Five-Point Calvinists can be among the most serious students of the Bible and passionate believers in God’s sovereignty you’ll find.
And yet, in this article, we offer a few books we believe can be helpful to you in understanding what Five-Point Calvinists teach and why we think Five-Point Calvinism is not the best understanding of the Bible or Christian theology. We believe this topic can no longer remain a curious debate in theology class in Bible college and seminary because Calvinism has been popularized through online forums such as The Gospel Coalition, books and videos by folks like John Piper, and podcasts by leading Calvinist preachers.
In other words, people in historically non-Calvinist churches are being discipled into Calvinist theology, so we need to be equipped to help them think deeply and biblically about what Calvinism teaches.
Why does this matter?
Because truth matters. Truth has to do with reality…with what we think, believe, say, and do matching up with the way things actually are. Living according to the truth has profound implication for our lives.
What’s more, because humans are made in the image of God for the purpose of imaging God in the world, the kind of God we believe in will have major repercussions for how we act in this world. That’s why A. W. Tozer said that no person can rise above their thoughts of God. And we are convinced that, as much as Five-Point Calvinists contribute to evangelical Christianity, their view of God is less than the God revealed to us in Christ. Therefore, to believe in Five-Point Calvinism is to reflect a distorted vision of God back into the world, and that has all sorts of profound consequences.
“As much as Five-Point Calvinists contribute to evangelical Christianity, their view of God is less than the God revealed to us in Christ.”
That’s why wrestling with this topic matters and why we wanted to offer this list of books we think can help you wrestle with this subject well.
1. Young, Restless, No Longer Reformed, by Austin Fischer
Young, Restless, No Longer Reformed is Austin Fischer’s story of what led him to be a Calvinist and what led him to eventually leave Calvinism behind. It’s short (109 pages), easy-to-read, and a thoughtful examination of several of the key problematic implications of Calvinism, especially the modern Calvinism of thinkers like John Piper.
Fischer describes how the doctrine of hell poses a serious problem for a Calvinist understanding of God and highlights especially how the nature of the God of Calvinism is nothing like the God revealed in the person of Jesus. His exploration of the nature of God focuses on the cross and the character of God’s sovereignty.
One note: this book gives little summary of Calvinism and thus is best for those already familiar with the theology of Calvinism.
Read a full review of this book HERE.
2. 40 Questions About Arminianism, by J. Matthew Pinson
Many find it helpful to have a quick reference guide to one of the major alternatives to Five-Point Calvinism, namely, the Arminian framing of the teaching of Scripture (Molinism is another view). I (Bobby) find this book to be a helpful reference guide for the major questions that arise when engaged in a deeper study of the issues. 40 Questions About Arminianism is a comprehensive overview of Arminian theology, addressing both common questions and misconceptions. Pinson clarifies that Arminianism is a biblically-rooted, evangelical tradition distinct from both Calvinism and semi-Pelagianism. The book emphasizes God’s universal love, conditional election, prevenient grace, and human free will in accepting salvation.
Pinson explores topics such as total depravity, the atonement, assurance of salvation, and perseverance, presenting the classical Arminian position—that of Jacobus Arminius and the Remonstrants—rather than later modified versions. He contrasts Arminianism with Five-Point Calvinist theology while demonstrating shared beliefs in core doctrines like original sin and the need for grace. The book also dispels popular myths, such as the claim that Arminians believe in salvation by works.
3. Grace, Faith, Free Will, by Robert Picirilli
This book is a super helpful examination of the major differences between Calvinism and Arminianism. After a brief historical overview, Picirilli explores all five of the core tenets of Calvinist theology—the famous five points or T.U.L.I.P.—though not in that order. Because those five points summarize Calvinism’s doctrine of salvation, this book is composed of sections exploring core aspects of salvation: the plan of salvation, the provision of salvation, the application of salvation, and perseverance in salvation.
One of the real strengths of this book is the way each section is organized. For each, there is a chapter presenting the Calvinist position, a chapter offering the Arminian alternative, and then a chapter examining some key biblical passages pertaining to that topic. Because of this, it helps readers gain a good grasp of what Calvinism teaches as well as showing some of the theological and biblical weakness with it.
Picirilli states his two main purposes for this book up front: to clarify the differences between Calvinism and Arminianism to help you decide which is best and to recommend a particular form of Arminianism, namely “Reformation Arminianism,” as the best understanding of Scripture.
4. Does God Love Everyone? by Jerry Walls
Does God Love Everyone? explores Calvinist theology with a focus on this one central question that strikes at the heart of theological debate. As the subtitle puts it, this question gets to “the heart of what is wrong with Calvinism.”
In part one of this book, Walls gives a brief intro to the heart of Calvinist theology and interacts with Calvinist thinkers, showing that God’s love is actually a blind spot in Calvinism. Then in part two, he offers a theology of love.
This book is very short (83 pages) but provides a focused, compelling critique of the central problem with Calvinist theology.
We’ll mention a bonus book here: Why I’m Not a Calvinist, by Jerry Walls and Joseph Dongell. This book is a broader critique of Calvinism than Does God Love Everyone?, and is a bit more philosophical in approach.
5. Against Calvinism, by Roger Olson
Against Calvinism is particularly focused on refuting the popular modern expression of Calvinism that has gained popularity since the early 2000s. He refers to this as “high Calvinism” and gives its historical roots in the opening chapter. In the following chapter, Olson digs deeper into the history of Calvinism to show that Reformed theology in general is broader than the particular expression of Calvinism being popularized today.
This book will help you understand T.U.L.I.P.—the famous “five points of Calvinism”—and how Calvinism understands God’s sovereignty. Olson asserts that he is “against any Calvinism (and any theology) that impugns the goodness of God in favor of absolute sovereignty” (p. 62).
Chapters 4-7 of this book offers a biblical case for an alternative to Calvinism. The book then concludes with a chapter showing how Calvinism is inconsistent as well as a couple appendices responding to Calvinist objections and claims.
Reading this book will give you a solid grasp of Calvinism’s teachings and its main problems.
6. Determined to Believe, by John Lennox
Determined to Believe is primarily focused on the relationship between divine sovereignty and human freedom and responsibility. As such, it examines Calvinism as a form of determinism. This book will help you think more clearly about the nature of free will and how that relates to God as the Creator and Ruler of all things and to the gospel and salvation He offers.
After a general survey of various explanations of free will and various kinds of determinism, Lennox digs into the biblical and theological data. He explores passages about God’s sovereignty and considers the meanings of key biblical terms such a predestination and foreknowledge. He walks through key sections of Scripture such as Romans 1-3 and 9-11 as well as examining passages that refer to people being drawn by the Father such as we find in the Gospel of John. He even wades into the warning passages in Hebrews and the nature of Christian assurance.
So, in addition to learning some things that will help you see flaws in Calvinist exegesis, you will also reap the benefit of learning to exegete some important Bible passages. And Lennox writes in a very clear and easy-to-understand way. This book even includes some questions for reflection and discussion as well.
7. The Bible Versus Calvinism, by Jack Cottrell
The Bible Versus Calvinism is a collection of essays by one the premier theologians of the Restoration Movement. Over the course of his long career, Jack Cottrell wrote or spoke on the subject of Calvinism on many occasions, and in the book he has collected and organized those teachings in one place. Cottrell studied at Westminster Theological Seminary in the 1960s when it was a leading Calvinist seminary, so, in his words, he learned Calvinism “from the inside.”
Part 1 of this book will give you a good introduction to the history and beliefs of Calvinism, including an essay on the Church Fathers and Calvinism.
Part 2 includes several essays on God’s sovereignty. These essays will help you see some problems with a Calvinistic account of sovereignty, as well as help you understand God’s sovereignty more clearly and how it relates to your life of faith.
Part 3 focuses on topics related to the five points of Calvinism. So, among others, it includes essays on questions like: What’s the nature of human depravity? Are babies born with original sin? What does it mean that God hardened Pharaoh’s heart?
Finally, part 4 examines specific biblical texts which have been used as prooftexts for Calvinism.
Many of the chapters in this book began as responses to people who submitted questions to Cottrell via email or on Facebook and as such they provide very clear answers to common, everyday questions.
8. T.U.L.I.P. and the Bible, by Dave Hunt
T.U.L.I.P. and the Bible is a condensed version of Hunt’s 590-page hardcover treatise on Calvinism, What Love Is This?, whittled down to 190 pages. Hunt works through each point of T.U.L.I.P. using Scripture and historical statements, including major Calvinistic creeds and confessions, including actual citations and context from the Canons of Dort and the Westminster Confession of Faith.
Hunt begins with a brief history of Arminius and the five paragraphs of the Remonstrance against Calvinism created by 46 Arminian ministers shortly after Arminius’s death. The Calvinist Counter-Remonstrance to these five paragraphs became T.U.L.I.P., or the five points of Calvinism.
The book does a good job of laying out the five points and comparing them to Calvin’s original teachings, the Calvinistic creeds, and Scripture in order to address any logical inconsistencies within them.
9. Calvin’s Dilemma: God’s Sovereignty vs. Man’s Free Will, by Dave Hunt
Calvin’s Dilemma: God’s Sovereignty vs. Man’s Free Will is another short paperback drawn from Hunt’s 590-page hardcover, What Love Is This? This book refutes the Calvinistic representation of predestination and free will using Scripture. Hunt focuses on God’s predestination based on His foreknowledge rather than on Calvinistic election. He quotes directly from Calvinist positions and then critiques them.
10. The Potter’s Promise: A Biblical Defense of Traditional Soteriology, by Leighton Flowers
The Potter’s Promise is Dr. Leighton Flowers’s account of his leaving Calvinism. Flowers begins with a general overview and critique of Calvinism. Flowers’s take is informative because at one point he was a stalwart defender of Calvinism. He knows precisely what the Calvinist argument is, what verses are used to defend it, and how they are used.
Flowers specifically focuses on Romans 9, which is normally used to defend Calvinism. Flowers moves through the chapter verse by verse and refutes the Calvinistic theology that he used to defend using the same passages. Dr. Flowers presents the Calvinistic perspective of each passage and then explains how that perspective is incorrect.
Flowers, however, does not argue from an Arminian perspective, but rather from the Baptist Traditionalist perspective. While this retains some Calvinistic influence, Flowers’s perspective as a former Calvinist is helpful.
11. The Flower Falls: A Careful Examination of Calvinism’s TULIP, by Patti Tilton
The Flower Falls: A Careful Examination of Calvinism’s TULIP is a fairly new book by a fairly new author. Tilton relates her own experience as a lay leader dialoging with pastors teaching Calvinism. As a result, she has spent several years researching and refuting Calvinism. The Flower Falls is the result of that research.
Tilton divides her book into eight parts:
- The Grounding of TULIP
- The Sovereignty of God
- Chosen: Whom and for What Purpose
- The Error of Total Depravity
- The Myth of Limited Atonement
- The Conflict of Irresistible Grace
- The Necessity of Perseverance
- The Problem of Evil and the Glory of God
Tilton goes in depth through each section into the Scripture passages that are generally offered as proof texts for Calvinism. Tilton denotes misconceptions and inconsistencies that demonstrate that these passages do not support Calvinism as is often argued. Throughout the book, Tilton engages with arguments from McArthur and Piper and demonstrates fallacies in their arguments and presentations.
The big takeaway from this book is that a layperson can stand their ground if they do the work to understand the argument.
Bonus: A Free eBook on Calvinism by RENEW.org
For those who may want to understand more about Five-Point Calvinism and how it influences the way people interpret the Bible, we recommend the short, clear, and free eBook by John Whittaker, What is Calvinism: Thinking Through the Basics.
