Revealed Meanings

As Christianity leaves open the interpretation of the words of the Bible, various categories of believers emerge, two of which are Calvinists and Evangelists. Do you believe that God is omniscient and omnipotent?

Calvinism
Christian Fundamentalism comes in two flavors - Calvinist and Evangelical. They differ with regard to the nature of their Gods. Calvinists believe that there is one God who is omniscient, omnipotent and exists outside time. As a result He already knows all events past and future. Therefore those who are damned to suffer eternal agony in hell are already damned at the moment of conception. Its the same for those who are saved.

God creates people in the full knowledge that they are bound to suffer endless unbearable pain. Obviously there is no place for compassion in Calvinism. There is nothing corresponding to the Mahayana ideal of an Enlightened Being pledged to rescue all sentient beings from a sea of suffering.

Fortunately this harsh and grim belief system is not evangelical and does not attempt to propagate itself. Obviously there’s no point in trying to save souls by seeking converts when God has already decided who is damned and who is saved.

Evangelical Fundamentalism
In Evangelical (as distinct from Calvinist) Fundamentalism there are two Gods - Jehovah and Satan - both are in competition to gather the most souls. Neither is omnipotent or omniscient. If either were omnipotent he would have zapped his adversary long ago. Similarly if either were omniscient he would long ago have been victorious because he would be able to know his enemy’s every move in advance.

Evangelical fundamentalists believe that God reacts to events, so he is subject to time and cannot predict his own thoughts in advance. For example he can become angry with people and send floods to destroy them.

…and then there’s other schools of thought such as Arminianism.

(Thanks, Sean Robsville.)