>>Because He wants SONS, not SLAVES?
If making this into a false dichotomy makes you feel better, then stick with it. AS I said earlier, no Calvinist says that you have to be Calvinist to be saved. We say that God does not care what your theology is because it is his choice to save.
So, it is always strange that non-Calvinists get so riled up that we have our beliefs that do not affect you at all. A Methodist told me that it because they want to bring us back into the Christian church. We still baptize, take communion, have worship, evangelize, teach, sing songs, repent of sins, and even require a credible testimony of faith where we ask for Jesus Christ to be our Lord and Savior—so if your beliefs are right that we have to choose God, then we are covered.
To be honest, we (Anglicans, Presbyterians, Congregationalists who were all Calvinist) founded America. If the Presbyterians hadn’t ceded the early frontier in the beginning of the 19th century to the Methodist Circuit Riders, this would be a Calvinist nation and the state of Christianity in this nation would be a lot stronger for it.
“So, it is always strange that non-Calvinists get so riled up that we have our beliefs that do not affect you at all.”
Who is riled up?
If you aren’t trying to promote Calvinism, don’t. If you are, then I have a right to point out an opposing view. I’m not trying to convince you and I doubt you’ll convince me. But others reading here might want to see BOTH sides.
I think scripture is pretty clear. I’ve never met anyone who came to Calvinist beliefs simply by reading the Bible. But...I don’t think anyone loses their salvation over it, either. One thing is certain - no where in scripture do we find, “Score 85% or higher on a theology exam and you shall be saved...”!