But what you find after wading through all the assaults is that it is simply a lovely alignment of men to God. God is in control of His creation because He is a benevolent, attentive Creator who thankfully doesn't leave His children to their own, corrupted devices. He intervened into history and sacrificed Himself for the sins which men cannot and will not redress themselves. That's how much He loved His children.
And men know this by the fact that God has given them faith in His perfect Son's sacrifice on their behalf. It is all grace, or an absence of grace. Either way, it's all God, all the time, in everything.
And he is before all things, and by him all things consist." -- Colossians 1:16:17 "For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:
Years ago while pregnant, I was struggling to load bags of groceries into the car in the rain. A young, Hispanic clerk was helping me, and suddenly she started to cry. I asked her what was wrong. She looked up and half-smiled and said something I had never heard before -- "I have some family problems. But I guess I should be thanking God instead of worrying because even these problems are from Him to help me, somehow. I thank Him for the good things, so I should thank Him for the hard things, too. Right?"
It had been a difficult pregnancy and I hadn't been in a very appreciative mood in quite awhile. But after that night, I was. And every day since I've tried to be.
Angels unawares.
That's Calvinism. 100% gratitude.
It gets trashed because it is as close to the gospel as you can get and the sinfulness of man (even Christians) cannot stand the light. Those who are ordained to eternal life are the ones who believe. We don't believe and THEN are ordained to eternal life.