This sentence is false, and represents the founding argument of the article."Very few doctrines are more pervasive in modern churches and theology than Calvinism"
Calvinism is simply the discipline of interpreting scripture through the lens of theological or philosophical determinism. (see quote below)
Theological Determinism did not originate with Calvin or Augustine.Perhaps the most prominent theologian to espouse hard theological determinism was John Calvin, with his formulation of predestination. Calvin was a late mediaeval French Christian, and was a main influence behind Calvinism, a form of Protestantism developed in the early Reformation.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theological_determinism)
Ancient Babylonian's held the sovereignty of the stars controlled the fate of men. Hence three "Magi" follow the star to Jesus' birth.
In Islamic religion "Allah" predestines the fate of all men.
The Greeks (Plato and the school of neoplatonism), the sovereignty of three specific gods controlled the fate of all men.
Hence Augustine's confession "I was taught the corporeal things of god by the books of the platonists"
has the sovereignty of "karma" controlling man's fate.
The Essenses are the only documented sect of Jews who held to a form of theological determinism. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Essenes
Determinism within religions is therefore a very ancient pagan concept.
There is nothing "modern" about it.
Of the 600800 million estimated Protestants world-wide, those who hold to a "free-will" view, as defined in "libertarian terms" approximate 75% of the total. Calvinists are small by comparison. Why? Because polishing, protecting and promoting a sacred *image* is the agenda.
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