I agree that God can do whatever He pleases, that is, what ever pleases Him.
But we must understand that any such "whatever" is tempered by His essential nature and attributes.
God is holy, rightoues, true. God is love, just, and impartial. He is a God of equity, mercy, and grace.
Nothing that He would desire could impinge on His essential nature and attributes.
Is God sovereign? You bet. Is God capricious, arbitrary, and partial? To be so in any sense would violate His essence.
Let me ask you a question. Would it impinge on God's sovereignty to create humans in His likeness and image?
Would it violate His sovereignty to give man latitude and freedom to rebel from Him or respond to His wooing and drawing?
Can you consider, rationally and logically, that if God has "ordained" all things "that has ever happened or will happen" as some have suggested, this must include all forms of sin and evil: adulteries, murders, incest, rape, pedaphilia, homosexuality, brutality, matricide and patricide, genocide, etc?
Such a thought is only feasible to someone who has bought into a heavily-stacked, lop-sided, and unbalanced understanding of the bible. God forbid that He ordain pedaphilia!
To consider God ordaining that which He finds abominable may be in vogue in various theological circles, but it offends the God given conscious and Scriptural witness that God is Holy, good, righteous, and light (not to mention love!).
Any view of God's sovereignty that has God necessitating men's abominations by His "fore-ordination" and "predestination" should be obviously rejected.
But what has happened is that some theologies have become like secret societies where the initiated slowly become indoctrinated to the point that they will believe things that go against all reason. Such attitudes are taught and not formed.
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Antonio I recently argued this from the exact same position. For God to have ordained evil would require that He act contrary to every aspect of His nature as related in the scripture and as any of us have experienced. God is so good!
Me thinks I'll appreciate this site much! ;-)
... some theologies have become like secret societies where the initiated slowly become indoctrinated to the point that they will believe things that go against all reason ...
I think you are right on!
What a neat, new blog. I will visit here often. :~)
Your forever friend,
Rose
Antonio -
Good Stuff! I find it frustrating that some can see God is truth, that He cannot lie and yet they believe He can (and does) do things against the very promises He gives us. Dwelling on one aspect of God can lead to faraway places and sovereignty is no different. We must view God for who He is - a well balanced, perfect and Holy God that can no more sovereignly author sin than He can sovereignly tell a lie! Blessings In Christ, Brother.
Antoni: [Any view of God's sovereignty that has God necessitating men's abominations by His "fore-ordination" and "predestination" should be obviously rejected.]
tjp: Here. Here. I weary of the Calvinist "God" who continually ransacks His creation.
The other morning I was reading the newspaper, and my wife (who was in another room) asked what I was doing. I told her I was catching up on all the evil God had done the night before!
If, as the Calamites claim, God causes all things--and sin is part of the "all things"--then God causes sin, all disclaimers aside.
To say God causes sin in such a way that He doesn't cause sin is a type of double-speaking nonsense that characterizes Floor 13 residents.
Carry on in free grace.
I'm not sure if anyone is familiar with a recent message by MacArthur - Shepherd's conference 07 - on why evil is in the world.
Probably not shocking, but he did pretty much come out and say what Calvinists like himself are normally afraid to admit (except for Sproul jnr), that God "wills evil to exist".
He wouldn't go as far as saying that God "created" evil. But, considering his 'fearless' front in presenting this message, I thought it quite cowardly of him to not be consistent with his system of thought and just come out and say it: in his view 'God created all evil'.
According to him, the reason God did this is to make His goodness look even greater in contrast to the sin in the world - ie: He created the problem so that people like us would pay begin to pay attention to Him.
Suffice to say that such theology disgusts me, and I'm glad to see you all find it distasteful too.
God is sovereign, not a tyrant.
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