Why are monergists a threat?

There’s a lot of debate lately on vaccines. I don’t follow those debates as I have my own opinions on vaccines and I don’t need to be convinced either way. But there’s something in the whole vaccine issue that I find to be ignorant and funny at the same time.

There are doctors out there that will refuse to see a child if they find out it isn’t vaccinated. Their reasoning…unvaccinated children are a danger to their vaccinated patients. As in an unvaccinated child could get a virus that they haven’t been vaccinated against and pass it on to the doctor’s vaccinated patients.

Does that even make sense? If vaccines work the way they claim they do then what danger does a person that isn’t vaccinated pose to a vaccinated person?

I’ve found that being a monergist…or worse a Calvinist…has the same effect on people. Professing ‘Christians’ can sit and talk for hours with atheists, pagans, and any other religious believing person. But let a monergist share their beliefs and ‘bam’ all of a sudden the whole tone of the conversation changes.

Why?

What is it about a monergist that makes professing ‘Christians’ get defensive? If a professing ‘Christian’ can carry on a conversation with someone from any other belief besides their own…why can’t they do the same with a monergist?

Now, let me say right upfront that I haven’t had too many of these types of conversations but I’ve been told about them. I’ve listened to some of the debates online. And I have friends and family that firmly fall into the professing ‘Christian’ category.

A friend recently spoke with me about how someone close to her constantly attacked her belief. My reply to her was that I think her beliefs are a threat to the other person.

That’s what I think monergists are to any professing ‘Christian.’ Here is a person that firmly believes all they have to do to get to heaven is to profess a belief in Christ, to say the sinners prayer, and maybe get baptized. That’s it.

That’s their ticket in.

It’s their guarantee that they will walk in paradise.

It’s their safety net.

It no longer matters what they do, who they hurt, or how they live their lives. They’re covered. They’re saved. They’re going to heaven. No questions asked.

If after that point along comes a monergist…well…what would you think?

I know what I would have thought back when I was a professing ‘Christian.’ And it wouldn’t have been kind. I’d have been thinking this person was crazy. They’ve got all these ideas, they’re telling me things from Scripture that I didn’t see in Scripture, and worse…

They’re telling me  I may not be going to Heaven like I thought I was.

The only difference was I had doubts even back then. I think I probably would have listened to them. I for sure would have listened if they talked to me about how saying that prayer wasn’t the ticket into Heaven everyone thought it was.

Or at least I think I would have. Because I had doubts, questions, even back when I did little more than profess a belief in Christ.

But the Lord didn’t bring a monergist into my life back then. He waited until I was already seeing the truths in Scripture to bring someone along to show me what I was seeing but couldn’t quite connect the dots on. I just needed to be pointed to certain verses and it all became clear. Who knows what I would have done if that same person had come along years before and tried to point those verses out?

Maybe I would have seen it and maybe I wouldn’t have.

But I’m pretty sure that somewhere along the line I wouldn’t have even taken the time to look at what they were trying to point out. Or that I wouldn’t have seen what they were showing me even if it was highlighted and placed in front of me.

Even at that though…what is it that pits monergists against professing ‘believers?’ There are nice long answers written out or made into videos that answer that question. It wouldn’t take much searching to dig up any number of them. But I have yet to see any of those answers that explains why my family gets defensive if I start explaining what I see in Scripture. I haven’t seen an explanation that tells why my mother all of a sudden turns into someone set on debating Scripture if I bring up certain topics.

And they don’t explain what I see when I stand with one of those family members and find myself drawn into a Scriptural conversation when I try so hard to avoid them.

Because what I see…

Quite simply is someone that is threatened and usually lashing out as a result. They’re dealing with something they don’t understand…the one’s I’ve been around anyway…and they’re ready to argue their stance if that’s what it takes.

Because the monergist is wrong.

In their eyes anyway.

And it doesn’t matter if we use Scripture straight from the Bible. They still can’t get it. They don’t understand and so we are a threat to the security they have in their ‘salvation’. We are a threat to everything they believe and so they argue with us.

These same people though…could and do…sit and have nice, calm, friendly conversations with people that don’t profess any kind of belief in Christ.

How is that?

What about my beliefs is so threatening that I warrant arguments? Or even attacks as some of those online debates show.

Why are monergists so threatening?

If they’re secure in their beliefs…why are ours a threat to them?