Calvinism puts fault and blame upon God by claiming man is so totally depraved that man cannot understand, cannot come to God unless God first acts upon man's heart.
It's not about blaming God, but man is depraved and God must act upon man's heart or else man will not come to Christ (John 6:44,65). 1 Corinthians 2:12 - Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God. 13 These things we also speak,
not in words which man's wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. 14 But
the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
This false claim of Calvinism is NOT supported by the context of Acts 16:
Your false claim is not supported by the context of Acts 16.
1) verse 14 "And a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, which worshipped God" Lydia was ALREADY a worshipper of God while she was still lost BEFORE she heard the saving gospel message Rom 1:16. (Same is true of Cornelius Acts 10:1,2,22)
Which shows that people can be "religious" but not right with God. Cornelius was said to have prayed to God always yet he still needed to hear words from Peter by which he and his household will be saved (Acts 11:14). Those words - whoever
believes in Him will receive remission of sins (Acts 10:43). For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone who
BELIEVES.. (Romans 1:16). Yet YOU still REFUSE to
BELIEVE.
2) the context of Acts 16 says v13 " we sat down, and spake unto the women which resorted thither; 14 And a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, which worshipped God, heard us: whose heart the Lord opened, that she attended unto the things which were spoken of Paul."
V13 says Paul "spake unto" her, Lydia "heard us" v14 and it was Lydia's hearing Paul's words, understanding those words that convicted her heart to attend unto the things spoken by Paul. God opened her heart by the gospel message spoken to her by Paul. The context does NOT say God opened Lydia's heart to enable her to listen to Paul, she was already listening v14.
To open means to open completely (wide, like "double folding doors" or as when Stephen in his last moments before martyrdom saw "the heavens opened up" Acts 7:56) and can speak of opening to one's understanding what is otherwise hidden to their intellect. To open the sense of Scripture and thus to explain the Scripture. To thoroughly disclose or cause one to thoroughly understand. This "means to explain what is concealed or obscure." Dianoigo is one of those truly "supernatural" words, a word that speaks of the Spirit's enabling power! The supernatural opening of one's (spiritual) eyes, the opening of one's mind to Scriptural truth, explaining the truth, and unless this occurs, we cannot truly understand it naturally, because it is supernatural - (Lk 24:45, cp Lk 24:32), the supernatural opening of Lydia's heart to receive the gospel preached by Paul (Acts 16:14). The gospel does not come to us in
word only, but also in
power and in the
Holy Spirit (1 Thessalonians 1:5).
Lydia's case would not differ from and contradict Jn 6:45 that says God draws when men are taught, hear and learn of God EXACTLY what happened with Lydia.
Lydia's case is no different and does not contradict John 6:44-45. She was drawn and taught by God. Her heart was opened which enabled her to to understand what would otherwise be hidden. The fact that this truth is hid from you demonstrates something very disturbing about your heart condition.
Jn 6:45 does not say God draws men any other way than by His word being taught heard and learned. No verse says God draws men separate and apart from His word.
The Bible is not merely a text book by which only those who have superior intellect can understand. The word dynamai means to be able. This means that no human, on his own, has the moral and spiritual ability to come to Christ unless God the Father
draws him. The inclination to come and the ability to understand and place faith in Christ comes from God. You still don't get that and think this is ALL about YOU and we can see the end result. The gospel remains hid from you. Paul talks about that in 2 Corinthians 4:3-4 and mentions - lest the
light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should
shine on them. So only the Lord could open the heart of Lydia to understand just as Jesus had opened (the same verb) the mind of the disciples to understand the Scriptures (Luke 24:45).
God foreknows but foreknowledge does not demand predetermination.
I never said it did. Don't confuse me with 5 point Calvinists.