http://www.youtube.com/refutingcalvinism
The above link to Youtube is a video, and website, dedicated to trying to refute Calvinism. A friend of mine taken in by this man sent me the above link to learn 'the truth' about Calvinism. I love the truth. And it may be possible that the author of the video has valid and true points.
The video is 45 minutes long. To view a video like that and respond to all the points and arguments takes a very long time. What I have done is listened to the first 5 minutes, taking notes, and then researched some of his points. The author built his first arguments on the subjunctive mood of the Greek language from John 5.
I am not professionally trained in the Greek language, yet I know that what he shared was too brief and simplistic. Therefore, I researched the subjunctive mood. The following is my conclusions. It appears to me that Mr. Skelly is also not professionally trained in the Greek language, otherwise he would not have made the mistake he did in the uses of the subjunctive mood.
I also intially touch on the use of words.
The Subjunctive Mood argument of “Calvinism Strongholds” by Kerrigan Skelly examined
1. The first argument in the video Mr. Skelly highlights John 5:34 and zeros in on the Greek Sozo being in the subjunctive mood. The word means to keep safe, rescue from danger or destruction, et. It can be used in the sense of being saved from a disease that will cause death, meaning to heal, or in the sense we commonly understand to be salvation from sin/death/hell.
a. Ex. Mark 5:34 “And he said unter her, Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace, and be whole of thy plague. This phrase is rendered sozo se sozo. The context is describing an action that has taken place, so the tense then is in the perfect, active, indicative. Perfect means it has happened, active shows that the daughter is the one the action applies to, and the indicative means a simple statement of fact. It has happened. It is obvious from the context of this passage that the word sozo is not referring to salvation in the sense of being born again, but of healing from a physical illness.
b. The point is this: Most words have a wide range of meaning. This is called the semantic range. It is the context of the passage that determines, or narrows, the meaning and is quite often clear.
c. Mr. Skelly’s argument is that the subjunctive mood of the word refutes the concept of predestination. His argument also rests on the verse being salvific in the biblical sense. That is, predestined unto eternal life. So, his suggestion is that the mood of the word refutes the historic Calvinistic doctrine of predestination.
d. Mr. Skelly correctly identifies the mood of the Greek word. He also correctly identifies to whom Jesus is referring to and why the Jews took issue with Jesus.
e. His argument against Calvinism is that because the mood is subjunctive means possibility, or potentiality, then the Calvinist understanding is wrong and God has not chosen men to salvation. The action being described may or may not occur, and Mr. Skelly’s argument is that if this is the case, that these Jews may or may not be saved, then their salvation is not determined or chosen by God.
f. Like me, Mr. Skelly may not be thoroughly trained in Greek. The use of a lexicon or dictionary, or the use of an interlinear is not enough to gain the meaning of the tense and meaning of the Greek language. To the untrained in the Greek language Mr. Skelly’s argument may appear valid. After a little research with regard to the use of the subjunctive mood in Greek, here is what I found:
i. There are various uses of the subjunctive mood in Greek. For example, there are Horatory Subjunctive, Deliberative Subjunctive, Subjuntive of Emphatic Negation, Subjunctive of Prohibition, Purpose Clause, Indefinite Relative Clause, Indefinite Temporal Clause, Third Class Conditional Sentences, et. Souce: ntgreek.org.
ii. It appears to me that the subjunctive use in John 5:34 is the Purpose Clause. As stated on the ntgreek.org site, “If the subjunctive mood is used in a ‘purpose’ (or in a ‘result’) clause, then the action should not be thought of a possible result, but should be viewed as the stated outcome that will happen (or has happened) as a result of another stated action. The use of the subjunctive is not to indicate that something “may” or “might” result from a given action, but it is stating the “purpose of” or “reason for” an action.
iii. The example given on the site is John 1:7 “The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe.”The phrase “might believe” is in the subjunctive mood. The site points out, “Notice that this verse has two purpose clauses, emphasizing the ultimate reason for John’s coming as a testimony to Christ.
iv. Notice in our text of John 5:34 is also a purpose clause. “…But these things I say, that ye might be saved.” The purpose of Jesus’ saying the things he said, His testimony, the testimony of John concerning Him, and Jesus’ miracles, have a purpose. The Scriptures referenced by Mr. Skelly are written as a purpose clause.
v. The subjunctive mood used in a purpose clause “..actually functions more like a verb in the indicative mood rather than in the optative mood. It is not stating the possibility of an action, but instead telling the intention of the primary action.” Remember, the indicative mood is a simple statement of fact.
vi. While Mr. Kelly is correct in identifying the meaning of the subjunctive mood, he has failed to show the use of it in the passages he cites. I am not one to believe that Mr. Skelly is doing this maliciously, but rather out of a lack of knowledge of the Greek language.
vii. That John 5:34 is using the subjunctive in a purpose clause the argument that this verse is teaching that salvation is possible for all men does not stand. Jesus is not teaching here that it was possible that these Jews could be saved if they were willing. What Jesus is teaching is that the testimony of John, Jesus’ miracles, and His sayings are for the purpose of saving souls.
