Heather Frank
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I remember this from Oxford RE. Calvinists are Cromwells. John Calvin was a predestinationist associate of the plot to murder Charles Stewart. One of the reasons a lot of English atheists blame religion for warfare and problems is that the pseudo spiritual descendants of Cromwell claim that they followed "Devine Command" while conspiring and plotting to murder the Royal Family.
One serious problem that a lot of modern protestants from after this time have with Catholicism is simply the fact that Calvinist predestinationist is fundamentally no different from the Arabic/Hindu determinism inherent in ancient Babylonian astrology. This anti free will religious philosophy was religiously argued against and refuted by the Roman Marcus Cicero, who lived before the birth of Christ and considered the mode of belief treason against the Latin state.
In spite of the fact that the world is one, and that religiously it is believed by most Christians that Satan has taken over the whole planet, there are very deep and fundamental differences between the East and the West. It's a very even division, seen in terms of world history, meaning Biblical world empire history encoded in the Statue dream form the book of Daniel. Babylon and Persia were astrological and deterministic, but free will existed and was admired by both Greece and Rome.
Poor Israel was stuck in the middle with a religion of divine law, guidance and orders from God.
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