Exactly! Most of our Christian brothers claiming to be Calvinists do not even know what that means. This is especially true of many brothers coming in from the Baptist denominations. Many of these Baptist denominations claim or are actually affiliated with Calvinist-leaning seminaries or institutions of theological education.
However, try to question the average Baptist like I have done numerous times to see if they believe in the Five Points of Calvinism and many of them would refuse to believe Unconditional Election, Limited Atonement and Irresistible Grace which are actually the capstones of true Calvinism.
Unconditional Election means that God has sovereignly chosen those who will be saved and those who won't make it regardless of whether they desire it, repent of sins, agree to submit to Christ. The average Baptist even abhors this concept because it shows a gross disregard of human free will and degrades the love of God.
Limited Atonement means that Christ atoning death was not meant for the whole world regardless of the clear declarations of John 3:16 and 1 John 2:2 paraphrased and parodied for the hardcore Calvinist would read "Christ is the propitiation for our sins (sins of the elect), and not for the elect only but for the whole world" Note that "whole (Greek "holou")" and "world" (Greek: "kosmou") are THE actual Greek words in Scripture. the average Baptist knows that this again degrades the love of God, making God's love subservient to God's sovereignty instead of the other way around.
Irresistible Grace means that once God chooses a person, he loses his free will and has no other choice but to conform to God's election. This of course is contradicted Biblically (see King Hezekiah's healing in Isaiah 38 where he clearly CHANGE GOD's MIND and will through a simple prayer). Most Baptists know that this is not supported experientially either since man has thwarted many of the declared will of God many times in Scripture (examine the life of Samson, for example) but not without consequences. The point being, man can still thwart or postpone God's will, or God's will is more permissive than absolute many times.
Most would only believe the fifth point of Perseverance which basically means "once saved always saved" and not because it is biblical but mainly because it sounds more comforting and attractive. Furthermore, most do not even understand the unbiblical implications of the Calvinist version of Total Depravity.
Here is my WHOLE POINT. If you are not a Five-Points Calvinist, you are NOT a Calvinist AT ALL! Historically, anyone who is familiar with the Remonstrants under the Dutch Reformed church during the 17th century would clearly see that this group was excommunicated by the Calvinist Synod of Dort precisely because they disavowed or contradicted any and all of the five points of Calvinism.
Now, put any modern day Baptist in front of the Synod of Dort and if he claims to disavow any part of the five points, he too will be disowned and excommunicated not as a Calvinist but as a heretic.
Christians who claim to be Calvinists must be careful that they know what they claim. Otherwise, they suffer the same ignorance as majority of Southern Baptist who are not aware that their denomination was created PRECISELY TO PROTECT SLAVE OWNERS SO THEY CAN MAINTAIN SLAVERY WITHOUT BEING CONSCIENCE STRICKEN. In other words, it is a denomination that was formed by racist ideologies and economic necessity and there is no documented record that they have apologized for it. Hence it was a denomination formed NOT under Biblical grounds but by protecting an aberrant doctrine.
Many so-called Calvinists are even ignorant of the Westminster Confession and the Heidelberg Catechism. And those who know it don't read it nor understand its implications.
Calvinism defies the plenary inspiration of Scripture making two words, "predestination" and "elect" become their WHOLE Scripture with the rest of Scripture (which they are unable to exegete properly) subservient to their "detestable" (not my word but John Wesley's) doctrine of predestination and election.
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