in which andy, perhaps unwisely, declares a side in the predestination debate

I wrote a song and named it "The Calvinist." I then thought about and realized that I didn't want it to sound like I was characterizing all Calvinists as the people in my song, so I renamed it "A Calvinist." I then realized that was still too ungracious, so I renamed it "Limited Atonement." I think that may still be too judgmental, and if so I apologize.

I don't apologize, however, for the genesis of the song. I've pretty much always struggled with the notion of predestination, believing strongly that personal choice is a big factor in having a relationship with God (among other issues). What has turned me against Calvinism the most, however, has been my personal interactions with Calvinists. I've met far too many who look down their noses at other believers and dismiss their (read: my) beliefs as uniformed and heretical. I've met far too many who desire only debate and never conversation.

To be frank, before I moved out to California I don't think I'd ever met a Calvinist that was a very nice person. Upon coming to Fuller, however, I met numerous Calvinists of different denominational stripes, and many of them are very nice, kind, open people. True, I still met the occasional scumbags, but they weren't the standard.

I think it's a near-universal irony that when others judge us and look down on us, we tend to create a caricature of them which we then ridicule. For years, I held onto a very negative caricature of those who believe in predestination, and I was wrong to do so. I've learned that though I take exception to Calvinist theology, I don't always take exception to Calvinist people. I need them to help me consider new points of view and push me to seriously evaluate my own beliefs.

So this song starts out as a critique of Calvinism and evolves into a critique of myself. Toward the end of the lyrics I paraphrase a quote I've seen attributed to various people (if you know who actually said it, please tell me): "You can be sure you've made God into an idol when God hates all the same people you do." I can't decide who's in or who's out - that's not my right.