John Chewning Chewning 1English IIIMrs. Smith04/22/2014Calvin's Five PointsFive Points Calvinism dates back to the time of John Calvin. John Calvin was born in France on July 10, 1509. Following his study of the Greek New Testament, Calvin became dissatisfied with the Catholic Church and left.( ) Calvin was influenced by his own teachings upon which he later wrote the doctrinal system Calvinism. Calvin did not remain with any particular denomination, but the dominion closest to his beliefs is Presbyterian. Calvin wrote his five points in rebuttal to Arminius' points. Calvino's points are known as the acronym TULIP. T stands for Total Depravity, U stands for Unconditional Election, L stands for Limited Atonement, I stands for Irresistible Grace, and P stands for Perseverance of the Saints. (Berkhof 65) Total Depravity or Total Inability is the first point of Calvin's point of view. Calvinists speak of man as a totally depraved being, meaning that man's nature is sinful and corrupt. When Calvin says “Total,” he does not mean that man is as much of a sinner as he could be, Calvin uses the adjective more as meaning ...