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Your #1094, quoting Calvin: But it may be asked, If God wishes none to perish, why is it that so many do perish? To this my answer is, that no mention is here made of the hidden purpose of God, according to which the reprobate are doomed to their own ruin, but only of his will as made known to us in the gospel.

As you have noted so many times, this is Calvin's escape hatch, "the hidden purpose of God", a device that he is using to claim that the god he proposes says one thing, but secretly intends to do something very different, like a little boy who makes a very sincere-sounding statement with his fingers crossed behind his back.

Calvin should never attribute such a thing to God. However, he has tried to do it, and has gotten away with it with some people for 500 years now.

Calvin, by this device, claims God's approval of his private interpretation, and reads it into verses that clearly contradict his views.

If a Bible passage proves him wrong, no problem. He wants us to think that God publicly wills one thing, but hides His real purpose, leaving John Calvin to ferret it out and reveal it to the world 1500 years later. If we give Calvin license to do this, he can say the Bible means whatever he wants, and that is pretty much what he did.

Your #1094, quoting Calvin: But it may be asked, If God wishes none to perish, why is it that so many do perish? To this my answer is, that no mention is here made of the hidden purpose of God, according to which the reprobate are doomed to their own ruin, but only of his will as made known to us in the gospel. As you have noted so many times, this is Calvin's escape hatch, "the hidden purpose of God", a device that he is using to claim that the god he proposes says one thing, but secretly intends to do something very different, like a little boy who makes a very sincere-sounding statement with his fingers crossed behind his back. Calvin should never attribute such a thing to God. However, he has tried to do it, and has gotten away with it with some people for 500 years now. Calvin, by this device, claims God's approval of his private interpretation, and reads it into verses that clearly contradict his views. If a Bible passage proves him wrong, no problem. He wants us to think that God publicly wills one thing, but hides His real purpose, leaving John Calvin to ferret it out and reveal it to the world 1500 years later. If we give Calvin license to do this, he can say the Bible means whatever he wants, and that is pretty much what he did.

Yes, and this from those who proudly boast that they are Sola Scriptura !

Ofcourse, they get this from Augustine who was a philosopher before he was a theologian and bent the scriptures whenever he felt like it.

He is after all, the father of Romanism as well as Calvinism (Col.2:8)

If a Bible passage proves him wrong, no problem. He wants us to think that God publicly wills one thing, but hides His real purpose, leaving John Calvin to ferret it out and reveal it to the world 1500 years later. If we give Calvin license to do this, he can say the Bible means whatever he wants, and that is pretty much what he did.

Well and succinctly stated.

If a Bible passage proves him wrong, no problem. He wants us to think that God publicly wills one thing, but hides His real purpose, leaving John Calvin to ferret it out and reveal it to the world 1500 years later. If we give Calvin license to do this, he can say the Bible means whatever he wants, and that is pretty much what he did.

If a Bible passage proves him wrong, no problem. He wants us to think that God publicly wills one thing, but hides His real purpose, leaving Joseph Smith to ferret it out and reveal it to the world 1800 years later. If we give Smith license to do this, he can say the Bible means whatever he wants, and that is pretty much what he did.

Someone hold up CG, for he is going to faint again, but I have to agree with WM on this!