Rating: 
Summary: Determinism as taught in the Scripture.
Review: The predestination debate between various groups in Christendom centers on whether or not human beings act independetly of their own free will or whether if conscious will does not exist and everything that happens is determined beforehand by a higher power. "Calvinism" is the nickname given to the hardcore, anti-free will perspective within Christianity. However, this title is misleading, as since this theological conflict goes back to the earlist days in Christian history. Augustine taught the doctrines of Calvinism in contrast to Pelagius who upheld the goodness of human nature in the fourth century AD. Most of the Protestant reformers where Calvinists, but a voice of dissent was raised by James Arminius and his followers in Holland. They formulated a five point set of teachings that limited the power of God to the whims of concious human will, in contrast to the teachings of the Bible, as revealed in this book. Thus Calvinism's five points were not randomly drawn up, but were written to consolidate the Biblical teaching against Arminius. The five points are spelled out in the acronym TULIP (Total depravity, Unconditional election, Limited atonement, Irresistable grace and Perseverance of the saints). Basically, God saves man, not man himself. It spells out the total depravity of mankind and his bondage to the lusts of the flesh and to the devil, and cannot of any means raise himself out of his fallen position without Divine aid. God chose those to be saved because He is God, and it is not the role of humans (us) to question the will of God. When God allowed Satan to destroy all of Job's possessions and kill Job's family, Job said to his wife, "the Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away; blessed be the name of the Lord." Furthermore, Christ did NOT die on the cross to save all men, only those who were predestined by the Father to have faith in Him. The angels commanded Joseph and Mary to name him Jesus, because he would save HIS PEOPLE from their sins. This salvation does not apply to all, for instance Christ called his enemies not of his flock and of their father the devil. God's Will is final, and nothing exists outside of it. The authors quote a clergyman, Charles Spurgeon: "I love to proclaim these strong old doctrines that are called by the nickname Calvinism, but which are surely and verily the revealed truth of God as it is in Christ Jesus. By this truth I make a pilgrimage into [the] past, and as I go, I see father after father, confessor after confessor, martyr after martyr, standing up to shake hands with me...I see the land of the ancients peopled with my brethren...and acknowledge that this is the religion of God's own church." Currently, "Calvinism" is not very popular in Christian teaching, but that does not detract from its basis in Biblical texts. Most of the material in this short book are in fact passages from the Bible that support human depravity, the saving work of Christ and God's election of the ones who will be saved through Christ. The concept is like that of election day: the president is chosen, but does not actually occupy the office of the presidency until he is sworn into office. I personally do not believe in free will. If we had free will, we could reason and and conquer what is bad in the world, but that is obviously not the case. Just by observing the world, I can tell that sex and death are in complete control, but everything will work out in the end to God's Will, in which the chosen will be glorified and the unredeemed will be condemned.
Rating:
Summary: Very Good, Purely as an Introduction
Review: There is no shortage of introductory works that attempt to explain the five points of Calvinism, and some of these efforts have been better then others. This work by Steele and Thomas, though 40 years old, is still one of the better introductions around. In this short work, the authors attempt to provide a summary level construction of the five points of Calvinism - what they are, where they come from, and how they differ from other theological systems. Readers who are interested in the historical development of the five points will likely find the concise and summary historical introduction to be satisfactory on an introductory level. This section does not attempt to argue for the truth of Calvinism, but rather sets the historical context for how the 5 points came into being. The comparison chart at the end of this section which contrasts the 5 points of Calvinism with the 5 points of the Remonstrance is very good and has been relied upon heavily ever since this book came out. It is in the second section that the authors attempt to advance a Biblical argument for each of the 5 points. As in other introductory works of this nature, the Biblical argument is made mainly by quoting multitudes of Scripture verses without extensive exegesis. The only significant exegesis is in the appendix, where they provide a more extensive analysis of the foreknowledge question in Romans 8:29, which is quite good. But if this book were anything other then an introductory work, the lack of exegesis (other than Romans 8:29) would be a serious flaw. But as the authors point out, their purpose is to set forth the 5 points and to highlight how, in their view, each point of Calvinism is highly reconcilable to Scripture throughout. What makes this book better then average in this regard is that they do a very good job of organizing each tenet made in each point in a logical fashion and then presenting Scripture passages that touch on each assertion of each point. The result is a highly organized and lucid presentation that stands in stark contrast to the scattered and disorganized presentations of other introductory works. Another plus for this book is that the authors truly seem to recognize that the limited objective of this book calls for more extensive research and analysis by interested readers. In that regard, they compiled an impressive and rather extensive (not to mention highly organized) further readings section at the end. Because the book was written 40 years ago, this resources section is obviously a bit dated, but the compilation presented is excellent in its survey of pre-1960 resources which interested readers can consult for more in-depth theological analysis. In summary, I have personally known folks who were uncommitted in their theology who picked up this book and gained great theological clarity from it, even if they didn't altogether agree with Calvinism. In that spirit, I echo the comments of other reviewers here who have applauded the straight forward clarity and fairness of this book in succinctly outlining the 5 points of Calvinism and why Calvinists believe they are thoroughly Biblical. As an introductory work in theology, this book is very good for what it tries to do.
Rating:
Summary: Very Good, Purely as an Introduction
Review: There is no shortage of introductory works that attempt to explain the five points of Calvinism, and some of these efforts have been better then others. This work by Steele and Thomas, though 40 years old, is still one of the better introductions around. In this short work, the authors attempt to provide a summary level construction of the five points of Calvinism - what they are, where they come from, and how they differ from other theological systems. Readers who are interested in the historical development of the five points will likely find the concise and summary historical introduction to be satisfactory on an introductory level. This section does not attempt to argue for the truth of Calvinism, but rather sets the historical context for how the 5 points came into being. The comparison chart at the end of this section which contrasts the 5 points of Calvinism with the 5 points of the Remonstrance is very good and has been relied upon heavily ever since this book came out. It is in the second section that the authors attempt to advance a Biblical argument for each of the 5 points. As in other introductory works of this nature, the Biblical argument is made mainly by quoting multitudes of Scripture verses without extensive exegesis. The only significant exegesis is in the appendix, where they provide a more extensive analysis of the foreknowledge question in Romans 8:29, which is quite good. But if this book were anything other then an introductory work, the lack of exegesis (other than Romans 8:29) would be a serious flaw. But as the authors point out, their purpose is to set forth the 5 points and to highlight how, in their view, each point of Calvinism is highly reconcilable to Scripture throughout. What makes this book better then average in this regard is that they do a very good job of organizing each tenet made in each point in a logical fashion and then presenting Scripture passages that touch on each assertion of each point. The result is a highly organized and lucid presentation that stands in stark contrast to the scattered and disorganized presentations of other introductory works. Another plus for this book is that the authors truly seem to recognize that the limited objective of this book calls for more extensive research and analysis by interested readers. In that regard, they compiled an impressive and rather extensive (not to mention highly organized) further readings section at the end. Because the book was written 40 years ago, this resources section is obviously a bit dated, but the compilation presented is excellent in its survey of pre-1960 resources which interested readers can consult for more in-depth theological analysis. In summary, I have personally known folks who were uncommitted in their theology who picked up this book and gained great theological clarity from it, even if they didn't altogether agree with Calvinism. In that spirit, I echo the comments of other reviewers here who have applauded the straight forward clarity and fairness of this book in succinctly outlining the 5 points of Calvinism and why Calvinists believe they are thoroughly Biblical. As an introductory work in theology, this book is very good for what it tries to do.
Rating: 
Summary: Creates false dichotomy to support its view
Review: This book commits the same logical fallacy that most Calvinist books are guilty of. That the only two significant views are Calvinism and Arminianism. The truth is that a small fraction of non-Calvinists are Arminian. Thus, the book in a sense creates a straw man and then burns it down to support its contentions, hoping the reader will then assume that the alternatives to Calvinism have been eliminated. Far from the truth. It doesn't even touch on other doctrines, such as the Limited Foreknowledge view, the Middle Knowledge view, and especially not the increasingly-held Open-Theist (or Neo-Theist or Open Dispensationalist) view. I'm not a Calvinist, but I can say... there are good books on Calvinism out there. But this isn't one of them. (But I can't help but continue to be dogged by an annoying question... If Calvinism is true, does that mean that God predestined me to be a non-Calvinist?)
Rating: 
Summary: Worth Having
Review: This book doesn't attempt to explore the depths of Providence. It simply outlines the Doctrines of Grace and contrasts them with the Doctrines of Arminianism.
It provides an abundance of Scriptural texts to defend each point which is good but is also the only weakness of this 98 page text. A bit more amplification of the texts would have been beneficial.
Rating:
Summary: A Great Quick-Reference
Review: This book is not intended to be an exhaustive explanation of why Calvinism is true (from the authors' perspective). It is intended on being a reference though. It provides lists of quotes for the five points of TULIP, along with their sub-points. This book is not going to persuade you that Calvinism is true; it wasn't meant to. There is no explanation of the verses cited or people quoted. What is contained in this short book are paragraphs stating something like, "Scripture teaches that man is totally depraved, meaning...." and then followed by several passages. Towards the end of the book, there is a list of books and articles for further study. This is a horrible book if you plan on getting a lot out of it, but a great book for a reference guide (especially during debates).
Rating:
Summary: 5 points of TRUTH!
Review: This is a great book to hand to someone who doesn't understand Calvinism. Some people are immediately tuned out when Calvinism is mentioned. Instead of leaving them in that negative state, hand them this book and ask them to look it over for themselves. This book is Scripturally sound! These five doctrines are found many thousands of times throughout the Bible from Genesis to Revelation.
Rating:
Summary: extremely useful
Review: This is a small, inexpensive tool that all clergy and laymen should have on their shelf. it is packed with numerous Scriptures that defend each of the five points of the synod of dort. i love this little book for references. it is honest and straightforward. Worth far more than the price they are asking. It is also the best book i have seen on the armianism/calvinist historical debate in the 17 century.
Rating:
Summary: A Biblical look at the defense of Calvinism
Review: This little book is a must for anyone interested in knowing exactely what Calvinists believe from true Calvinists. The authors go out of their way to demonstrate their positions from a Biblical point of view, and they do so in a convincing manner.
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