From the desk of the pastor for Dec. 14, 2025

The Lord be with you! Just as we went over Luther’s theology last week, today we take a more in depth look at John Calvin’s thought. Double predestination is perhaps the worst heresy of all time. Let’s find out why.

Although Martin Luther and John Calvin disputed the Church’s understanding of grace, they came at the issue from very different viewpoints. Whereas Luther reduced salvation to the mere remission of sins, Calvin introduced a whole new element: salvation of the elect. Calvin taught that not everyone is saved by Christ but only a few. For Calvin those who are not saved are actually damned by God from all eternity.

Christians have long referred to those saved as “the elect” and those condemned as “reprobates.” The Church has always affirmed, however, that God wills every single human being to be saved. At the same time the Church acknowledges that some will not be saved by their own choice. This doctrine is known as single predestination because God has desired from eternity to save everyone through Jesus Christ. It is God’s active Will that everyone seeks and receives His Forgiveness. It is God’s permissive will to allow those who reject this offer to burn in hell. In other words, God wants everyone to be in the elect but allows some to end up through their personal sins to be reprobates.

John Calvin saw things very differently. He argued that God being omnipotent must will the individual salvation or condemnation of each soul. God has picked some souls to be saved and some to burn. Accordingly, the Church has called his thinking “Double Predestination” and condemned it as heresy.

For Cavlin, however, God picking some to be saved implied that their behavior and status would show them to be saved. In other words, if someone acts like a saint and is rewarded like a saint would be on earth, he is an elect. Calvin could then discern if someone is damned by how he acts on earth and by how God has arranged that person’s life. He reasoned that business and worldly success are signs of being saved because God would not mistreat His friends. This naive view of sainthood enabled the followers of Calvin to create strict codes of conduct for their membership.

The worse part of this heresy is that it makes God vindictive and cruel. Instead of a loving Father seeking to save us all, God acts capriciously in electing and condemning for no discernible reason. Moreover, since salvation has external signs, people who believe Calvin can quickly become obsessed with those signs. Calvin did not mean for wealth and success to be goals, but he created a religion that makes them into virtues to be sought. We know that God loves all of us - even sinners. May we never forget that His Mercy is for all.

In His Sacred Heart,
Fr. John