One of the tenets of Reformed theology is the belief in total depravity, or the idea that man is wholly defiled and incapable of doing good before being regenerated, or born again, in Christ.
According to the most prominent author of Reformed theology, John Calvin, “the will is so utterly vitiated and corrupted in every part as to produce nothing but evil” (Institutes 2.2.26), and “man is so enslaved by the yoke of sin that he cannot of his own nature aim at the good, either in wish or in actual pursuit (2.3.5).
Thus, Calvin teaches that it is impossible for man to do any good before he is regenerated in Christ. And if he is regenerated, it is in no part attributed to any of his own actions. It is solely the work of God.
This means if God does not choose to regenerate us, we are incapable of ever doing good and thus ever being saved. All we can do is sin, and we cannot turn away from evil in any capacity.
If we have no say in our salvation, then, how could we have any say in our damnation? We wouldn’t. In fact, according to Calvin, all of the evil deeds we commit are simply the result of our depraved nature. We do not have the ability to do otherwise.
But if this were the case, how could God justly punish us for something that we had to do? Would a judge punish somebody with a life sentence for a crime he was forced to commit, with no possibility of doing otherwise? That seems pretty unfair.
A Calvinist might push back and say Catholics agree that God determines who receives the grace of final perseverance and who does not. Although this is true, it is also true that all people are given sufficient grace to be saved if they are willing to cooperate with it. Thus, in the Catholic world, each person is given a real chance at salvation; God can truly be said to desire the salvation of all, since he gives everyone the opportunity to be saved.
Additionally, the Catholic Church teaches that human nature is not fully depraved or corrupted. According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, “human nature has not been totally corrupted,” but is simply “wounded in the natural powers proper to it, subject to ignorance, suffering and the dominion of death, and inclined to sin” (405). As a result, humans can perform acts of natural good throughout their life even if they have never been regenerated in Christ, since human nature is not fully corrupted or inclined to evil. This aligns with our everyday experience.
For example, a firefighter might be an atheist, but he could still have the virtue of courage and risk his life to save others. A mother might not be a believer, but she could still practice love and selflessness with her children. Even though it is certainly more difficult to do this without having efficacious grace from the sacraments, it is still possible.
The teachings of Calvin are clearly misaligned with ordinary human experience. Even though non-believers may not be saints, they are certainly not people who “produce nothing but evil,” as Calvin suggests.
Not even Scripture describes individuals in this way. For example, in 2 Chronicles 19, King Jehoshaphat is described as doing evil and thus meriting the wrath of God, but also having some good in him:
Jehu the son of Hanani the seer went out to meet him, and said to King Jehoshaphat, “Should you help the wicked and love those who hate the Lord? Because of this, wrath has gone out against you from the Lord. Nevertheless some good is found in you, for you destroyed the Asherahs out of the land, and have set your heart to seek God.”
In addition to this, God invites all to seek after him and thus do good: “Turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other” (Isa. 45:22). If it were impossible for everyone to turn to him, why is he inviting us to? Again, this would be asking the impossible. It would not be fair.
It would also be unfair for Christ to judge the saved from the damned by their charitable works, since the damned have no possible way of ever having done good works. It would be like a parent requesting of his child, “If you grow five feet overnight, I will reward you. But if you don’t, I’ll punish you.” One might respond to the parent that he’s being completely unfair and unreasonable. How could you punish a child for failing at an impossible task?
And yet this is how God the Father is under the Calvinist framework. He demands an impossible task of most of the world, since wide is the path to destruction and narrow is the path to life. Most people would be eternally punished for something they had no control over. How could God be infinitely just and loving then?
It is clear he couldn’t—which is why the Calvinist view of total depravity is . . . well, totally wrong, and inconsistent.