Why i am not a tulip aficionado

catchy lil title eh??? I have been marinating over this subject a very long time hopefully can make intelligible sense out of my position on the matter. Tulip is a well-respected acronym for the 5 points of calvinism. I have struggled long and hard in many discussions across the decades dealing with calvinism /arminianism, predestination/feewill and etc. i have seen long drwan-out battles with Scripture being wielded as a sword and not like paul talks about in Ephesians neither. i simply cannot agree with some of the foundational tenets calvinism seems to uphold.

Calvinism places a very high value upon Gods sovereignty, or His power. Plenty of scriptures to back this up, He is the Almighty, Omnipotent. However, i think His choosing to restrain His power is an even greater attribute. He destroyed sodom and gomorrah in an instant He brought down the flood all the plagues He cast upon egypt. Very cataclysmic display of His judgment and wrath, His power. it is His witholding that power which shines even brighter to me. Sending Christ as a baby born like any other human. Allowing Christ to live and experience life just as we do and even to become the least of all creation,a pure servant. God in flesh-who Christ was..... dying on a cross in order to reconcile His creation back to Himself. He could have wiped out all of us with one Word he didnt do it He sacrificed Himself for us!!!!

Calvinism holds that only the *elect* will be saved, that Christ came to save only them. The Bible does refer to Gods *elect* however I see them as being elect... *in Christ* God talks about freedom all through His Word. He gave adam and eve freedom to choose He seeks after the lost as shown in many of Jesus parables. It is His kindness that leaves us to repentance, NOT His anger or wrath despite many preachers sermons to the contrary. John 3;16 says God so loved the WORLD that whosoever believes,,,,, not just the *elect* God sent Christ in the world to save sinners, *while we were yet sinners Christ died for us* *choose ye this day whom ye will serve* Hope is a major theme in the Bible,especially the New Covenant. I cannot imagine why God would offer hope to those who are actually hopeless like as if he only came to save His elect. Why would He create beings he planned to destroy just because He could as their Creator??? I know the verses in Romans where Paul talks about the clay not questioing the potter...... but in applying that to God and His creation....it just strikes me as completely against all He has laid out concerning His love and desire to see us freely choose Him as He chases after us like a lover wanting nothing but the relationship to be made whole.

Alot more I could say but that is enough to chew on for now. Hope to receive responses , of whatever variety :)