stating that God has mercy on whom He desires and He hardens whom He desires, Paul raises the objection, “You will say to me then, ‘Why does He still find fault? For who resists His will?’” (Rom. 9:19). Dave Hunt’s logical answer is, “The reason that God rightly can find fault is that He has given free will and the opportunity for salvation to every man.” It makes perfect logical sense. But the problem is, that is not the biblical answer! The biblical answer is, “On the contrary, who are you, O man, who answers back to God? The thing molded will not say to the molder, ‘Why did you make me like this,’ will it?” In other words, God’s answer is, “You don’t have a right to ask the question!”

Defending Double Predestination

Redeemer Church of Piketon Ohio

Mar 24, 2025 Redeemer Church TV

In this compelling sermon from Romans 9:10-24, Pastor Jason Boothe of Redeemer Church in Piketon, Ohio, tackles the profound and often debated topic of double predestination. He offers a biblical defense of God's sovereignty over salvation and reprobation, demonstrating that God's choices are rooted in His justice, mercy, and divine purpose.

Pastor Boothe carefully unpacks the key verses of Romans 9, addressing the hard questions surrounding God's election while showing how these doctrines ultimately magnify God's glory. This message is an essential study for anyone seeking a deeper understanding of God’s sovereign will in the salvation of humanity.

Scripture Reference: Romans 9:10-24

VIDEO SOURCE: https://youtu.be/-yEUDzdG_j4?si=4bZ1-7ixCOgbQyoY

I admit, that answer is not logically satisfying! Years ago, as a college student, I used to fight with Paul over it, accusing him of copping out right where I needed my question answered. Then one day as I was contending with Paul, the Lord opened my eyes to see. He was saying, “I did answer the question, you know! You just happen not to like the answer!” I realized then that I had to submit to what God had written through Paul. On that day, I became a “Calvinist,” although I had not yet read a single page of Calvin. If Dave Hunt would submit his logic to God’s revelation in Scripture, he would also become what he now hates and so grossly misrepresents—a Calvinist! Don’t waste your time reading Dave Hunt. Pick up a copy of Calvin’s Institutes and begin to feast on the majesty of God!

INTERNET SOURCE: https://bible.org/article/what-theology-dave-hunt-s-misrepresentation-god-and-calvinism

“When Christ intercedes for all the elect, He prays for them the same as He did with Peter, that their faith may not fail.” – John Calvin

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OTHER LINKS ON DAVE HUNT:

https://bible.org/article/what-theology-dave-hunt-s-misrepresentation-god-and-calvinism

https://www.aomin.org/aoblog/reformed-apologetics/blinded-by-tradition-an-open-letter-to-dave-hunt/

Annihilationist Views:

LEIGHTON FLOWERS UNSURE ABOUT ANNIHILATION

Doomed from the Womb? | Leighton Flowers | Soteriology 101

https://www.youtube.com/live/HblO1ex4tJw?si=v9NyHnKmYn8RPoyV