Difference between Augustinianism and Calvinism

Calvinism is merely a political ideology dressed up as theology that uses Augustine as cover.

The Five Points (and more generally the Five Solae) are a byproduct of Calvin's effort to circumvent the role of the Papacy in validating the divine right of kings.

A king who enjoys a divine right is absolutely sovereign. His sovereignty does not require the assent of his subjects (nor even their existence, for that matter). But his subjects, to be subjects, do require the the king's acknowledgement, at the very least.

This was a one-way relationship that flowed from the Papacy to the royalty and then to the citizenry. Calvin merely sought to remove the Papacy and royalty from this political hierarchy. Doing so required establishing the Divine as being the only absolute sovereign who could exercise acknowledgement of "subjects." And He does so by either extending grace or withholding it. The subjects themselves, on the other hand, aren't even necessary for God to be what He is. After all, He is absolutely sovereign.

The Five Points then became, in the earthly realm, the necessary suppositions of Calvin's design, otherwise the entire theological schema would be incoherent.

This envelops too many ironies and self-contradictions to enumerate here. But just to whet the appetite.

1) When Calvinism established that humans belong to one of two categories: the unconditionally elected and reprobates -- he might have as well labeled them "angels" and "brute animals."

2) Calvin wasn't very bright. Most "thinkers" who appropriate the ideas of others usually aren't. One of the prime examples that his thinking was pedestrian is that his whole theological schema assumes a pre-critical (if not antiquated) understanding of time. And to compound his mistake, he conflated temporality with eternity. If I explained any further, I'd need the space of the a dissertation. But it makes one wonder if he simply glossed over Augustine on that account.

3) I'm sometimes asked, if those who are saved are "unconditionally elected," what is their impetus to do good? After all, sola fide, no? Reformed adherents will tell you, the obvious reason is that those who are saved can do nothing but good. But the real answer simply is: they do good, not because they are unconditionally elected, but because they need to prove to themselves and their neighbor they are unconditionally elected. What's doubly ironic, is that such a motive is an absolute rejection of Augustine's teaching on Christ's Two Fold Rule of Charity.

[I will take any and all "down votes" as a sign that it is hopefully someone who might one day begin to think critically about how morally bankrupt Reformed Theology actually is. I care far more about your salvation than being right about Calvin's politically nefarious formulation of the nature of salvation.]

Five Point Calvinism teaches is based on five key points:

• Total Depravity

  Every member of the human race is corrupt in heart, mind, and soul.

• Unconditional election

  God has chosen (solely of his own will) some for glory and some for damnation.

• Limited atonement

  Christ died only to forgive the sins of those who are called by his name.

• Irresistible grace

  The saving grace of God is applied to those who he has determined to save.

• Perseverance of the saints

  Those who are truly saved will persevere and will not lose their salvation.

Calvinism in regards to salvation is rooted in Augustinianism to the point where it's often called Augustinianism.

While Augustinianism did not have five distinct points (as outlined above), it did agree with (and was the source of) each of these.

1,000 years before John Calvin was an idea. After His apologetic battle with Pelagius. Augustine wrote a book called On Grace and Free Will. This was necessitated by two extremes that he saw and had concluded (in agreement with all the fathers before him) that both extremes were in error and he would not be accused (as some were saying) that because of his arguments against Pelagius that he was denying the role of men's freedom of will. Augustine believed in neither a "total" depravity (as in absolute incapability) or in a post-Dordt Reformed position.

He writes in chapter 1

"*But since there are some persons who so defend God's grace as to deny man's free will, or who suppose that free will is denied when grace is defended, I have determined to write somewhat on this point to your Love, my brother Valenti*us, and the rest of you, who are serving God together under the impulse of a mutual love…*"

He goes on page after page defending the necessary requirement by God of man to respond to the word of truth, the gospel of our salvation. God speaks (whether through the word preached or read or heard through another) and God has sovereignly determined from before the foundation of the world that man must demonstrate belief (which is not a work according to Romans 4:2-5). He quotes form over 30 scriptures which in the Greek are in the imperative mood which precludes man can turn unto Him, receive, open the door when He knocks, etc.,

Opening chapter 2 he relates that

"Now He has revealed to us, through His Holy Scriptures, that there is in a man a free choice of will. But how He has revealed this I do not recount in human language, but in divine. There is, to begin with, the fact that God's precepts themselves would be of no use to a man unless he had free choice of will, so that by performing them he might obtain the promised rewards. For they are given that no one might be able to plead the excuse of ignorance, as the Lord says concerning the Jews in the gospel: If I had not come and spoken unto them, they would not have sin; but now they have no excuse for their sin…"

In chapter 4 he asks the logical question

"What is the import of the fact that in so many passages God requires all His commandments to be kept and fulfilled? How does He make this requisition, if there is no free will?"

And then answers it...he says ...

"...there are so many commandments which in some way are expressly adapted to the human will; for instance, there is, Be not overcome of evil, Romans 12:1 and others of similar import, such as, Be not like a horse or a mule, which have no understanding; and, Reject not the counsels of your mother; Proverbs 1:8 and, Be not wise in your own conceit; Proverbs 3:7 and, Despise not the chastening of the Lord; Proverbs 3:11 and, Forget not my law; Proverbs 3:1 and, Forbear not to do good to the poor; Proverbs 3:27 and, Devise not evil against your friend; Proverbs 3:29 and, Give no heed to a worthless woman; Proverbs 5:2 and, He is not inclined to understand how to do good; and, They refused to attend to my counsel; Proverbs 1:30 with numberless other passages of the inspired Scriptures of the Old Testament. And what do they all show us but the free choice of the human will? So, again, in the evangelical and apostolic books of the New Testament what other lesson is taught us? As when it is said, Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth; Matthew 6:19 and, Fear not them which kill the body; Matthew 10:28 and, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself; Matthew 16:24 and again, Peace on earth to men of good will. Luke 2:14 So also that the Apostle Paul says: Let him do what he wills; he sins not if he marry. Nevertheless, he that stands steadfast in his heart, having no necessity, but has power over his own will, and has so decreed in his heart that he will keep his virgin, does well. 1 Corinthians 7:36-37 And so again, If I do this willingly, I have a reward; 1 Corinthians 9:17 while in another passage he says, Be sober and righteous, and sin not; 1 Corinthians 15:34 and again, As you have a readiness to will, so also let there be a prompt performance; 2 Corinthians 8:11 then he remarks to Timothy about the younger widows, When they have begun to wax wanton against Christ, they choose to marry. So in another passage, All that will to live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution; 2 Timothy 3:12 while to Timothy himself he says, Neglect not the gift that is in you. 1 Timothy 4:14 Then to Philemon he addresses this explanation: That your benefit should not be as it were of necessity, but of your own will. Servants also he advises to obey their masters with a good will. Ephesians 6:7 In strict accordance with this, James says: Do not err, my beloved brethren . . . and have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ with respect to persons; and, Do not speak evil one of another. James 4:11 So also John in his Epistle writes, Do not love the world, 1 John 2:15and other things of the same import. Now wherever it is said, Do not do this, and Do not do that, and wherever there is any requirement in the divine admonitions for the work of the will to do anything, or to refrain from doing anything, there is at once a sufficient proof of free will. No man, therefore, when he sins, can in his heart blame God for it, but every man must impute the fault to himself. Nor does it detract at all from a man's own will when he performs any act in accordance with God. Indeed, a work is then to be pronounced a good one when a person does it willingly; then, too, may the reward of a good work be hoped for from Him concerning whom it is written, He shall reward every man according to his works. Matthew 16:27"

This is the exact opinion (the mutual existence of predestination and free will and NOT TOTAL depravity) that one will find going all the way back to Justin. All the fathers in whatever church, in whatever nation, regardless of which Apostle founded the church and taught and appointed these earliest teachers, all taught the self same one unified doctrine. After Calvin a theological war began that has lasted 500 years (you shall know then by their fruit)...Calvin is precisely the extreme error Augustine here refutes.