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"No man can come to me unless the Father who sent me *draws* him". The doctrine of predestination presuposes the total depravity of man [to use Calvin's words]. Far from "destroying the peace" of those who believe it, predestination produces peace, knowing that it is God who has done everything, not God + my works. If God didn't predestinate men, then no one would be saved. Praise God that He didn't leave us to our own devices.

The Doctrine of Predestination presupposes that God put man into totaly Depravity so man would be unable to believe.

See Calvin's comments in Bk 3 on the reason Adam fell!

Your 'predestination' is simply God being arbitarary, creating most to send to Hell (for His glory) and saving some (no objective reason why any are chosen) to worship Him, thanking Him that they were not the ones sent to Hell.

Kind of like praising the arsonist for saving your life after he set the fire!

As for John 6:44, we also have John 12:32, that when Christ is raised up, He will draw all men to Him.

For further details see my posted article on 'Free grace vs forced grace'

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/940002/posts

I'd read Calvin's comments, but I don't own them. doh. About what you said of grace, we're agreed that it is, in fact, free and a gift. "and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified." Romans 8:30 [don't have access to the greek on this one; not a languages scholar] This text [and the verses around it] are replete with "He ___" in the process leading to salvation. Paul quotes Jeremiah [I think] in saying, that the "potter has power over the clay, to do with it as He sees fit", answering objections with "who are you, O man..." to question what God has decided to do with what he has created. He created the life/existence that we have; we "have no right to complain, in view of our sins". As for John 6:44, and John 12:32 -- in the light of the Bible as a whole, it [the Bible] crystal clear that not all men will be saved; Every time Jesus speaks of the judgement he speaks of those on his left, goats, and those who he "knew not". Clearly "all men" can not mean every human being drawn to him savingly. Think of it this way... Jesus call as a large electromagnet. But there's no metal in us by nature... He places it there and thereby makes the universal "drawing" effectual to salvation. I liked your article, and I have high regard for John Wesley, but I think he was at least partly in the wrong on this one. That said, John Calvin was known for his theocratic governing of Geneva, something I think is totally unscriptural, but I believe the 5 points to be completely scriptural. Every great man has his faults, they're just men "of the same nature".