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I have a question that may seem odd, but bear with me. Basically, I'm wondering whether there's any Jewish theology analogous to Calvinist Christianity. I am NOT wondering about the salvation/sacrifice/Jesus aspect per se, since obviously there's no analogy there. Instead, I'm wondering about Calvin's general view of God and humanity.

The basic tenets of Calvinism, in a nutshell, are:

  • You're inherently awful and loathsome
  • Even if you do all the right things, that doesn't get you into Heaven
  • There's an in-group (Heaven-bound) and an out-group (Hell-bound), chosen by God for His own inscrutable reasons and not for their merits, such as they are
  • Whether you're In or Out, nothing you do can change your status. (So if you're going to Heaven, no amount of sinning will change God's mind.)

I know there are plenty of sources that talk about God's sovereignty (e.g., Job and Qohelet both talk about the impossibility of trying to know the mind of God). So I'm not asking about that. This is about whether the Calvinist emphasis on human depravity and helplessness exists in Jewish theology, and, if so, where.

crmdgn
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  • Doesn’t Calvinism reject free will? – DonielF Aug 26 '18 at 01:37
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    would "no" be an acceptable answer? – rosends Aug 26 '18 at 01:53
  • @DonielF As I understand it, yes, but I know that there are several subtypes of Calvinism, of different degrees of stringency. So there might be some variation there. – crmdgn Aug 26 '18 at 02:02
  • @rosends It would be more helpful to elaborate a little: e.g., if there's consensus on these issues within Judaism, what is that consensus? or, if there's a spectrum of opinions, what are the endpoints of the spectrum? And which sources are authoritative on these questions? – crmdgn Aug 26 '18 at 02:07
  • @crmdgn I don’t think anyone in Judaism argues on the concept that it’s up to you whether you’re a righteous person or a wicked one – DonielF Aug 26 '18 at 02:35
  • You may wish to ask the question differently: examples: 1) Is there a verse or Talmudic passage that says "G-d finds us inherently pleasing?" Is there a verse which proves we always have free choice? 2) A Calvinist showed me this verse: "XXX" and said it means we are all depraved with no hope. What do Jewish sources say it means? Do they agree? Just asking if Jews also agree with Calvinist theology will get you a simple "no" (as you see above) which might not be satisfying. But we might not have any other way to answer the question as it is worded now. Your q may be too broad. – David Kenner Aug 26 '18 at 03:14
  • @rosends "No" is an acceptable answer, as long as you're able to back up your claim by bringing purely Jewish sources expressing this opinion. – ezra Aug 26 '18 at 03:41
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    @ezra actually "No" may just be the only answer with nothing to back it up. The OP is asking for the possibility of a universal negative. Sometimes one cannot prove a negative. Example: Does Judaism believe in vampires? Answer: No. The answer is based on the fact that the Torah makes no mention of vampires. It is not the answer's job to find a verse stating" And Moses said: vampires do not exist." So sometimes No is sufficient. – David Kenner Aug 26 '18 at 08:33
  • @DavidKenner You just gave me a great idea for a sequel to this book. – crmdgn Aug 26 '18 at 12:50
  • @David you do need something to back it up. Some rishonim write about werewolves. It's totally reasonable to think some believed in vampires. The fact that you find it silly isn't good enough. If your evidence is the Torah doesn't contain the word vampire, that's evidence. I don't find it that conclusive but so be it – Double AA Aug 26 '18 at 12:59
  • @DoubleAA Do you have a citation for the rishonim writing about werewolves? I am now officially fascinated. – crmdgn Aug 26 '18 at 13:08
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    @crm https://judaism.stackexchange.com/q/5687/759 – Double AA Aug 26 '18 at 13:09
  • @DoubleAA my comment has nothing to do with "silly". I picked vampire because it seemed relatively safe as an example. Thanks for the werewolf references, interesting. My point is that any question on MY asking if Judaism contains "X" faces the problem of proving a negative. IOW it could be a yes (backed by proof); BUT, if the right answer is "no", then such an answer automatically puts pressure on the one giving the answer, to say they know the entire Torah and have searched it and came up blank. Such q's tend to hang in the air because a simple "no" would get neg rep from some people. – David Kenner Aug 26 '18 at 16:26
  • @David the trouble with proving a negative can indeed be challenging but that doesn't mean you should change the rules. It's hard to prove a negative for a reason. You'd be surprised how often something you think doesn't exist does. See too https://judaism.meta.stackexchange.com/q/4559/759 https://judaism.meta.stackexchange.com/q/4614/759 – Double AA Aug 26 '18 at 16:29
  • @DoubleAA However, the reason it is "no" just might be because there is no mention in the Torah (as you yourself admitted that such could be evidence). I am suggesting the OP would be improved by asking 1) Can you bring proof from Judaism that shows we definitely do not believe tenet "X" 2) I heard that verse "X" in the Torah proves "Calvinist Y", can that be refuted? – David Kenner Aug 26 '18 at 16:29

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That philosophy violates some core tenets of Judaism:

  • The concepts of teshuva and atonement are very important in Judaism, and say that we can repair a damaged relationship with God. The "you're damned and there's nothing you can do about it" idea is in direct opposition to that. Even non-Jews who God had decreed against (Nineveh in the book of Yonah) were able to save themselves. Every year we have Yom Kippur, the day of atonement, on which -- if we have returned from our bad ways, made amends, and asked for forgiveness -- we receive atonement. For more about atonement, see this article from Chabad.

  • Christianity, and thus Calvinism, has as a core concept "original sin", that people are born sinful and must be "saved". Judaism, on the other hand, holds that we have a yetzer hatov (good inclination) and a yetzer hara (bad inclination) (more information) and that we need both. Having the yetzer hara does not make us evil or sinful; in fact, it is necessary for life (Yoma 69b).

  • It sounds like Calvinism has quotas -- some people are going to Heaven and some to Hell (we don't really do Hell either, not in the way Christians do), and there's nothing you can do about it. Judaism aspires to a time when the whole world will follow God, as expressed in the Aleinu prayer that is part of every service.

Monica Cellio
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