Calvinism, Love and Hell
I was talking to one of my Calvinist friend after some St. Patrick's Day drinks on some points of theology, and not being a Calvinist myself, we found ourselves disagreeing on some important issues. I claimed that God loved everyone, while my Calvinist friend denied that God loves everyone. He said, "So you're telling me that God loves both the saint in heaven praising him and glorifying him and the damned in hell who hate him?"
Why is that controversial? Of course he does. As I have said a thousand times on this blog, love is the willing of the good for the other. For those in heaven, it is uncontroversial that they experience some good, and so it is no surprise that God loves them. But what about those in hell? Can God love those in hell? Well, to translate, or to plug in a definition, does God will the good for those in hell? I don't see why not, and I certainly don't see why hell isn't precisely that good. Hell is good? Yes, hell is a good because hell is justice for those who do not accept God. So, hell is not good only if justice is not good, which is obviously false, so hell is a good because just punishments are good to those that receive it. And so, it is what a loving god would do.
Consider too the absurdity of what is entailed by my friends statement that God does not love those who hate him. If I understand Calvinism correctly, roughly but correctly, then everyone hates God. Yet, in all of creation, God still loved and elected those who hate him. And even if the elect were to fall into sin, they would still hate them, but God still chooses to love them and promise them salvation. So, it sounds like what my Calvinist friend believes leads to a non-Calvinist (and probably just a non-Christian) belief, which is, God only loves those who love him first. Sounds like salvation by works, almost. Yet, while we were sinners, Christ died for us. So, if in both cases we hate God, why would God not love those who hate him in hell but love those who hate him in this world? It's inconsistent.
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