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Predestination and Free Will - Part 2
Determinism
Last month, we began a new series
studying one of the most debated topics within Christianity -
the conflict of predestination versus free will. (If you missed
last month's article, you can read it here
). This month, we'll examine the argument for determinism from
those who stress God's freedom above man's. Next month, we'll
look at some counter arguments to determinism.
You will notice in these
discussions I have refrained from referring to the discussion as
"Calvinism versus Arminianism." Although these are
more widely known terms, I am uncomfortable with using them
definitively here, as they carry with them other doctrines and
associations that may not be applicable. Suffice to say,
Calvinists are determinists and Arminians are indeterminists.
However, not all determinists are Calvinists, so it is more
accurate to address the specific doctrines by use of the their
proper names.
One more point of clarification.
Determinists identify themselves differently. Some classify
themselves as "moderate determinists" and others still
as "soft determinists". My main focus here is the more
traditional determinist argument that stems from the reformed
tradition. Modifications of determinism must be dealt with on an
individual basis and space here precludes me from so doing.
Basic Beliefs of
Determinists
The doctrine of determinism can
be understood as holding the following beliefs:
- God wills all things to
occur and everything that happens is a result of His
choosing it to be so.
- After man's fall, every
aspect of him including his mind and desires, became
corrupted and depraved to the point of death. Because
of this depravity, man is "an enemy of God,
incapable of saving himself".1
Man has neither the power nor the desire to choose God.
- God chooses specific
individuals to be His chosen ones on no basis other
than His good pleasure. "It is not man's actions,
works or even foreseen faith that 'draws' God's
choice".2 God
simply wills it this way, and God's will cannot be
superceded.
- Therefore, man has no choice
in whether he will respond to God's choosing him. In
fact, since God wills everything that happens, the idea
of man acting completely on his own is not taught in
the Bible.
This last point is probably the
most difficult to grasp. John Feinberg summaries it as follows
"According to this view, for every decision a person makes
there are causal conditions playing upon his or her will so as
to incline it decisively and sufficiently in one direction
rather than another. Consequently, the agent could not have done
otherwise, given the prevailing causal influences."3
In other words, God's control over the world is such that
we can not deviate from it.
This is especially true of
salvation. The reformed belief teaches that not only is there no
way man ever would choose God's plan of redemption, but there is
no way man ever could choose it. James White writes
"Unregenerate man is fully capable of understanding the
facts of the gospel: he is simply incapable, due to his
corruption and enmity, to submit himself to that gospel."4
No Free Will to
do Good
John Calvin took the idea even
further. He believed that any good work was solely due to
God's overriding grace and not the will of fallen man. Scott
David Foutz , in discussing Calvin's view on man's ability to do
good things, points out that Calvin saw these acts as God
stepping in and restraining man from being his evil self. Foutz
quotes Calvin's Institutes that says " 'Not only is grace
offered by the Lord, which by anyone's free choice may be
accepted or rejected; but it is this very grace which forms both
choice and will in the heart, so that whatever good works then
follow are the fruit and effect of grace.' (2.3.13) By this is
meant that any good work, whether by the regenerate or
unregenerate, must be attributed to grace."5
Because of this view, man is seen
to not have a free will in respect to:
1 ) doing good works and 2) choosing to seek God. Individuals'
are saved by God because it pleased Him to do so and no other
reason - least of all the notion that this person or that person
would choose to be saved. It is God and only God who controls
who does any good thing.
As you can imagine, a lot of
questions arise from this view. Next month, we'll look at some
of the objections to the determinist perspective. We'll then
begin to work our way through the indeterminist's views and
examine the difficulties there. All along the way, we're working
toward understanding the little discussed third view of God's
Middle Knowledge. I hope you'll stay with us!
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