In the article, McGuire recognizes the stereotypical view of Calvinists as an accurate representation of many who hold the doctrines of TULIP, and calls for a Calvinism centered in love, for God and for the sinner.

We are never more like God than when we love. Does your Calvinism show itself in love for God and love for man? Has it freed you to love sinners? … It is so much easier to be lost in the beauty, the faithfulness, the cohesiveness, the clarity of sound Reformed theology than to be lost in the practice of love, which is, after all, the great aim of orthodox theology. Galatians 5:6b says, “The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.” This is a stunning statement. Yes, we must earnestly contend for the faith that was once and for all entrusted to the saints. But to contend is quite different from to be contentious, which Webster’s dictionary defines as “exhibiting an often perverse and wearisome tendency to quarrels and disputes.” The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.

I cannot agree more. It is easy to become arrogant and prideful when you believe you understand the gospel in a fuller sense than others, especially when coupled with the zeal of such eye-opening theology which causes you to want others to experience it is well. But we cannot allow our theology to become our Bible. Our theology makes us no better than any other brother or sister and we must love them as such, not continually debating and pushing around those who do not agree with us.

David Wayne made a few comments on this subject in his blog a few years back and I want to highlight a few of them.

This was his way of saying that the TULIP and the Westminster Confession weren’t the last word in matters of theology. Lest I get him in trouble, he does affirm and agree with these things, but he knew that they weren’t the last word. Pratt also said “I will have more trouble with someone who agrees with every jot and tittle of the Berkhof or the Westminster Confession than with someone who becomes an Arminian.” His reason was that if you agree with every word from Berkhof or the Confession, you have come dangerously close to elevating those documents to the same level as Scripture. We must always keep in mind that these are man’s summaries of the Bible, not the Bible.

And…

But, we who defend this tradition have to remember that the T in the TULIP applies to us. Too often we believe that the T in the TULIP stands for the total depravity of arminians, or the total-depravity-of-people-who-spuriously-claim-to-be-reformed-but-aren’t-because-they-aren’t-as-pure-as-I-am. The T applies to all of us and it guarantees that we reformed types are as sinful as our opponents.

The Jolly Blogger ends with a quote from Jonathan Edwards in his work, The Freedom of the Will:

They say, moreover, that the keeping up such a distinction of names, has a direct tendency to uphold distance and disaffection, and keep alive mutual hatred among Christians, who ought all to be united in friendship and charity, though they cannot, in all things, think alike. I confess, these things are very plausible; and I will not deny, that there are some unhappy consequences of this distinction of names…However the term Calvinistic is, in these days, among most, a term of greater reproach than the term Arminian; yet I should not take it all amiss, to be called a Calvinist, for distinction’s sake: though I utterly disclaim a dependence on Calvin, or believing the doctrines I hold, because he believed and taught them; and cannot be justly charged with believing in every thing just as he taught.

What I am trying to point out here are two things:

1. We need to constantly watch our hearts to protect ourselves from falling into the sin of many Calvinists before us. If we truly understand Calvinism, there is no room for pride, for our salvation and heart for God is because of God. The constant attack within the body of Christ needs to end, whether Calvinist or Arminian. Let everything be to the glory of God.

2. We cannot allow the stereotypical view of Calvinists to discourage us from our convictions. And we cannot allow those who lash out against Calvinists and Calvinism to diswayed us from preaching what we believe to be truth. Truth begins and ends with the Bible, not man. In the same way, I would not want an Arminian to be persuaded from preaching his doctrine because Calvinism makes more sense, or any other reason, outside of what the Bible says.