A few years ago, a loving couple [a retired pastor and his wife] who were members of the church I was pastoring at the time, became quite disturbed because of a particular sermon I had preached from 2 Thessalonians 2:13 on the subject of election. With, what I believe was and is a heart of true affection and genuine concern they gave me a copy of Norman Geisler’s book Chosen But Free. They exhorted me that it was a more balanced view point of the doctrines of grace, commonly called Calvinism. They assured me that my understanding of election was not a balanced one and not only violated man’s free will, but would be a direct hindrance to any real evangelism and missions being enacted in our church; the typical accusations.
It has taken me four years to finish the book. Yes, I am a slow reader, but more, Chosen But Free (CBF) is not a well written book. I hate to say that in the beginning of a book review, but it has taken me four years of force feeding to finish the book.
Geisler’s aim in the book is to confront what he defines as “Extreme Calvinism” and counter it with his proposal of “Moderate Calvinism.” As one will find if he performs even a quick scan of the book, Geisler’s “Moderate Calvinism” is little more than contemporary Arminianism. Geisler gives what I would term as a stereotypical evangelical (what I was raised in) Arminianism. That is, he trumpets the indiscriminate free will (total self-determination) of man to choose whether he will be saved or not. Man’s free will trumps the free will of God. The death of Christ only makes the world savable – it does not in fact secure the salvation of anyone. Election is based upon God knowing who would choose Him. Depravity does not affect the free agency of mankind. Yet, he hedges away from the logical conclusion of Ariminianism (of which true Arminians affirm): that one remains free enough post-salvation to lose his/her salvation.
The book contains eight chapters and thirteen appendices. The chapters attack classical Calvinism from beginning to end. Only one chapter is devoted to “Avoiding Extreme Arminianism.” He asserts that Calvinism makes God the author of sin and evil, violates man’s freedom (the center point of Geisler’s theology – of which he offers little to no biblical support), belittles the omni-benevolence of God and leads to little desire for missions and evangelism. He accuses both Augustine and Spurgeon of being double-minded on the subjects of election and the atonement of Christ. He suggests that Calvin was not really a Calvinist (asserting that Calvin rejected “Ëdouble predestination’).
I usually can find something good to say about any book I have read. It is very difficult with CBF. I suppose the one good quality of this book is that it is easy to read. You will not find any complex argumentation, exegetical minutiae, or extensive references to other works. It is an easy read, even though it took me four years.
In my estimation, CBF is not worth the read for the following reasons. The book misrepresents Calvinism at virtually every point. Geisler sets up straw men arguments posing as true Calvinistic beliefs and then begins to dismantle his own inaccurate views. When reviewing key texts frequently cited in the arguments for and against Calvinism, Geisler offers very little explanation, often times no more than a few brief sentences for each passage. His explanations of such passages rarely contain any evidence of exegetical effort. Geisler’s proposal of a “Moderate Calvinism” cannot not be termed Calvinism in any honest analysis. What is so disappointing about CBF is that I believe Geisler is worthy of writing a better book than what he offers us in CBF. For a good retort and critique of Geisler’s approach, one must read James White’s The Potter’s Freedom.
Interestingly enough, the couple who gave me this book had not read it. They had simply been told that it was the best book available to counter Calvinism. In fact, they had not given much thought or study to the doctrines of grace at all. What is unfortunate is that if they have read CBF they still do not have an accurate view of Calvinism and thus no accurate arguments against it. Surely there are better books available with a more substantive critique of Calvinism than what Dr. Geisler has offered us in Chosen But Free.
