Another question was posted about Calvinism that asked, "Does God force people to be saved?"
The consensus, was that yes, He does. But the question then becomes, "Does God force people to go to hell". If He forces people to be saved, He also, in effect, is forcing people to go to hell. He chooses some, He does not choose others.
If God forces people to spend eternity apart from Him, then God is not loving, but a capricious monster. And before you say that we are all sinful, consider how that came about. It wasn't something God didn't have any control over. He created Satan, knowing Satan would rebel. He allowed Satan into the garden knowing Adam & Eve would sin and taint all of creation and all born after. You can't say God is omniscient without allowing that He knew this would all happen. You can't say He's omnipotent if you say He couldn't have stopped it.
I don't believe this is a duplicate question because similar questions do not call into question the origin of man's total depravity. God set into motion the events that would cause mankind to have a sinful nature.
Personally, I believe that Calvinism is wrong, but because my church loosely adheres to Calvinism, I want to understand how this view is incorrect.
My own theory is that God wanted true followers, rather than beings created to follow who had no choice but to follow. Calvinism seems to put God back into the tyranny camp because He picks some for salvation and some for damnation. Their sinful nature is nothing they had control over - it was predestined. But by allowing a choice between coming back to God or not, He in effect created the greater good - a way for His creation to choose Him, rather than be forced to choose Him. That can't be compatible with Calvinism can it?
