I haven't bothered making a direct reply to Annotated Bible. I usually ignore his tweets. He came off with something rare maybe about a year ago or longer (I can't remember exactly what) and we corresponded for a while. I remember that it was over a weekend and we eventually came to the place through reasonable discussion where we were in basic agreement as to what Calvinism did or (perhaps did not) teach on that particular issue. Well and good - only to have him repeat the very same charge on the Monday morning. TBH, if you told me he was a spoof account, I wouldn't bat an eyelid. He seems (as far as #Calvinism is concerned) to go off the radar for a few months at a time, and then he pops up on Twitter in general or (as above) me in particular. I meet all kinds of interesting people on Twitter. If nothing else, they brighten up my days :o)
Why am I giving him house room here then in this post? Simply because he is articulating two viewpoints that others sometimes make. I see these attacks of his simply as opportunities to present the truth. Maybe that helps answers the top tweet (which is second in chronological order) as to why God predestined his idea also. I'll answer that more fully below, but if he had not tweeted his tweet, then I would not be answering it here and now. Thank you AB for giving me the opportunity to present Calvinist truth once again. Every cannon needs fodder and you have been predestined to provide it.
Answer: Great wording here. The 'more rope' strategy seldom fails to bring the required result. Our notes-on-the-sides friend gets an "idea" that evangelism is pointless. Well, to be fair, it is only "if" (Perhaps he is only asking for a friend) but "if so" - then even his idea was God predestined also. Without doubt, but the idea was his own, was not? Unless he wants to change the wording to something that might actually help the cause he is seeking to advance. We all get ideas or thoughts. God sends them our way - or if they are evil thoughts, God allows the Devil to send them our direction - so that we can respond to them in an appropriate manner.
Let's develope this with the basic thought AB is brooding over. The ingathering of the elect. If the thought comes to me that the elect are to be ingathered and that it might be a good idea for me (certainly logical) to get out with a few tracts or organise a series of gospel meetings etc., then I believe I can see the directing hand of God. The fields are white and the labourers are few. Unless there is some reason why the Spirit will forbade me to go (Acts 16:16) I will see this suggestion as being a good suggestion.
OTOH, if the thought comes that it is illogical to preach in Calvinism and therefore why bother, I can immediately see that such a discouraging thought is clearly not of Heaven (for God cannot deny Himself and it pleases Him by the foolishness of preaching to save those who believe) but of Hell. Did God predestine this arrow of the Devil to confront my brain? Of course, He did. (If this arrow was outside of God's control, then I fear for some other more potent weapon of the Devil to be outside of God's control as well. This wallowing-in-its-own-failure attack on Calvinism is probably small fry to what Satan really could throw at me.) So God allows Satan to tempt me (just as He allowed him to tempt Job) with the thought that my labour is in vain in the Lord. Does it work? No. It just gives me an opportunity to tell Satan again that he is a barefaced liar and that he will soon be in the Lake of Fire burning forever and ever. And even though he may be able to pluck away some of the good seed, yet there is a seed that will land in the soil of many people's hearts well beyond his reach which will infallibly bring forth fruit, some thirty fold etc. I might even thank him for reminding me of the Great Commission to preach the gospel to every creature.
So there you go. Happy to share these thoughts with you. Thanks for reading, and thank you, AB, for your futile tweets. At least, I have salvaged something from them for you.
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