The Bible Story that Totally DEBUNKS Calvinism

Can God change His mind? Calvinism teaches that God’s eternal decree is fixed and unchangeable, meaning every event is predetermined. But Jonah’s warning to Nineveh—"In 40 days, you’ll be destroyed"—and God’s ultimate decision to spare the city after their repentance, seems to directly contradict that idea.

Join me as I break down why this biblical narrative challenges the heart of Calvinist theology. We’ll walk through the key moments of Jonah’s story, address common Calvinist counterarguments, and uncover how this story demonstrates that God genuinely responds to human choices, adjusting His plans based on our actions.

If you've ever questioned the idea of divine immutability or wondered how God interacts with humanity, this is a must-watch!

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Timestamps:
00:00 The Story of Jonah Debunks Calvinism
06:25 Calvinist Response "Ninevah Was Destroyed1"
07:14 Calvinist Response "This Wasn't a Real Prophecy!"
07:59 Calvinist Response "The Culture Was Destroyed!"
08:30 Calvinist Response "This Was God's Plan All Along!"
10:14 Calvinist Response "Jonah knew beforehand!"
12:16 Calvinist Response "It Was a Conditional Prophecy!"
15:23 BONUS!

[EnyartTheology]

Let me guess... I don't understand Calvinism? ;)
Well, if you also "don't understand Calvinism" support the channel at Enyart.Shop :)

Another big point against Calvinism is God wouldn't need to be patient with us if Calvinism is true. Since it's his choice on when we accept his offer, he doesn't need to be patient with us, or desire us to come to repentance. He simply just does it whenever he wants. And if he doesn't decide to change our will, then he chose not to because he wanted to demonstrate how much greater he is than us. No patience is required, because it's all his will... Does God need to be patient with himself? Also him not needing to be patient with us would contradict 1 Timothy 1:16 and many other verses.

[TG]

I don’t believe in Calvinism, but I have to say that God does know the end from the beginning. I believe His threat wasn’t empty to Nineveh, that He would have destroyed it, but I also believe He knew they would repent, that’s even why He sent Jonah there. He is all knowing and knows exactly what it takes to bring people to repentance if there is any hope for them.

[joshuasy]

ChatGPT could give a better criticism of Calvinism.

Calvinism is not limited to predestination, and predestination is not limited to Calvinism. This theology exists also in Catholicism.

Predestination also does not contradict human level free will, rather it is modeling free will from outside of/the completion of time. So many people who argue either side don't notice this, and many would likely agree with each other if they did.

Jonah is not a slam dunk for Calvinism, this is absurd.

Yes or no, do you think God transcends time and space or not? If so what case can you ever bring to allude to the idea God did not know what would happen?

If you don't think God transcends time and space, and is the continual upholder of all things, you are simply not Christian let alone a Catholic.



Romans 9
11 though they were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad—in order that God's purpose of election might continue, not because of works but because of him who calls— 12 she was told, “The older will serve the younger.” 13 As it is written, “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.”

14 What shall we say then? Is there injustice on God's part? By no means! 15 For he says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” 16 So then it depends not on human will or exertion, [b] but on God, who has mercy. 17 For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, “For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I might show my power in you, and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.” 18 So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills.

19 You will say to me then, “Why does he still find fault? For who can resist his will?” 20 But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, “Why have you made me like this?” 21 Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use? 22 What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, 23 in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory— 24 even us whom he has called, not from the Jews only but also from the Gentiles?

Ephesians 1
4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love 5 he predestined us[b] for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. 7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, 8 which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight 9 making known[c] to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ 10 as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.

11 In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, 12 so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. 13 In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is the guarantee[d] of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, [e] to the praise of his glory.


Hebrews 1:3
He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins,  he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high


And since you are of the Catholic persuasion:


St. Augustine of Hippo (354–430)
"For not all are redeemed by the death of Christ, but only those who are to reign with Christ; and these are all the predestined, whose names are written in the book of life." (On Rebuke and Grace, Ch. 14)

St. Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274)
"God wills to manifest His goodness in men: in those whom He predestines by means of His mercy, and in those whom He reprobates by means of His justice." (Summa Theologiae, I, Q23, A5)

Luis de Molina (1535–1600)
"God knows not only what men will freely do, but also what they would do under hypothetical circumstances." (Concordia, Part IV, Disputation 52)

St. Robert Bellarmine (1542–1621)
"Predestination to grace can be conditional because God’s intention to give grace depends on the cooperation of man." (Controversies on Justification, Book II)

Council of Trent (1545–1563)
Quote: "If anyone says that man’s free will, moved and awakened by God, in no way cooperates with God by assenting to God's call... let him be anathema." (Council of Trent, Session 6, Canon 4)

St. John Paul II (1920–2005)
Quote: "God in His almighty and merciful love gives the elect the grace necessary for their salvation... this choice remains a mystery of divine justice and mercy." (General Audience, 1986)

[mbeen]

Attempting to use Jonah to debunk the sovereignty of God is shockingly dumb.

[levett]

Theres a calvinist in my bible study and i had to pull the card of “if Calvinism is right, then i renounce my faith”. The more i study it, the more of what they say is a “loving God” is actually the exact opposite. Please do not subscribe to Calvinism. People renounce their faith because of it and sends people to hell. Thats what some people understand when they hear Calvinisms theology

[eugenetswong]

I don't know if you know about that King David story, but he was kind of trapped in a city, and he asked God what would happen if he stayed [i.e.: would God hand him over to the approaching enemy?], and God said yes. David left, and God did not hand him over. Clearly, God gave David a choice with options.

[scottb]

This is the principle God sets forthe in Jeremiah 8:8-9 - 8 and if that nation I warned repents of its evil, then I will relent and not inflict on it the disaster I had planned. 9 And if at another time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be built up and planted, 10 and if it does evil in my sight and does not obey me, then I will reconsider the good I had intended to do for it.

[warreneldhurst]

Loving the videos Mr Enyart! Your series on Mormonism (and your father's as well) has been super helpful witnessing to my Mormon friends as if late. Same goes for the series on Calvinism!

[Tim.Foster]

Couple of questions:

- If God was set on destroying Nineveh, why should He change His mind just because they repented? Honest question. Esau wasn't granted salvation when he sought repentance with tears (maybe Esau should've put sackloth and ashes on his animals, I guess??)

- Was God so dumb that He didn't anticipate they just might repent after all? That kind of bad planning makes him up as a liar: He promised to destroy them ...and then didn't. So from where I sit, it's the Open Theists that make God a liar because He promised to destroy them, and then genuinely changed His mind and broke His promise.
Well done.

- - - -

When you say true conditionals don't exist under Calvinism, you're collapsing the distinction between God's secret decrees and God's revealed will. (regrettably, this lack of distinction is often made by people who object to all forms of Determinism).

In His revealed will, conditionals are presented all the time. From Genesis to Revelation and hundreds of places in between. Yes, even in Jonah. There is nothing new or novel about God presenting His revealed will in a way that's consistent to the human's frame of reference. And that revelation can indeed come in the form of a conditional.

It's similar to describing the sun as rising in the east and setting in the west, when every 5th grader knows that the sun stands still and the earth revolves on its axis. It takes a special kind of obtuseness to say "Ah HA!! This 5th grader DEBUNKS the Bible's claim that the sun rises in the east and sets in the west!!! SEE: the earth spins on its axis and revolves around the sun!!!"

Of course the earth spins on its axis and revolves around the sun.


And yet we still talk about the sun rising and the sun setting because at certain times and places, it's convenient to do so. And (more importantly) talking that way doesn't deny (or debunk) the heliocentric model of the solar system. As long as you keep your frames of reference intact and distinct, there's no problem.

And so it is with God's revealed will and God's secret will.
Mind your frames of reference, and the Bible will make more sense.

[samhwwg]

If God was adamant on destroying Nineveh, He didn’t need to send a prophet, He could’ve just hurled a meteor at it or raised an army to destroy it, like how the Israelites were employed by God to be the instrument of destruction of the Canaanites, Jonah knew that when God employs His prophets, it is for salvation, whether Nineveh would repent is not Jonah’s concern, he hated the possibility of Nineveh repenting, and he has a grudge against God for even giving Nineveh a chance of repentance.

[living_the_mac_and_cheese_life]

Brother, I just found your channel today!! I was studying Jonah again today for this very reason.

I watched your James white video with a clip of your dad. Good stuff.

Subbed!

[robertnovoa]

I think the occurrence of Jonah is somewhat parallel with what happened to Peter, God had to show Peter that Christ would be the Savior not only of the Jews but also of the non-jews.
Jonah didn't like the Assyrians but God wanted to show Jonah that the Assyrians had just as much opportunity to be saved from judgment as he did.
As we know Jonah was hoping for God to bring judgment on Nineveh, so God already knew the heart of Jonah_ in fact God had prepared a big fish for Jonah to be swallowed into probably even before Jonah decided to disobey God.
So Jonah learned the lesson, and Nineveh escaped the Judgment of God which God had already planned for them to escape. And even today through Peter's writings we understand that salvation is only of the Lord and we are all entitled to be saved no matter from what nation we are from.
And anything that the devil ever did was cut down a tree that God had already planned to be cut down.

[LamontOliver-ff]

Are you saying God did not know what they would do? God knows everything. God is sovereign over everything.

[VictorFelipe]

Calvinist Steve Lawson has just confessed to having had an inappropriate sexual affair. In their systematic, this sin had already been unchangeably decreed by God since before the foundation of the world. How convenient!

[israeltrujillo-sba]

Hey man not trying to be rude here, but this is a very low quality argument, maybe one of the worst objections to calvinism I've ever heard in my life. It's like pretending compatibilist calvinism doesn't exist. Don't make content at the expense of truth, that's not intellectually honest. I have a hard time believing that you didn't know what compatibilism was before you made this video.

[thecalebgibbs]

To date (this video included) I have yet to meet or hear anyone debunk Calvinism that understands Calvinism.

[truthdefenders-]

O my, the point is not that a single molecule can bring God down but that God is absolutely sovereign. 😩

[robertnovoa]

God is not a man that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will He not fulfill it?
God's ways are not as our ways, neither are His thoughts as our thoughts, God's thoughts and God's ways are higher than ours.
God knew that Nineveh would repent even before He tested Jonah, and God knew what the outcome would be with Jonah but God wanted to teach Jonah a lesson as an individual. So if God wanted to use a whole city to give Jonah a lesson then who are we to try to change that? God knew Nineveh would repent just like God knew everyone that repented, and that would repent even today when He was on the Cross. In fact Christ is the Lamb slain from even before the creation of the world.

[jmavierpayne]

Who is this argument for? If you're trying to convince a Calvinist that they're wrong, this is a terrible example... And if you're trying to convince someone not to go towards Calvinism this is ALSO a terrible example... I guess the question is: who listens to this video and says "There! That's it- it's settled!"
Perhaps it's the fact that you picked Job, which is one of the most universally accepted complex and nuanced stories in the Bible... A virtual Kaleidoscope of biblical concepts and spiritual lessons.