About Irresistible (Dis)Grace

One of the central tenets of Calvinism, “Irresistible” or “Efficacious Grace,” proposes that, in the grand scheme of things, a person who is elected by God will eventually come to a saving faith. This person might resist individual promptings of the spirit, but God’s grace is, as the saying goes, irresistible, to someone truly elect.

I’m no Calvinist and I don’t pretend to have irresistible grace. But this actually gives me a springboard for what Irresistible (Dis)Grace is about. I am a cultural Mormon. I recognize that this is the church of my birth and upraising, though I do not believe in its tenets, is the tribe, the culture, the socializing agent to which I am irresistibly drawn. And I notice that this seems to be a regular phenomenon. Perhaps for other churches, it’s easy to set and forget, but not quite so for Mormonism.

Of course, Mormonism isn’t a Calvinist faith. It doesn’t follow predeterminism and, in fact, is fairly strongly opposed to such concepts. But within or without the church, from the believing Mormon, the nonbelieving ex-Mormon or the never Mormon, plenty might think it strange that someone who has left the church is still so drawn to it. What does it mean to leave the church, but not  leave it alone?

…I think it’s as close to an idea of irresistible disgrace as we can imagine…

This isn’t about debating, evangelizing or proclaiming truth or falsity. The real questions are…regardless of truth or falsity, why does such an enduring cultural tradition endure that is divorced from spiritual matters? What is the value of this cultural tradition? How far does this reach down?