—Phil Bair

There are several charts circulating around the Internet that display an acrostic of ‘T U L I P’ across the top with a long list of Bible verses in the columns below each letter that Calvinists claim support each point. This document contains a list of those verses under each heading and the defeaters of those faulty interpretations.

Total Depravity

Let's examine the scriptural references listed under Total Depravity and assess whether they support the Calvinist doctrine of total moral inability (not merely sinfulness), or whether they better align with the libertarian view that man, though fallen, retains the God-given capacity to respond to grace.

1. Genesis 6:5

"The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually."

Calvinist Reading: Humanity is utterly corrupt and incapable of willing good apart from regenerating grace.

Assessment: The verse describes the extreme moral depravity of mankind at a particular historical moment. However, it does not teach universal moral inability or that humans are metaphysically incapable of choosing otherwise. The context is pre-flood judgment, not a doctrinal assertion about all humans at all times.

2. Isaiah 64:6

"All our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment..."

Calvinist Reading: Even the best deeds of man are tainted by sin, indicating total inability.

Assessment: The passage is a confessional lament of Israel’s rebellion. It does not say that no one can repent or believe, but rather that Israel's self-righteousness is insufficient. It critiques works-righteousness, not volitional incapacity.

3. Isaiah 65:12

"When I called, you did not answer..."

Calvinist Reading: The people could not respond to God.

Assessment: The verse plainly says they would not respond, not that they could not. It affirms moral rebellion, not moral inability. This supports libertarian freedom by implying that the people had the capacity to respond but resisted.

4. Romans 3:23

"For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."

Calvinist Reading: Universal sinfulness implies universal inability.