a preview of the Predestination post

[updated 9-sept-06]

i've put this up on both blogs.

i haven't had time to work on Predestination-Free-will writing as much as i'd wanted to. i started it, but i wanted to give you a little taste of the great and awesome wonders that are in store, to be revealed when i finally finish it. (which is probably going to be never.)

some friends and i had a really, really good talk about this last night. it was 4 a.m. but i'm usually at my best then anyways. it was a little daunting because most of the people (there were 7 or 8 of us) were pretty much against what i was saying. on the other hand, though, that's when i can really test myself. sometimes i say things not because i'm certain they're true, but because i want to see how they hold up to the ruthless attacks of my friends.

the main point i was making: free will must be a factor in our lives and our understanding of the Scriptures.

i see no way around it, however humans might want to credit themselves with something significant. and i know people can definitely make that quantum leap and say "oh look, i chose God, i must be pretty wise." but in my opinion, this is a result of human pride, and (at least in this context) the theology behind the existence of free will isn't to blame for the conclusions made by peoples' prideful natures.

so first of all, i think the terms foreknowledge and foreordainment must be kept separate. yes, it's true: this means some things happen that God didn't plan ahead of time. don't get too upset. this doesn't mean he didn't predestine anything; it simply means he didn't predestine everything. the reasoning is clear: to avoid making God the creator and perfector of our sin and sin natures, we must concede that at least in some cases, there is a difference between His knowing and planning something before the fact. if you're prepared to make God the ultimate author of sin and evil, go ahead.

God doesn't have to plan something for it to happen. he still knows it's going to happen, but it's apparent to me that he's chosen to restrict some of his power in his dealings with us and with the devil. did God want his head angel to rebel? does God want us to turn from him? does God get a kick out of us killing and hating and lying to each other? no!!! clearly these are things which are contrary to his nature and it's absurd to suggest that he set them into motion.

of course our actions are not out of God's ultimate control. but i think he could have simply chosen not to exercise his right to control it. i don't know if i have scripture to back that up at this point, but i don't see it as contrary to anything i've ever read. and of course God always retains his sovereignty -- even when he chooses to allow us to make our own choice. (in fact, i think God is more powerful when he can allow us to have genuine choices, yet still be all-sovereign.)

besides, since when does God's sovereignty trump everything else? the calvinist and elective-grace folks don't like talking much about God's compassion or justice...because all those must be left out to make room for a distorted, bloated view of ONE of God's characteristics. you won't find me denying that God's all-powerful, but i don't think it's somehow superior to everything else. all is balanced.

so as far as i've been able to tell, the theology of elective grace essentially and necessarily denies the existence of free will. some people will try to make them fit together, but usually end up fumbling with semantics. every conversation with an elective-grace person will include a bit of back-and-forth but will end up with me pointing out some faults. at this point, the elective-grace person will pull out his trump card and say "but we can never understand God. who are you, oh clay, to sass back to the potter?"

is this whole issue just my puny mind trying to understand our majestic God? yes and no. indeed we have the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2), but i believe this to be an issue of what scripture does or does not say. so it's therefore not relegated to the unfortunate jurisdiction of "it's difficult therefore we should not try to understand it because we cannot understand God."

if we don't have free will, we...don't have it. at all. i have yet to learn how one can deny being a "fatalist" (ie, everything's already mapped out and we're just following the track already carved for us) while insisting on total predestination. you can't "only have the choice to sin" because that is not a choice (and if it is, our concept behind the word choice is meaningless). if we don't have any free will, then God himself is the author of our sin...because if we're programmed to sin, we could not even truly have chosen that.

so here's my original little gem from last night. keeping in mind the reality that the theology of elective grace deems God creator of sin, think about this: God is perfect and holy, and everything he does is perfect and righteous. He does not do wrong because it is not in his nature or character. so if God is the originator of evil, then sin is not a bad thing...actually, it is a very good thing! and if sin is not bad, then we have no basis for claiming any morality or conscience, or even a real sense of the distinction between good and evil. i tentatively believe this conclusion to be necessary, and i should hope its absurdities are obvious to my intelligent readers.

so i have no problem (intellectual, spiritual, or Biblical) in asserting the existence of free will, if for no other reason than i cannot, cannot, cannot accept the alternative, and hold it as glaringly inconsistent with (and inherently contrary to) Scripture and God's revealed nature as i understand it.

one final, crucial thought. many people fail to understand the importance of this issue. they might write it off in the above ways. but the sanctity of scripture is at stake here. if this isn't resolved, then scripture is full of holes. what else are we to think of "God programmed us for salvation, yet we still get to decide"? believing this is believing scripture to be absurdly contradictory, meaning none of it should really be taken seriously...meaning our faith is worthless. that's the real gravity of this, and that's why even though it might not ever be completely clear this side of eternity, we owe it to our own faith, to unbelievers, and to the God we serve to believe and demonstrate that scriptures are perfect, holy, and inerrant.