John Calvin Goes to Berkeley

by James McCarthy

Alex Kim has a secret and he s certain that if the students of University Christian Fellowship had known it, they never would have elected him president. His hope was that if he did a good job and God blessed their ministry on campus, no one would care. That was before John Calvin came to Berkeley. Now Rod Sutherland, UCF s vice president, is on a crusade. He s trying to convince the others that Calvin was right about God has already decided who goes to heaven and who goes to hell. An increasing number of students agree with Rod. Jamie Alfono, the group s treasurer, isn t among them. Anyone can accept Christ s offer of salvation, Jamie says. Angela León, a girl with a passion for truth, concurs. God predestining babies to hell? I m sorry; that can t be right. With UCF divided and ready to fold, Elliot, a doctoral student, proposes that they form a committee to solve the mystery of predestination once and for all. The only way to reunite the group and save UCF is for them to understand the true meaning of predestination. If we figure it out, Jamie says, we could win the Nobel Prize for Theology. If we don t, Alex thinks to himself, UCF is finished and my year as president is going to end in disaster . . . again.

Genres: Fiction

301 pages, Paperback

First published September 30, 2009

Reviews

[Ted Tyler]

This book is not meant to be overly humorous, but I decided to read it as a work of satire, and this helped my enjoyment. There's definitely some bad dialogue and bad character development. The plot also can be choppy and often a tad ridiculous. That being said, I did appreciate the author's background in campus ministry. He made me laugh as he recreated all-too-familiar conversations about Calvinism. I don't appreciate uber-obnoxious Reformed dudes, so he earned an extra star by making them look unreasonable in this novel.

[Tony Lee Ross Jr.]

Disclaimer: As my reviews are pretty thorough, there will probably be spoilers. So, Spoiler Alert! When I first downloaded this book onto my kindle, I didn’t expect it to be a fictional story. With a title like John Calvin goes to Berkeley I thought it was reasonable to assume that there was going to be...

For the rest of my review, please visit https://manvsbook.com/2019/11/20/john...

[Jackson]

I've heard this man preach several times and had multiple conversations with him. He is certainly wise, and not a bad author. Though this book would probably not be a theological best seller, it was still a worthy read, and not only is there a good plot to get you along, but there are key theological issues that are brought up in conversation between the characters to give some good perspective. Recommend to any theology learner who would enjoy a light-hearted read with a serious theme.

[Kari McDowell]

Very well-written book. Quite intense and went in a different direction than I expected. Quite theologically focused (as could be expected by the title) and makes some interesting points I had not considered.

[The Wanderer]

Neat idea, poor execution. The plot itself was heavy-handed and I didn't understand the purpose of the subplot.

The writing was hardly of literary quality. Were the author's very deliberate description of tree leaves during a theological conversation a subtle suggestion of deeper meaning, a symbolic illustration of a point? Was it there to paint in our mind's eyes an image of a breathtaking forest view? No, it was just "artistic" embellishment - and it was thoroughly jarring. Plus, the main Calvinist character takes a nasty turn. The author stops short of turning his Calvinist character into an ad hominem against Calvinism, but it still makes his theological position pretty clear.

Nevertheless, the book wasn't written FOR the plot, it was written for the theological conversation framed by the story. Despite its claims, I'm not convinced that the theological resolution which the book reaches is a third way between Arminianism and Calvinism. It's doesn't come down on the side of rampant free-will, but as far as I understand it, it is pretty much just Arminianism.

I also didn't appreciate the random dig against Catholics that somehow didn't get edited out. How was that part of the author's mandate for this book?

Still, it's a light read that doesn't require much investment, and it's a fresh way to engage with theological discourse. If you're interested in the topic, then read this book near the beginning of your study. It won't change your world, but it'll warm you up. And if you're not particularly interested in the topic, it might still be worth the read because the story itself highlights the emotional investment that often accompanies discussions of free-will/predestination. You might walk away from it understanding, if not the nuances of the topic, at least why people care so much about it.

[Michael]

Great book with a fascinating story.