What Are The Biblical Grounds For Divorce?

What Are the Biblical Grounds for Divorce?

The inspiration for this paper came from a Facebook “Eli_of_Kittim_Bible_Exegesis_Group” member.

By Bible Researcher Eli Kittim 🔎

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Marriage: When One Spouse is an Unbeliever

In 1 Corinthians 7, Paul discusses some cases about marriage. He explains that marriage is a remedy against fornication; that it is better to marry than to burn with lust (vv. 1-9). If we focus specifically on 1 Cor. 7.15, Paul is talking about married partners, where one is a believer and the other is not, and is giving biblical instructions as to how to handle that particular situation. Notice that verses 10-11 (NRSV) represent a *direct command* from God “that the wife should not separate from her husband … and that the husband should not divorce his wife.” Here, Paul makes it absolutely clear that the mere notion that one’s partner is an unbeliever (a heathen) is not yet ground for divorce!

By contrast, verses 12-13, which apply to verse 15, are offered “by way of concession, not of command” (cf. v. 6):

if any believer has a wife who is an

unbeliever, and she consents to live with

him, he should not divorce her. And if any

woman has a husband who is an unbeliever,

and he consents to live with her, she should

not divorce him.

In other words, this is not based on a command from God but rather on Paul’s advice for a suitable compromise. Paul asserts that if the unbelieving partner agrees to stay married, the believing partner has no legitimate right to divorce them. Why? Because the believer edifies and influences the unbeliever towards holiness (v. 14).

However, in 1 Cor. 7.15 there’s an exception. If the unbeliever doesn’t wish to stay married, the believing partner (the Christian) is under no obligation. He/she may get a divorce. For God called us to peace, not quarrels & fights. The “brother” (ἀδελφὸς) or “sister” (ἀδελφὴ) in verse 15 are obvious references to a “brother” or “sister” in the faith. It’s also clear from verse 12 that the so-called “brother” refers to the Christian *believer,* not to the unbeliever. So when Paul says, “in such a case the brother or sister is not bound” (οὐ δεδούλωται), he’s referring to the Christian husband or wife who is under no obligation to continue in this marriage (SBLGNT):

εἰ δὲ ὁ ἄπιστος χωρίζεται, χωριζέσθω · οὐ

δεδούλωται ὁ ἀδελφὸς ἢ ἡ ἀδελφὴ ἐν τοῖς

τοιούτοις, ἐν δὲ εἰρήνῃ κέκληκεν ἡμᾶς ὁ

θεός.

Translation (v. 15):

But if the unbelieving partner separates, let

it be so; in such a case the brother or sister

is not bound. It is to peace that God has

called you.

The term δεδούλωται (dedoulōtai) means “enslaved” or “under bondage.” It’s a verb. Specifically, it’s a perfect indicative middle or passive 3rd person singular. Strong's 1402: it comes from doulos; to enslave (douloó).

Returning to 1 Cor. 7.15, remember that the Pauline recommendation that’s offered with regard to marriage is “by way of concession, not of command” (cf. v. 6, 12). In other words, the believing partner can legally divorce if the unbelieving partner doesn’t want to stay married, but this is not based on the Lord’s command but rather on Paul’s advice! That is to say, you can still try to salvage your marriage, seek reconciliation, and try to work things out, provided both parties agree. But if they don’t, and the unbelieving partner doesn’t want to remain married, the Christian partner is allowed to divorce them. That’s essentially what Paul is saying in 1 Cor. 7.15!

We can speculate as to what this divorce entails, but Paul doesn’t actually spell it out for us. It can involve a number of issues. Some commentators think that the verse implies that the unbelieving party seeks a divorce on account of religion, and in hatred to it, and that they will not live with the believer unless Christ is denied. In that case, Paul exhorts us to let them depart.

Although that can certainly be one of the reasons for the divorce, there can be many others. The married life can be made intolerable if the unbeliever, for example, urges the believer to join in such acts as conscience cannot approve. Then there can be grounds for divorce.

Paul doesn’t tell us but leaves the question open because it applies to so many different situations and circumstances. One thing is certain. If one’s spouse is not a believer and wants a divorce, you are not under any obligation to remain married. But if the unbelieving partner wants to remain married, you are not allowed to divorce them. According to God, there’s only one ground for divorce, namely, infidelity. That’s the basic New Testament message concerning marriage!

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Remarriage

Later on in the chapter, another advice (v. 25) is given regarding remarriage, specifically the widow’s right to remarry (v. 39). Let’s take a closer look at the Greek text.

In 1 Cor. 7.39, the verb δέδεται is used, which comes from the verb δέω, meaning “to bind” or “to tie.” There’s also an alternative form of δέω derived from Ancient Greek, namely, δέννω ‎(dénnō)! And, of course, from this verb comes the verb δέδεται (1 Cor 7:39). Thus, *δέδεται* essentially means that someone or something “is bound” or “is chained.” The term δέδεται is a verb, perfect indicative middle or passive - 3rd person plural, with a ται ending! 1 Cor. 7.39 reads:

Γυνὴ δέδεται ἐφ’ ὅσον χρόνον ζῇ ὁ ἀνὴρ

αὐτῆς· ἐὰν δὲ κοιμηθῇ ὁ ἀνήρ, ἐλευθέρα

ἐστὶν ᾧ θέλει γαμηθῆναι, μόνον ἐν κυρίῳ ·

Translation:

A wife is bound as long as her husband

lives. But if the husband dies, she is free to

marry anyone she wishes, only in the Lord.

So, a wife is allowed to remarry (a Christian) if her husband passes away.

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Conclusion

This is simply a brief study of 1 Cor. 7. Rather than drawing conclusions from a few verses, a further study is needed to see how the entire New Testament (in canonical context) deals with the issue of marriage. In other words, the exegesis might be correct, but there may be additional elements that are mentioned elsewhere that change the overall meaning of the text. We should never build a theology based on one or two verses. That’s why we need a wider study (in canonical context) in order to verify the exegesis!

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How Old Was Abraham When He Left Haran?

By Bible Researcher Eli Kittim 🎓

The Apparent Contradiction

There’s a seeming contradiction in the Bible concerning Abraham’s age when he left Haran. The apparent contradiction is as follows. If Terah died when he was 205 years old, but fathered Abram when he was 70, then Abram must have been 135 years old when his father Terah died (as Gen. 11.26, 32 suggest), not 75, as Gen. 12.4 indicates. For the story to work without any discrepancies, Terah would literally have to be 130 years old when he fathered Abram. But it seemed as if he were only 70 years old. Hence the apparent contradiction. Below are the relevant citations that appear to contradict each other.

—-

Genesis 12.4 (ESV):

So Abram went, as the LORD had told him,

and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-

five years old when he departed from

Haran.

Acts 7.2:

And Stephen said: ‘Brothers and fathers,

hear me. The God of glory appeared to our

father Abraham when he was in

Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran.’

Acts 7.4:

Then he went out from the land of the

Chaldeans and lived in Haran. And after his

father died, God removed him from there

into this land in which you are now living.

Genesis 11.26:

When Terah had lived 70 years, he fathered

Abram, Nahor, and Haran.

Genesis 11.32:

The days of Terah were 205 years, and

Terah died in Haran.

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Apologetic Exegesis

The key passage is Gen. 11.26. The Hebrew text doesn’t explicitly say that *when* Terah was 70 years old he begat Abram. Rather, it puts it thusly (Gen. 11.26 KJV):

And Terah lived seventy years, and begat

Abram, Nahor, and Haran.

Nowhere is it explicitly mentioned that Terah had all 3 children when he was 70 years old. Nor is there any direct evidence that these children were triplets, or that they were born on the exact same date, month, or year. The verse in Gen. 11.26 merely indicates that after Terah reached a certain age——namely, 70 years old——he began to father children. But exactly when these children were actually born is unknown. The only thing that’s clear from Gen. 11.26 is that they were born after Terah had reached a certain age.

It’s quite possible, for example, that some of his children could have been born when Terah was 130 years old. Nothing in the text would contradict the timing of such a birth. As long as Terah fathered at least one child after he was 70, the rest could have been born anytime between Terah’s 70th and 205th birthday.

The order in which the names of Terah’s sons are listed may not reflect the precise chronological order in which the children were actually born. The text is simply indicating their order of importance. Given that Abram is a key figure in the Old Testament and the common patriarch of the Abrahamic religions, he’s obviously mentioned first:

there is yet a question whether Abram was

born first as listed, or perhaps he is listed

first because he was the wisest similar to

Shem, Ham, and Jafeth where Shem was

not the oldest, but was the wisest. … the

Talmud leaves the above question open.

(Wikipedia)

—————

Conclusion

Actually, Abram could have been 75 years old when he left Haran, as the text indicates (Gen. 12.4). And maybe he did leave Haran “after his father died” (Acts 7.4) at the age of 205 (Gen. 11.32). There is no contradiction with regard to the dates. The assumed contradiction is actually based on fallacious reasoning and speculation. It’s based on an eisegesis, that is, a misinterpretation of the text. Readers often assume that the text is telling us that Abram was born *when* Terah was 70 years old. But that’s a conjecture. The text doesn’t say that at all. All the text says is that once Terah reached a certain age, he began fathering sons. But exactly when each and every son was born is unknown.

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Is Free Grace Theology Biblical?

By Award-Winning Author & Bible Researcher Eli Kittim

Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ,

he is none of his.

(Romans 8.9 KJV)

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Sola fide

Sola fide (meaning “faith alone”) is a theological doctrine which holds that believers are justified by faith alone. Originally, the purpose of this doctrine was to distinguish the Protestants from the Catholic & Orthodox Churches that relied on sacraments (such as the Sacrament of Penance, aka Confession) and “works” for salvation. By contrast, Sola fide maintained that it is on the basis of faith alone that believers are justified (pardoned) and saved.

However, the original doctrine of Sola fide (faith alone) didn’t mean to imply that nothing happened to the believer existentially, psychologically, or supernaturally *after* they were saved. On the contrary, many reformers emphatically stressed that *regeneration* should produce verifiable evidence of the spiritual life. As 2 Pet. 1.10 warns (cf. 2 Cor. 13.5), make sure your faith is real:

Wherefore the rather, brethren, give

diligence to make your calling and election

sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never

fall.

The evidence of conversion is a believer’s *new self* in Christ (his new identity cf. Gal. 2.20; Eph. 4.24), with proof of ongoing fruit in their life. Many people mistakenly think they are converted or born again but they show no evidence of a personality change (a recreation) nor any fruit of the Spirit (love, joy, peace). Alas, despite what they say publicly, they have not been converted; they have not been reborn! Read Jonathan Edwards’ sermon, “Sudden Conversions Are Very Often False.”

The reformers knew the importance of John 3.7: “Ye must be born again.” This Biblical concept doesn’t refer to the time when, during a crusade, you decided to make a spiritual commitment to Christ, or to the time when you made a sincere profession of faith during an altar call at a Jimmy Swaggart rally, or when you decided to give your life to Jesus, in your living room one night, while watching Billy Graham or Joel Osteen. This “decision” is characterized under the category of “works” (since you decided the outcome by yourself), and it has absolutely nothing to do with Biblical regeneration or with God. Why? Because God had nothing to do with it, nor is there any evidence of a supernatural work of the Holy Spirit in your life. That’s why 2 Corinthians 5.17 declares:

Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a

new creature: old things are passed away;

behold, all things are become new.

Unfortunately, the sinner’s prayer doesn’t save anyone. It doesn’t change your carnal nature into a new creature. Your sin nature remains the same and dominates your mind and heart. So how, then, are you saved? A saved person is dominated by God, not by his passions.

That’s why the reformers spoke of irresistible grace (monergism). Regardless of whether we agree with it or not, the point is that this soteriological doctrine teaches that God’s grace is effectually applied to the believer in order to save them, and that God overcomes their resistance and *changes* them from *within.* In other words, a transformation takes place on the inside. It’s not just faith alone. If they cannot deny it or resist it, then that means that God’s grace has a direct cause-effect influence in their lives. That’s why scripture emphasizes the need for a baptism of the Spirit (Matthew 3.11): “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved” (Mark 16.16)!

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Free Grace Theology

Free Grace (aka Easy-believism) is a Christian soteriological position which holds that anyone can be saved and receive eternal life simply by believing that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God (John 20:31). The only condition for receiving the grace of eternal life is *faith.* Nothing else is required. In fact, one is not even required to stop sinning. They have completely removed Sola fide (faith alone) from its original Biblical and soteriological context, thereby isolating and distorting it to mean something entirely different.

By contrast, *Lordship Salvation* requires obedience to Christ. And this is the actual teaching of Scripture! The free Grace movement apparently forgot Jesus’ teaching which states: “repent ye, and believe the gospel” (Mark 1.15). Grace is free, but it’s not cheap. Christ says in Mt 16.24:

If any man will come after me, let him deny

himself, and take up his cross, and follow

me.

Here are Jesus’ own words in John 14.15:

If ye love me, keep my commandments.

Besides, how can *mere belief* ALONE be sufficient for *salvation* if the demons believe just as much? (James 2.19):

Thou believest that there is one God; thou

doest well: the devils also believe, and

tremble.

In fact, 1 John 2.3-4 would call proponents of Free Grace “liars”:

And hereby we do know that we know him

[Christ], if we keep his commandments. He

that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his

commandments, is a liar, and the truth is

not in him.

And yet, *free grace theology* is constantly mocking Lordship Salvation, calling it evil and unbiblical. Therefore, we should take heed of Isaiah’s (5.20) stern warning:

Woe unto them that call evil good, and good

evil; that put darkness for light, and light for

darkness.

In this paper, I’m only talking about the *regenerated* or *born-again believer,* and what their salvation consists of. I’m trying to demonstrate that a rebirth entails a new identity, a new creation, and a constant outflow of the fruit of the spirit. Just to be clear, Christian salvation is not based on the *works* of the law. Obeying the commandments of Moses doesn’t save anyone. We are not saved because we obey; we obey because we are saved! Nor is salvation an intellectual assent to the truths of Christianity (see Wayne Grudem’s “Free Grace” Theology). You don’t simply look at the facts, weigh the evidence, and conclude that Jesus must be the Messiah. Salvation is NOT an intellectual exercise. Rather, it’s an experience! In Paul’s “Participationist” model of salvation, we don’t merely stand afar off and believe in the person and work of Jesus Christ. No! Rather, we *participate* “in Christ.” We share in his baptism (Rom. 6.3), death (Gal. 2.20), and resurrection (Rom. 6.8). Psalm 34.8 says:

O taste and see that the LORD is good.

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Calvin’s Refutations from His Own Published Work: A Critical Review by Author Eli Kittim

Excerpted from John Calvin’s Institutes of the Christian religion, Book 3, ch 23.

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Calvin’s god Chooses Whatever He Pleases and We Have No Right to Question his Choices

In Institutes, Book 3, ch 23, Calvin says that god chooses whatever he pleases, and we have no right to question his choices. But isn’t that tantamount to saying that “he does as he pleases” as opposed to acting according to the principles of truth and wisdom? Calvin writes:

Therefore, when it is asked why the Lord did

so, we must answer, Because he pleased.

But if you proceed farther to ask why he

pleased, you ask for something greater and

more sublime than the will of God, and

nothing such can be found. … This, I say,

will be sufficient to restrain any one who

would reverently contemplate the secret

things of God.

Yet isn’t that precisely what Calvin is doing? Inquiring into the “the secret things of God”? Calvin’s argument can be summarized as follows: men are, by nature, wicked, so if god has predestined some to eternal hellfire, why do they complain? They deserve it. He exclaims:

Accordingly, when we are accosted in such

terms as these, Why did God from the first

predestine some to death, when, as they

were not yet in existence, they could not

have merited sentence of death? let us by

way of reply ask in our turn, What do you

imagine that God owes to man, if he is

pleased to estimate him by his own nature?

As we are all vitiated by sin, we cannot but

be hateful to God, and that not from

tyrannical cruelty, but the strictest justice.

But if all whom the Lord predestines to

death are naturally liable to sentence of

death, of what injustice, pray, do they

complain?

He continues his thought that even though god condemned them to hellfire long before they were even born, or had done anything to warrant such an outcome, they nevertheless deserve it and should not complain. Calvin says:

Should all the sons of Adam come to

dispute and contend with their Creator,

because by his eternal providence they

were before their birth doomed to perpetual

destruction, when God comes to reckon

with them, what will they be able to mutter

against this defense? If all are taken from a

corrupt mass, it is not strange that all are

subject to condemnation. Let them not,

therefore, charge God with injustice, if by

his eternal judgment they are doomed to a

death to which they themselves feel that

whether they will or not they are drawn

spontaneously by their own nature.

But if this decree was foreordained by an absolutely sovereign god even before people were born and prior to having committed any transgressions, why are they held accountable for their sins? It appears to be a contradiction. Curiously enough, John Calvin,

admit[s] that by the will of God all the sons

of Adam fell into that state of wretchedness

in which they are now involved; and this is

just what I said at the first, that we must

always return to the mere pleasure of the

divine will, the cause of which is hidden in

himself.

So he admits that we all sinned “by the will of God” and that god does as he pleases, yet he concludes: who are we to question god’s decisions? But is this a proper explanation of predestination that fully justifies god’s justice, or is it rather an incoherent and unsatisfactory answer? Calvin asserts:

They again object, Were not men

predestinated by the ordination of God to

that corruption which is now held forth as

the cause of condemnation? If so, when

they perish in their corruptions they do

nothing else than suffer punishment for that

calamity, into which, by the predestination

of God, Adam fell, and dragged all his

posterity headlong with him. Is not he,

therefore, unjust in thus cruelly mocking his

creatures? … For what more

seems to be said here than just that the

power of God is such as cannot be

hindered, so that he can do whatsoever he

pleases?

Calvin says “How could he who is the Judge of the world commit any unrighteousness?” But Calvin doesn’t explain how that is so except by way of assumptions, which are based on the idea that god acts as he pleases and does as he wills. But that’s circular reasoning. It’s tantamount to saying that something is true because I assume that it is, without any proof or justification that it is true. It’s a fallacious argument. Calvin argues thusly:

It is a monstrous infatuation in men to seek

to subject that which has no bounds to the

little measure of their reason. Paul gives the

name of elect to the angels who maintained

their integrity. If their steadfastness was

owing to the good pleasure of God, the

revolt of the others proves that they were

abandoned. Of this no other cause can be

adduced than reprobation, which is hidden

in the secret counsel of God.

Reprobation, according to Calvin, is based on the notion “that not all people have been chosen but that some have not been chosen or have been passed by in God's eternal election.” But if no one deserves the merits of salvation, and if no one obeys the will of god except by god’s grace, then how is god’s election justified? Calvin’s response that it’s justified because god is just is not an explanation: it is a tautological redundancy. Calvin’s reply would be: god decided not to save everybody, and who are we to criticize him? Unfortunately, that’s not an adequate or satisfactory answer.

God’s decision to save some people is called election, and his decision not to save other people is called preterition. According to Calvinism, god chooses to bypass sinners by not granting them belief, which is equivalent, in a certain sense, to creating unbelief (by omission) in them. In other words, god chooses to save some, but not others. And it pleases him to do so.

Is this truly the love of Christ that is freely offered to all? By contrast, according to Scripture, God wishes to save everyone without exception (1 Timothy 2:4; 2 Peter 3:9; Ezekiel 18:23; Matthew 23:37). When Matthew 22.14 says, “For many are called, but few are chosen,” it clearly shows that those that are not chosen are still “called.” It doesn’t mean that god did not choose them for salvation. It means they themselves chose to decline the offer of their own accord. How can one logically argue that god wants all people to be saved but only chooses to save some of them? It is a contradiction in terms. And then to attribute this injustice and inequality to what appears to be an “arrogant” god who does as he pleases is dodging the issue.

Biblical Predestination Doesn’t Imply god’s Sovereignty But God’s Foreknowledge

Calvinists employ Ephesians 1.4-5 to prove that god clearly elected to save some (and not to save others) before the foundation of the world. But that is a misinterpretation. The entire Bible rests on God’s foreknowledge, his ability to see into the future: “declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done” (Isa. 46.10; cf. Jn 16.13; Rom. 1.2; Acts 2.22-23; 10.40-41). In other words, God did not choose to save some and not to save others. Rather, through his *foreknowledge* he already knew (or foreknew) who would accept and who would decline his offer. That’s why Rom. 8.29 (BLB) says, “because those whom He foreknew, He also predestined.” This explanation is consistent with God’s sovereignty and man’s free will, as well as with the justice and righteousness of God! It is reprehensible to suggest that god would choose by himself who would be eternally saved and who would be eternally condemned. That would not be a fair, just, and loving god. However, Calvin rejects prescience on account “that all events take place by his [god’s] sovereign appointment”:

If God merely foresaw human events, and

did not also arrange and dispose of them at

his pleasure, there might be room for

agitating the question, how far his

foreknowledge amounts to necessity; but

since he foresees the things which are to

happen, simply because he has decreed

that they are so to happen, it is vain to

debate about prescience, while it is clear

that all events take place by his sovereign

appointment.

So, Calvin ultimately places all responsibility and accountability on god, who has foreordained all events “by his sovereign appointment.” But if hell was prepared for the devil and his angels (Mt 25.41), and if god is held accountable for orchestrating everything, then the devil cannot be held morally responsible for all his crimes against humanity. Therefore, according to Calvinism, it would logically follow that god is ultimately responsible for evil, which would implicate himself to be ipso facto evil! There’s no way to extricate god from that logical conclusion.

god Created Evil at his Own Pleasure

In Calvin’s view, god decreed that Adam should sin. In other words, god decrees all sin, which is a sign of his omnipotence and will. How revolting! He writes:

They deny that it is ever said in distinct

terms, God decreed that Adam should

perish by his revolt. As if the same God, who

is declared in Scripture to do whatsoever he

pleases, could have made the noblest of his

creatures without any special purpose.

They say that, in accordance with free-will,

he was to be the architect of his own

fortune, that God had decreed nothing but

to treat him according to his desert. If this

frigid fiction is received, where will be the

omnipotence of God, by which, according to

his secret counsel on which every thing

depends, he rules over all?

Invariably, Calvin places the blame indirectly on god. Calvin holds to an uncompromising hard determinism position, without the slightest possibility of free will, by claiming that even god’s foreknowledge is “ordained by his decree”:

it is impossible to deny that God foreknew

what the end of man was to be before he

made him, and foreknew, because he had

so ordained by his decree.

If this isn’t an evil doctrine I don’t know what is. Calvin unabashedly declares that god created evil in the world “at his own pleasure.” He writes:

God not only foresaw the fall of the first

man, and in him the ruin of his posterity; but

also at his own pleasure arranged it.

Wasn’t Satan the one who supposedly arranged it? Hmm, now I’m not so sure … If god is the author of evil, why would he involve Satan in this script? In fact, Calvin insists that the wicked perish not because of god’s permission but because of his will. He says that “their perdition depends on the predestination of God … The first man fell because the Lord deemed it meet that he should: why he deemed it meet, we know not.” What a dreadful thing to say. It’s as if Calvin was under the inspiration of Satan, teaching “doctrines of demons” (1 Tim. 4.1 NKJV). Calvin writes:

Here they recur to the distinction between

will and permission, the object being to

prove that the wicked perish only by the

permission, but not by the will of God. But

why do we say that he permits, but just

because he wills? Nor, indeed, is there any

probability in the thing itself--viz. that man

brought death upon himself merely by the

permission, and not by the ordination of

God; as if God had not determined what he

wished the condition of the chief of his

creatures to be. I will not hesitate, therefore,

simply to confess with Augustine that the

will of God is necessity, and that every thing

is necessary which he has willed.

Calvin attempts to show that there’s no contradiction in his statement but, instead of providing logical proof, he once again resorts to circular reasoning, namely, that the accountability rests with an authoritarian god who does as he pleases:

There is nothing inconsistent with this when

we say, that God, according to the good

pleasure of his will, without any regard to

merit, elects those whom he chooses for

sons, while he rejects and reprobates

others.

Instead of admitting that this is his own wicked view of god, which certainly deserves rebuke and criticism, he suggests that this is the way god really is. In other words, he indirectly blames god by way of compliments. By insisting on god’s Sovereignty and omnipotence, he sets god up to take the blame for everything. Yet in his evasive and largely indefensible argument, he ends up justifying the seemingly “capricious” acts of god by saying that god is still just:

Wherefore, it is false and most wicked to

charge God with dispensing justice

unequally, because in this predestination he

does not observe the same course towards

all. … he is free from every accusation; just

as it belongs to the creditor to forgive the

debt to one, and exact it of another.

Conclusion

Just because God set the universe in motion doesn’t mean that every detail therein is held ipso facto to be caused by him. God could still be sovereign and yet simultaneously permit the existence of evil and free will. This is not a philosophical contradiction (see Compatibilism aka Soft determinism).

The Calvinist god is not fair. He does as he pleases. He creates evil and chooses who will be saved and who will be lost. He is neither trustworthy nor does he equally offer unconditional love to all! In fact, this view is more in line with the capricious gods of Greek mythology than with the immutable God of the Bible.

Calvin’s deity is surprisingly similar to the god of the Gnostics, who was responsible for all instances of falsehood and evil in the world! This is the dark side of a pagan god who doesn’t seem to act according to the principles of truth and wisdom but according to personal whims. With this god, you could end up in hell in a heartbeat, through no fault of your own. Therefore, Calvin’s god is more like Satan!

This is certainly NOT the loving, trustworthy, and righteous God of the Bible in whom “There is no evil” whatsoever (Ps 92.15 NLT; Jas. 1.13). Calvin’s god is not “the God of truth” (Isa. 65.16; cf. Jn 17.17), who “never lies” (Tit. 1.1-2), and who is all-good, sans evil (cf. Ps 106.1; 135.3; Nah. 1.7; Mk 10.18). Calvin’s theology does not square well with the NT notion “that God is light and in him there is no darkness at all” (1 Jn 1.5 NRSV)!

Thus, Calvin’s argument is not only fallacious, unsound, and unbiblical, but also completely disingenuous. For if “life and death are fixed by an eternal and immutable decree of God,” including the prearrangement of sin “at his own pleasure,” as Calvin asserts, then “to charge God with dispensing justice unequally” is certainly a valid criticism! Calvin harshly accused his critics of promulgating blasphemies, but little did he realize the greater blasphemies and abominations that he himself was uttering! A case in point is that he makes God the author of sin!

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The Great Reset: The Coming of the Fourth Reich

By Psychologist & Author Eli Kittim

Globalists Use Nazi-like Tactics to Control the Masses Via Propaganda & Censorship

Isn’t it strange that on the 100th anniversary of the Nazi party’s founding the Fourth Industrial Revolution was set in motion? The Nazi party was founded on 24 February, 1920. As if to celebrate its anniversary, 100 years almost to the day since its founding, a global pandemic was unleashed, which was declared “a global health emergency” by the WHO on January 30, 2020, and “a global pandemic” on March 11th of the same year. You might say, what? I don’t see the connection with Nazi Germany. Be patient; you will!

Is it a coincidence that everyone who's anyone is in on it? From important heads of state, to the fake news media, to Big Pharma, to the global social networking Big Tech giants like Twitter, Facebook, and Google, everyone is not only in on it but carefully controlling and censoring the exchange of information so as to exclusively promote their agenda, while silencing the opposition. It’s essentially a globalist totalitarian ideology which does not tolerate any alternative points of view. Any alternative viewpoint is labeled as “misinformation,” and is therefore considered as a “false claim,” which is then banned or eliminated. That’s precisely why Twitter and Facebook suspended Donald Trump’s account: his agenda contradicted theirs. Any one who has recently watched any TV news-channel or social media platform will have noticed the nonstop commercials——which either employ scaremongering tactics or a barrage of pop-up ads——that are desperately trying to persuade the public to get vaccinated, even offering incentives for research participation (such as $100). As a rule, these Big Tech social media giants are invariably censoring, libeling, discrediting, or downplaying the legitimate scientific claims of credible virologists and doctors, belittling and ridiculing their work, while also dangerously curtailing and restricting people’s freedoms that are guaranteed by the first amendment, to wit, the freedom of speech and of the press. In some extreme cases (e.g. on LinkedIn) users are given *commands* as to what to say, when to say it, and how to generally conduct themselves via a series of prompts, such as “say thank you,” or “congratulate so and so on his anniversary,” or “do this,” “do that,” and so on. As a psychologist, I see this as a form of mind control.

So, it turns out that this is not a free society after all. In fact, these are the exact same tactics that Nazis used to brainwash people into obeying their agenda. Josef Goebbels (the Minister of Propaganda), for example, controlled the media and the arts, feeding Germans with nonstop Nazi ideology while simultaneously censoring other information. That is precisely what’s happening today: mass control through propaganda and censorship!

By now, we know that many credible scientists, virologists, and doctors do not accept the data-manipulation and biased recommendations of government public health agencies, which are being dictated by the CDC, the WHO, and the globalists. These agencies themselves are sending mixed and contradictory messages. On the one hand, they are rigorously promoting vaccinations and emphasizing how safe they are. Yet, on the other hand, they themselves admit on their own websites the risks, side effects, and potential harm that these experimental vaccines pose to humanity: deaths, blood-clots, thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome, facial swelling & paralysis, myocarditis, severe anaphylaxis, and other medical concerns and complications that have put a halt to some vaccines, at least for a time. And even virology expert, Geert Vanden Bossche, PhD, who has previously worked with the B. & M. Gates Foundation and GAVI, and Michael Yeadon, former vice president and chief scientist at drugs giant Pfizer Inc., are both saying that healthy people shouldn’t be coerced into taking “experimental” vaccines. Especially since 99.9% of the population in the US survives COVID. So, the initial social media criticism——excoriating these credible scientists as conspiracy theorists——no longer works! These forced genetic-altering vaccines that maximize Big Tech/Big Pharma profitability, but which show little regard for human health, are reminiscent of the coerced & unethical genetic research “experiments” that were performed at the Auschwitz death camps by Dr. Josef Mengele, the infamous Nazi doctor.

That’s precisely what’s happening today: mass control through propaganda and censorship! The First Reich was the Holy Roman Empire. The Second Reich was the German Empire. The Third Reich was Nazi Germany. Wiki characterizes the Fourth Reich as follows:

The Fourth Reich … is a hypothetical future

Nazi Reich that is the successor to Adolf

Hitler’s Third Reich (1933–1945). The term

has also been used to refer to possible

resurgence of Nazi ideas.

6️⃣6️⃣6️⃣

The Mark of the Beast

This scenario has already been prophesied in the Book of Revelation, chapter 13 verses 16-17 (KJV), in which a charismatic world leader will dominate the world, at the end of days, under a one-world government, and will not allow people to buy or sell, or hold a job, if they don’t have the χάραγμα (mark), which can be translated as a notch, slit, or cut:

he causeth all, both small and great, rich

and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark

in their right hand, . . . And that no man

might buy or sell, save he that had the

mark.

What, then, is the Fourth Reich? It’s the fourth industrial Revolution that commenced on the 100th anniversary of the Nazi party! Coincidence? I think not! It’s a plan by the new global elite to take over the world by coercive measures, just as Hitler did in Nazi Germany. During the lockdowns, the mass media deliberately doctored images and reported false information in order to instill fear and influence public opinion. Case in point, according to Fox News:

CBS News admits 'mistake' after airing

footage of overcrowded Italian hospital in

report about NYC.

Due to extreme censorship & coercion, the mass exodus from social networking giants like Twitter & Facebook is a testament to their growing unpopularity and the public’s discontent.

The Fourth Industrial Revolution: The New World Order

In the long run, it’s not even about the vaccines. The forced vaccines are only a part of it. They are a means to an end. They are the first phase of fear and disinformation in order to control & manipulate the masses. But the end is something entirely different. So, what’s it all about? It’s all about the “the great reset”: the 4th industrial revolution. Klaus Schwab, the *German* founder and executive chairman of the World Economic Forum (WEF), admits that “the fourth industrial revolution will impact our lives completely.” It will not only change our currencies, our economies, our cities, how we live and communicate with each other, but it will also radically change our identity through nanotechnology, biology, and so on. This is all anticipated in his book “COVID-19: The Great Reset.”

See the YouTube video “What is the Fourth Industrial Revolution?”: https://youtu.be/7xUk1F7dyvI

But this movement needs coercion, restriction, and manipulation of the masses in order to work. This is serious business, and it’s quite frightening! We’re talking about a global dictatorship that has been in the making since the founding of the Federal Reserve in the early part of the 20th century. It has been affectionately called by Henry Kissinger, George H. W. Bush, Barack Obama, & Gordon Brown, among others, as “the new world order.” It’s not a conspiracy theory since many US presidents, British prime ministers, and high level officials have explicitly referred to it as an ideal future government that they are all working towards. This is no longer a conspiracy theory since this totalitarian world government——which has now reared its ugly head by censoring the masses through social media-driven panic, fake news, government lockdowns, and forced mask and passport mandates——is emerging before our very eyes. According to Wikipedia, an approximation of the phrase “new world order” is inscribed in Latin on the reverse side of the Great Seal as well as on the back of the US one-dollar bill:

The Latin phrase ‘novus ordo seclorum’,

appearing on the reverse side of the Great

Seal since 1782 and on the back of the U.S.

one-dollar bill since 1935, translates to

‘New Order of the Ages’ …. this is an allusion

to the ‘New World Order.’

Since the Great Reset was unveiled by the World Economic Forum & the UK’s Prince Charles, and is also embraced by the UN Secretary General, António Guterres, it’s no longer deemed as a conspiracy theory. Klaus Schwab, the founder of the WEF, has said repeatedly that capitalism has failed and has used Marxist terminology to instill his ideas. This is a socialist agenda (dare I say Red fascist?) in which we keep hearing the phrase, “you will own nothing, and you will be happy.” The high profile Davos regulars, such as Angela Merkel and Bill Gates, as well as the rest of the attendees, like the heads of Russia, Japan, Spain, Greece, Israel, Singapore, France, and so on, all know what is going on and exactly where we are headed. This reset has not caught anyone by surprise. But this form of communism, when enforced by a totalitarian government, ultimately becomes fascism!

The protests in France, Italy, and around the world, demonstrate that people are beginning to wake up. They realize that they’ve been lied to by politicians, government agencies, health agencies, the CDC, the WHO, and by the fake news media. Using critical thinking, they’re not buying the lies anymore. If you’re looking for “truth,” you’re not going to find it listening to Anthony Fauci or Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. Hence why the protests and the riots around the world have become more widespread. For years, left-wing totalitarian globalists have been infiltrating our education system, and especially academia, instilling a sense of hatred for our founding fathers, while inculcating anti-patriotism and applauding those who burn our flags or who disrespect our country in international sports events by turning their backs on the national anthem, and the like. They have divided our country with Marxist rhetoric, critical race theory, BLM, & the anti-statue movement, literally removing our greatest heroes from sight!

The Globalist Goal is to Abolish Personal Rights, Religion, Race, Ethnicity, Country, & National Identity

This is a well-planned maneuver that was conceived a long time ago to supposedly end all ethnic and racial heritage, to eliminate national identity, history and culture, to remove flags & national governments, to create a cashless society, to merge humans with machines (transhumanism), and so on and so forth. Mikhail Gorbachev had written about some of these themes a while back. The Vatican has also issued statements that demonstrate a sense of allegiance with this globalist movement. Most importantly, the global elite want to severely restrict the practice of religion, as in Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and China, or to abolish it altogether, as Iceland tried to do when it passed legislation banning American televangelists. And they are all reiterating the exact same narrative, from prince Charles to George Soros. So, the global elite knew what was coming. There’s only one problem: they never told the people.

Now that I have your attention, Klaus Schwab wrote a book called “The Fourth Industrial Revolution,” in which he describes an age:

[of] technological revolution … that is

blurring the lines between the physical,

digital, and biological spheres.

The First Industrial Revolution started in Great Britain c. 1760. The second industrial revolution (mass production) took place in the late 1800s. The third industrial revolution (the digital revolution) happened in the second half of the 20th century (semiconductors/personal computers). The fourth industrial revolution is characterized by the notion of humans merging with technology and artificial intelligence. This is reminiscent of Ray Kurzweil’s technological singularity. If this is the case, innovators, investors, and shareholders——like Silicon Valley, Big Tech, & Big Pharma——will largely benefit from this endeavor. To this end, the COVID-19 pandemic was manufactured so as to begin the process of transhumanism and global economic & political control.

This war on society can be viewed as World War III. We are at war with those who want to abolish our freedoms and liberties, our rights to free speech and privacy, our rights to ownership, our rights to choose our political and economic systems, etc. Our bodies do not belong to the government. They belong to us. Ultimately, we have the right to make the choice of whether or not to stick a needle in our arm, without fear, threat of imprisonment, or legal ramifications. According to the Nuremberg Code of Ethics, there can be no form of coercion in human experimentation. Moreover, a mandatory vaccine with surveillance capability (nanotechnology) constitutes a violation of the 4th Amendment, namely, the right to a person’s privacy. The Great Reset will create a dystopian society where another Hitler (which the Bible calls “Antichrist”) will rise to power (cf. Rev. 13.16-17). The New World Order will control every aspect of life through artificial intelligence à la George Orwell’s 1984! The 2nd phase will probably involve military control of cities. In fact, some cities have already invoked martial law. The following abridged message was sent to me via Goodreads by a friend named James Morcan, who lives in Sydney, Australia:

Here in the biggest city in Australia we have

martial law masquerading as medical law …

with the army out on daily patrol on the streets

monitoring citizens to ensure everyone “follows

zee rules”… plus helicopters and drones

constantly flying overhead for the same purpose.

Masks are now mandatory everywhere, even if

you’re outside miles from anyone in public

parks. Citizens have to digitally sign-in everywhere

and many are being tracked 24/7 Chinese

communism-style. All forms of protesting in

public is now illegal here. … Whenever prisoners, I

mean citizens (sorry, my mistake), are briefly

allowed outside their homes they cannot go more

than 5 miles away and cannot see friends or

family…Sydney has been in this position for

months and it may continue until Christmas, and

neighbouring Melbourne has been locked down

for 8 of the last 12 months…Those who wish to

remain unvaccinated are also being stigmatized,

marginalized and are being punished by losing

their jobs, travel opportunities, and ability to

socialize. All that’s lacking is a Star of David-style

badge so everyone can identify the unvaccinated

in public. … At some point we all have to be honest

I think and consider that if it looks and feels like a

tyrannical, dystopian society, then it probably is...

James

See the YouTube video “Dangerous Marxist Leaders Call for the ‘Great Reset’ to Destroy Capitalism”: https://youtu.be/Se9rkxUK8zU

The Return of Nazism

By Author Eli Kittim

The tactics that modern governments are using against their citizens to coerce and manipulate them are taken from the Nazi playbook. They are using better versions of the same techniques because now they can apply them with greater efficacy and ease via technology!

Nazi Propaganda Welcomed by Big Tech

The Nazis effectively used propaganda to

win the support of millions of Germans in a

democracy and, later in a dictatorship, to

facilitate persecution, war, and ultimately

genocide. The stereotypes and images

found in Nazi propaganda were not new,

but were already familiar to their intended

audience.

(Holocaust Encyclopedia)

Joseph Goebbels was the head of the Ministry of Propaganda for the Nazi Party. His modern counterparts are Big Tech & the Mass Media who do not report the fascism that is currently spreading in Australia & elsewhere but rather deceive the masses by deliberately falsifying stories, such as the purported Italian hospital that CBS News pretended was in NYC. At any rate, anyone who objects to their agenda will be duly vilified and punished in a manner according to that depicted in George Orwell’s film 1984.

See the following article in which a former investor compares Facebook to Nazi propaganda: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5071913/Facebook-investor-compares-network-Nazi-propaganda.html

Mail Online

Facebook investor compares network to Nazi propaganda

Speaking in Washington, former Facebook investor Roger McNamee (pictured) warned he believed Facebook had 'absolved itself' from responsibil

Incidentally, why would any Facebook post need to be removed and marked as “False Information” after being supposedly “Checked by Independent Fact-Checkers”? Since the onset of modern science and philosophy, has any theoretical or intellectual position ever been excluded, censored, or removed from the history books simply because it was deemed invalid or classified as “false information”? No. Of course not! In all democratic societies, multiple points of view have always been accepted as parts of any ongoing debate or freedom of expression, which in the US is protected under the 1st amendment (i.e. freedom of speech & freedom of the press). The only times when such freedoms of expression have been stifled, censored, or even outright outlawed were during the reigns of totalitarian regimes, such as the CCP, the USSR, and the NAZI party. Information can certainly be evaluated as true or false, but even if it is deemed false, it is never omitted, censored, or removed on the grounds of possible misinformation or absence of proof. The fact that platforms like Twitter & Facebook are openly removing user-generated content on that basis alone is evidence that they are acting on behalf of a totalitarian regime (a global cabal) that is operating behind the scenes.

Similarities Between the Nazi Human Experimentation and the Current Forced-Vaccine Experimentation

Nazi physicians and their assistants forced

prisoners into participating; they did not

willingly volunteer and no consent was

given for the procedures. Typically, the

experiments were conducted without

anesthesia and resulted in death, trauma,

disfigurement, or permanent disability, and

as such are considered examples of

medical torture. . . . After the war, these

crimes were tried at what became known as

the Doctors' Trial, and revulsion at the

abuses perpetrated led to the development

of the Nuremberg Code of medical ethics.

(Wikipedia)

Dr. Josef Mengele (aka the Angel of Death) was the Anthony Fauci of his time who presided over the Auschwitz concentration camp, where he performed deadly genetic-altering experiments on prisoners. As a pioneer on eugenics and “approved genocide,” he was the head of a team of nazi doctors who selected victims to be exterminated in the gas chambers. Today this is Anthony Fauci, the CDC and the WHO, who are in cahoots with Big Pharma & Big Tech. These, together with the UN (United Nations), the IMF (International Monetary Fund), and the WEF (The World Economic Forum) control governments and nations. They also control the large corporations which are the parent companies of many local news outlets. So, they control the flow of information, the economy, politics, and the culture. Back in the day, these were clandestine operations that were carried out behind the scenes. Now, it’s out in the open. Any state-sponsored science is openly embraced, while all else is relegated to false claims and misinformation.

The Dangers of the COVID-19 Vaccine

I don’t know about you but when credible doctors and scientists (who disagree with the state-sponsored science) are dismissed as cranks by the Big Tech giants, I think it’s time to step back and re-examine what’s going on here. Credible doctors like Peter Andrew McCullough, cardiologist, formerly Vice Chief of Internal Medicine at Baylor University & professor at Texas A&M University, together with virology expert, Geert Vanden Bossche, PhD, who has previously worked with the B. & M. Gates Foundation and GAVI, and Michael Yeadon, former vice president and chief scientist at drugs giant Pfizer Inc., are all saying that healthy people shouldn’t be coerced into taking “experimental” vaccines. Moreover, Dr Robert Malone, who was chiefly responsible for the creation of the messenger RNA vaccine at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, has said that “the government is not being transparent about the risks” of the covid-19 vaccine. Dr. Malone also said that the public doesn’t have enough information to decide whether to get vaccinated or not. He added that offering incentives for taking vaccines is unethical. These are experts in their fields. To dismiss them as conspiracy theorists is state-sponsored propaganda, or rather Nazi propaganda on steroids. Besides, why the need to force everyone, including pregnant women and children, to get this experimental vaccine and to continue with additional shots in the coming years if people have a 99.9 percent chance of surviving the virus? Why mandate covid passports with long-term vaccination programs——as in Canada’s initiative to vaccinate people in 2022, 2023, and possibly 2024—-if these vaccines never had proper testing or safety protocols? Sounds like we’re the experimental guinea pigs in a forced-participation-nazi-style program regarding covid-19 clinical trials.

FDA Is a Sellout

The fact that US regulators recently gave full approval to the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine right after the violent riots & protests around the world——which, by the way, are not being covered by any major media outlet——doesn’t justify their position. It’s a way to defend themselves against the angry mobs. If they’re so caring about people’s health and well-being, why don’t they allow Africa and India to develop their own vaccines? When asked if these countries should develop vaccines Bill Gates gave a resounding “No.” That was to be expected, given that Gates doesn’t want anyone to tamper with his monopoly!

FDA is a sellout: they betrayed their ethical cause to protect lives for personal gain. No reputable scientist would ever approve such an experimental drug with so many adverse side effects and without undergoing rigorous clinical trials, which usually take years. They’ve lost all credibility. Instead of protecting its citizens, the FDA is in bed with the drug companies. This hasty decision to approve the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine is a way to manipulate the crowds in the wake of mass worldwide protests. The FDA was obviously bought off. Shame on them! The globalists forced the FDA’s hand to quickly approve the drug so that they can silence the resistance, as if to say, “see? It’s safe.” Nonsense. It’s well known that it is anything but safe. Ask all the doctors. This implies that large sums of money were funneled to Janet Woodcock, the acting commissioner of the Food & Drug Administration, to bribe her into approving the covid-19 drug. It’s really nothing less than “approved genocide.” We are therefore being controlled by a bunch of psychopaths, like Hitler, who don't give a damn about our welfare or our well-being! In fact, they’re deliberately trying to kill us off!

666: The Mark of the Beast

This scenario has already been prophesied in the Book of Revelation, chapter 13 verses 16-17 (KJV), in which a charismatic world leader (the Antichrist) will dominate the world, at the end of days, under a one-world government, and will not allow people to buy or sell, or hold a job, if they don’t have the χάραγμα (mark), which can be translated as a notch, slit, or cut:

he causeth all, both small and great, rich

and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark

in their right hand, … And that no man

might buy or sell, save he that had the

mark.

Conclusion

We need to wake up, unite, and resist. We need to stand up and fight against tyranny, propaganda, and military coercion. Our brothers and sisters are being harassed by armies in Australia & told what to do. The government is prohibiting their right to free speech, making it illegal to protest, enforcing draconian-style mandates, martial law, requiring authorization to leave one’s home, locking them down for the better part of the year, and forcing them to put blood-clotting toxins in their bloodstream. No news agency that I’m aware of is broadcasting this story or the massive protests that are taking place in Melbourne, France, Italy, and around the globe. They don’t want you to know about it because they want your quiet acquiescence to their demands. Yet the CDC admits on its own website the risks, side effects, and potential harm that these *experimental* vaccines pose to humanity: deaths, blood-clots, thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome, facial swelling & paralysis, myocarditis, severe anaphylaxis, and other medical concerns and complications that have put a halt to some vaccines, and in some cases (as e.g. Denmark/AstraZeneca) banned from use altogether! Why should there be *forced* injections——administering highly toxic materials into our bloodstream——at gun point?

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