Editing Hyper-Calvinism (section)

{{Short description|Branch of Protestant theology}}
'''Hyper-Calvinism''' is a branch of [[Protestant theology]] that places a strong emphasis on [[Sovereignty of God in Christianity|God's sovereignty]] at the expense of human responsibility. It is at times regarded as a variation of [[Calvinism]], but critics emphasize its differences from traditional Calvinistic beliefs. Hyper-Calvinism distinguishes itself from traditional Calvinism when it comes to the "sufficiency and efficiency" of Christ's atonement. [[Predestination in Calvinism]] traditionally argues that only the [[Unconditional election|elect]] are able to understand Christ's atonement, but that the sufficiency of the atonement stretches to all humanity, while Hyper-Calvinism argues the atonement is sufficient only to the elect.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Toon |first=Peter |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=269MAwAAQBAJ |title=The Emergence of Hyper-Calvinism in English Nonconformity 1689-1765 |publisher=Wipf and Stock Publishers |year=2011 |isbn=978-1-60899-688-9 |pages=144–145 |language=en}}</ref>

The term originated in the 19th century as a sometimes-pejorative descriptor predated by terms such as "false Calvinism" and "High Calvinism". The term can be used vaguely, and its distinction from traditional Calvinism is not always clear; writers such as Jim Ellis have suggested that Hyper-Calvinism as a concept is sometimes applied broadly to denominations more theologically conservative than the speaker's, rather than to a consistent theological stance. Nonetheless, Hyper-Calvinism is distinguished as a distinct theological branch, associated with figures such as the 18th-century theologian [[John Gill (theologian)|John Gill]].