Monday, October 17, 2011

Secret of the High Five

According to Wikipedia the high five is a celebratory hand gesture that occurs when two people simultaneously raise one hand, about head high, and push, slide or slap the flat of their palm and hand against the palm and flat hand of their partner. The gesture is often preceded verbally by the phrase "Give me five" or "High five".

Unknown to most of the world, is the fact that John Calvin created this "signal" to secretly confirm the belief in the five points of Calvinism in the public square. Below is a painting of John Calvin high-five-ing William Farel, who is just outside the painting.


Arminians use this gesture without knowing the significance behind it.
Below is a photo of two Arminians after a successful snake-handling service.


"High five" was also used by Jonathan Edwards, A.W. Pink and Corky Velveeta.
So next time someone says, "Gimme five"...explain the origin and be on your way.

23 comments:

  1. So, what do they do after an unsuccessful snake-handling service?

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  2. Looks kinda-like Calvin has two right hands. I always wondered how he was able to accomplish so much writing in his life. : ) (No offence to lefties)

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  3. Hey, stranger.strange.land -- That's the OTHER guy's hand. :)

    So, if you're a four-point Calvinist, do you tuck your thumb under and yell, "High-Four!" instead?

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  4. A tip of the helmet to Chris Hensley who wrote and suggested I do something with the "high five".

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  5. I knew it,....the world stole our signal...lol..although I would not have believed it of Calvin until I saw your picture of him, must have been quite a liberal in his day.

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  6. My computer has for several months had a serious aversion to CC.The title of the most recent post appears, but then it won't let me scroll down for what seems like eternity, with baited breath.Same happens if I click on headings/links to older posts (The suspense is killing me/teaching me patience and a sense of proportion.) So, when I read "high five", I immediately started thinking TULIP-ey thoughts...I was not disappointed. It seems that corny and depraved minds think alike...

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  7. PS: My Computer only seems to have an aversion to CC, it does not misbehave with any other site!

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  8. Linda, four point Calvinists tuck their thumb under the fingers and give a fist bump.

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  9. Thanks Helen for the info on your trouble with CC on your 'puter.

    Is anyone else having similar problems with my blog?

    If not, then Helen's computer must have been previously owned by either an Arminian or an Emergent.

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  10. Is there such a thing as a LOW FIVE? I think I know what this symbolises.....

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  11. How 'bout a "HIGH TEN"
    (The five points plus the five solas)

    Just don't make it look like you're playing "patty-cake." That would be SO un-Calvinistic.

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  12. @ Linda M Au (Linda M Gold?)

    Ah. That would explain the different colored sleeve.

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  13. But the picture also reminded me of an episode from the old t.v. program The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis, where Maynard G. Krebbs thought that one of his hands was on backwards.

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  14. Soooooo when are we gonna start making fake chrome badges in the shape of an upraised hand to stick on our trunk lids?

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  15. I have heard that Calvin also invented the hand slap game and rhyme of "Miss Mary Mack"...


    No problems on my computer except for user errors...

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  16. Will I get $7000 if I high five with Corky?

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  17. Hmmpf. Calvinists would never have had their precious five points if we Arminians hadn't come up with ours first. Still, it is too bad that they were the ones to think of the "high-five." It should have been ours.

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  18. Jake, that's where the "low five" came into being.

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  19. @ Jake & "Arminius Osteen" (!?*!)- Thought so!

    Eddie said (re my computer gremlins): "it must have been previously owned by an Arminian or an Emergent."
    Actually, it's worse than that; it was/is owned by my husband who appears to be a Roman Catholic.
    Please pray everyone

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