John Calvin vs. The Bible: Does God Cause Evil?

There is a false, slanderous, and quite frankly, blasphemous teaching that has been circulating and growing throughout the church like invasive thistles ruining a beautiful field. At first glance the purple flower of a thistle is appealing, but its thick stalk is covered with painful spikes and its root chokes the life out of every good plant. That tricky treacherous flower quickly spreads the seed of this petulant plant until it takes over the entire field. In the same way, a certain vile doctrine has been rapidly spreading throughout the church, poisoning people’s perceptions of the nature, person and character of God. Planted long ago, these seeds of deception have been slowly overtaking the church to the point that these ideas have now become the dominant view in our pulpits and in our seminaries.

 

I. John Calvin: Extraordinary Philosopher, Questionable Theologian

 

In chapter 18 of his (in)famous book “The Institutes of the Christian Religion,” revered Reformation theologian John Calvin states the following:

 

Angels and men, good and bad, do nought but what has been decreed by God.

 

Calvin claims that neither human beings nor angels (not even fallen ones) do anything except what God has planned and designed for them to do. Martin Luther is regularly quoted as appearing to agree with this belief when he coined this oft-repeated refrain: Even the devil is God’s devil.

 

Calvin believed that even our thoughts are controlled by God.

 

That men do nothing save at the secret instigation of God, and do not discuss and deliberate on any thing but what he has previously decreed with himself and brings to pass by his secret direction, is proved by numberless clear passages of Scripture.

 

Calvin asserts that God does whatever he pleases at all times and that this control extends to all the actions of men. He continues to build upon these blasphemies, adding:

 

The sum of the whole is this—since the will of God is said to be the cause of all things, all the counsels and actions of men must be held governed by his providence; so that he not only exerts his power in the elect, who are guided by the Holy Spirit, but also forces the reprobate to do him service.

 

This sounds like Calvin is claiming that every sinful, harmful, evil thing that mankind can do is the will of God and that The Lord Himself makes them happen. The "reformer" goes even further, stating:

 

God is the author of all those things which, according to those objectors, happen only by his inactive permission. 

Calvin then sets up a false analogy to elaborate upon his arrogant claims, saying that…he creates light and darkness, forms good and evil and that no evil happens which he has not done.

 

John Calvin explicitly taught that God is the author, creator and root cause of all evil things that happen including all actions of demons and men. His said that nothing evil has ever happened that God himself did not do. Think about that for a moment. This Protestant pastor proposed that every rape, murder, vile crime and despicable, morally reprehensible, evil act ever perpetrated on this earth was planned and perpetrated by none other than God himself. The arrogance necessary to assert such a claim is truly astonishing. The fact that so many agree with him is saddening, perplexing and quite frankly, sickening.

 

II. The Proliferation of Calvin’s Beliefs

 

This errant belief was adopted and codified in the 1647 Westminster Confession of Faith when in chapter 3 titled “God’s Eternal Decree,” they wrote:

 

God from all eternity did, by the most wise and holy counsel of His own will, freely, and unchangeably ordain whatsoever comes to pass

 

It has recently become popular for people who ascribe to Calvinistic or Reformed Theology to display the date 1689 in their bio, wear it on t-shirts or showcase it in other ways to denote their commitment to the 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith, which was based upon the Westminster Confession. The 1689 Confession phrases it this way:

 

God hath decreed in himself, from all eternity, by the most wise and holy counsel of His own will, freely and unchangeably, all things, whatsoever comes to pass.

 

The writers of the confession then submit the shallow and contradictory claim that this statement does not make God the author of sin or indicate that he overrides a person’s will, but that is precisely what such a statement accuses God of doing.

 

The Westminster Confession goes on to postulate that God did not see into the future and ordain what would happen. By their reasoning, God did not design a plan based on human actions and reactions, but rather He devised, planned and causes all things.

 

They also attribute all contingencies and secondary causes to God’s will. That means, for example, that if a person is bullied and then kills themselves as a result, that God knew this would happen. Their assertion indicates that God knew they would react that way and that he planned and caused both the act of bullying and the resulting suicide.

 

Pastors frequently repeat sayings that reflect these beliefs. Perhaps you’ve heard someone say:

 

Nothing comes into your life that doesn’t pass through God’s fingers.

 

Satan doesn’t do anything without God’s permission.

 

Satan is like a dog on a leash, only going as far as God allows him to.

 

Nothing is outside of God’s control.

 

I once visited a church where the pastor proclaimed in front of the gathered congregation that Satan is God’s errand boy, carrying out the will of the Father.

 

A different Baptist Confession of faith from the Mennonite tradition takes the opposing point of view:

 

God foresaw and foreknew all things which have come to pass, are coming to pass, and shall come to pass, both good and evil, but since he is only perfect good and the fountain of life, we believe and confess that he is the sole Author, Origin and Operator of those things which are good, holy, sincere, pure and which agree with his nature; but not at all of sins and damnable evils. For God enjoins that which is good; he desires that we obey him in that which is good; he consults for and admonishes to it, and makes great promises to those who obey. On the contrary he forbids evil, exhorts against evil, threatens evil doers, and punishes them not rarely in this life, and denounces against them eternal punishment. And by this means shows himself to be an enemy of sinners and that all iniquity is contrary to his holy nature. And therefore, not God who is good, but man who is evil, by voluntarily choosing sin to which the spirit of wickedness leads him, which is dominant in him, is the author, origin and operator of sins and all wickedness, and for this reason is worthy of punishment.

III. What Does the Bible Say?

Calvin claimed that all actions of men and angels are decreed and caused by God. Included in that statement would of course be fallen angels, or demons. Satan is also a fallen angel. The Westminster and 1689 London Confessions codified this false teaching, but the Bible contradicts:

Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. -1 John 3:8

Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil. It is ludicrous to think that Jesus came to thwart the will of the Father by fighting against the His “errand boy” the devil, but that is what Calvin’s assertion implies. Jesus came to put a stop to the pain, suffering, grief and despair caused by the Satan.

 

Calvin claimed that Satan was on a bridle and his actions were being controlled by God. But the Bible describes the devil in this way:

 

Be sober minded. Be watchful. Your adversary the devil roams around like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kind of sufferings are being experienced by your fellow believers throughout the world. -1 Peter 5:8-9.

 

God warns us to beware of this enemy which roams around freely like a savage wild predator without chains or fences for protection. Like a family on safari through the African grasslands warily watches for lions, we need to be on the lookout for the devil and his harmful schemes. The Bible also tells us to resist him and stand firm in our faith. Why on earth would God tell us to stand against the devil if Satan was doing his will? That makes no logical sense.

 

Calvin declared God to be the author of all things and committed one of the greatest blasphemies ever uttered when he said of God that 

no evil happens which he has not done.

 Chew on that for a moment. It is as if Satan himself was speaking through this man to blame God for the actions of the devil, demons and evil men. My friends, this statement is outright HERESY. 

In the Bible, the prophet Habakkuk annihilates this heresy by proclaiming:

 

Your eyes are too pure to approve evil and you cannot look upon wickedness with favor. –Habakkuk 1:13

 

James, the brother of our Lord, further insists:

 

God is not tempted by evil and he himself doesn’t tempt anyone. But each person is tempted when he is drawn away and enticed by his own evil desire. Then after desire is conceived it gives birth to sin, and when sin is fully grown, it gives birth to death. –James 1:13b-15

 

Calvin claimed that God invented light and darkness and therefore, God invented good and evil. Before creation, everything was in literal darkness and God created light. He created the day and the night. When light and darkness are used metaphorically to contrast good and evil, it is used this way:

 

This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you, God is light and there is absolutely no darkness in Him. –1 John 1:5

 

God's word directly contradicted Calvin’s claim nearly 1500 years before the man made it.

 

Calvin claimed that every thought that men think or deliberate on comes from God, but speaking directly from God, the prophet Jeremiah contradicted this point of view:

 

They have built the high places of Baal in Ben Hinnom Valley to sacrifice their sons and daughters in the fire to Molech —something I had not commanded them. I had never entertained the thought that they do this detestable act causing Judah to sin! –Jeremiah 32:35

 

Not only did God never entertain such a thought, but other translations render the text this way:  

 

I did not command them, nor did it enter into my mind, that they should do this abomination.

 

Such an evil idea did not come from the Holy mind of God. Romans 1:30 describes sinful people as inventors of evil. Evil ideas are generated by fallen human minds and by fallen angels, not by God.

If a parent orders their rebellious teenager to stay in for the night and do their homework or face the consequences and the child defies them and climbs out of their bedroom window to steal a car with their friends, drink alcohol and get into trouble, is it appropriate to say the parent "allowed" or "permitted" them to do so? Of course not. That would be ridiculous. In the same way, when God specifically forbids sin in his word and promises that judgement and punishment will come upon those  who disobey, it is outrageous, and quite arrogant, to say that he "permitted," or "allowed" them to sin. God in his mercy might choose to postpone judgement, offering forgiveness for those who repent, but He is in no way culpable for their evil actions.

SIN is rebellion against God. Sin is doing things that God forbids. He forbid Adam and Eve from eating fruit from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil and Satan enticed them to do the very thing that God had forbidden. That was the moment that mankind became aware of and began doing and evil and thinking of corrupt and vile things to do. From the very beginning, the devil has been tempting people to sin by doing evil things that God does not permit.

 

These reformed confessions of faith and quotes from various pastors claim that everything is under God’s direct control and all events are caused by Him. But, God’s own word contradicts their philosophy.

 

God is absolutely the Sovereign ruler of the universe. A Sovereign is a king and to be sovereign means to reign or rule over. When God made Adam, Genesis 1:26 records that He gave man mashal, the ability to rule over the earth.

 

Then God said, “Let us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”

 

God created man to reign over the earth as HIS representatives in goodness, righteousness and justice, but when Adam sinned, mankind lost some of that sovereignty as Satan claimed some of that power and authority God had given to man. He stole it away from them. This is why Jesus referred to the devil as the prince or ruler of this world in John 14:30, but also noted that Satan had no claim or power over him.

 

I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming. He has no claim on me

 

All evil is the result of the wickedness of the devil and the sinful, evil actions of fallen man and man’s misuse of the power and authority God gifted to him. Mankind has corrupted ourselves, continually doing evil and causing harm to one another. Genesis 6:5-6 tells us how truly corrupt and evil mankind had become by Noah's day:

Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually and the LORD regretted that he had made man on the earth and it grieved him in his heart. 

It is inappropriate, slanderous and blasphemous to blame the sinful evil actions of men on God. Our evil is in direct defiance of God's will. He does not decree such things. He forbids them. They are sin. It is outrageous to blame God for the evil actions of men and fallen angels. Only an evil heart could make such an accusation. Such Chutzpah! What bold faced, unmitigated gall! The arrogance to blame God for the evil of mankind is a lie that comes directly from Satan himself. But there is good news:

 

He disarmed the rulers and authorities and disgraced them publicly. He triumphed over them by Him. –Colossians 2:15

 

Because Satan had no claim on Christ, in rising from the grave and defeating death, Jesus utterly and completely humiliated him and put him to open shame. In destroying the works of the devil, Jesus has retaken the sovereignty of the earth (which was always rightfully his) that mankind lost and this is what the Bible says about that situation:

 

You have put all things in subjection under his feet. For in subjecting everything to him, he left nothing that is not subject to him. As it is, we do not yet see everything subjected to him. –Hebrews 2:8

 

Jesus is the King of the world. The sovereignty that mankind lost to Satan has been taken back and given to the 2nd Adam, King Jesus. All things have been placed under his authority, but not all have submitted to his rule. Out of grace, he has not yet forcibly taken control, but is holding back, offering forgiveness, patiently waiting to allow more people to be saved. 

God is all powerful, but He is also slow to anger and full of mercy and lovingkindness. Perhaps the most notorious theological question of all time is “How can a good God allow such evil in this world?” And the answer is Love. Make no mistake, there is a time appointed for God’s judgement and the destruction of all evil, but before we became Christians, you and I were evil. In order to put an end to evil God would have had to destroy us. To destroy Satan completely, God must destroy all of those the devil is at work in. I'm glad that He that is at work in us is greater than the one at work in the world. God's plan is redemption, to fill us with His Holy Spirit, to change us, to conform us to his image and to save us. Peter wrote:

 

The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. 2 Peter 3:9

 

Perhaps you have been hurt. Maybe you’ve been angry at God because you thought he causes the horrible trauma in this world that results from the actions of sinful, violent, evil people. But that isn’t true. God is love. God is a healer. There is a time coming when there will be no more pain, no more tears and the devil and all of his fallen angels, unbelievers and all evil will be destroyed. God does not want to destroy you with them. He wants you to turn away from your sins and turn toward Jesus for salvation and to put your faith, hope and trust in His promises. We are not merely players in some divine comedy, we are moral agents with the ability to make real choices and decisions with meaningful results. Our prayers matter and they affect real outcomes. Will you make the decision to follow Jesus today?

 

God is entirely good. There is no evil in him at all. It is not only a serious theological error, but an outrageous blasphemy to blame God for the sinful, evil actions of fallen angels and fallen mankind. Did you know that the word devil, from the Greek diabolos, actually means slanderer and false accuser? This libelous lie about God is from the father of lies himself, Satan. It is time to stand up to such diabolical and arrogant philosophy and demand that those who call themselves God’s people speak of him rightly. God is good.