Every once in awhile, the subject of predestination is discussed. Almost invariably at some point in the discussion, if it is of any length, the idea of God "predestining what we ate for breakfast" is mentioned, typically accompanied by incredulity. But really, is that logical? How shall we say what God does and doesn't predestine*? We know from the Bible that He predestines our salvation and (at least) the major events and decisions of our lives. But why would He limit Himself to just the big things? Is there any Biblical precedent for that? Not that I see.
Perhaps what we really need is a change of perspective. What if He does choose to predetermine what we have for breakfast every day, the clothes we wear, how we spend every minute? This seems ridiculous on one level. But what if it is really a sign of His care for us? Of His interest in every detail of our lives? I don't see any reason why that wouldn't be true.
(*)
--Except of course the old free will. Besides the seeming ridiculousness of God predestining random details of our days, details that seem to have little importance and less purpose (though what do we know?), I think we also dismiss that idea out of an attempt to combine the equally Biblical doctrines* of predestination and free will. I personally do not think that such segmenting of life is useful, nor -so far as I can see- does it make a great deal of sense after it is pondered for awhile. Inasmuch as I can tell, predestination and free will must work together in unity either all the time or not at all. Full-fledged doctrines of God's sovereignty will not admit any parts of life not under His watchcare.
*Equally Biblical in the sense that both appear in the Bible, though the Word does rather emphasize predestination over free will.
2 comments:
Interesting topic. =) One which is debated often(we got some fun conversations about it ^_^)...I seem to recall Grudem giving an exposition on this subject(in his section on "providence")--let me see if I can remember what it went like:
In short, here are his main points. First, he said that some wrong views were deism(God made the world then abandoned it), pantheism(everything is part of God, and not distinct from him, therefore God predestining things is nothing but normal actions happening), chance(things happen randomly), and fate(an impersonal entity causes all events).
He then stated his views as following: "God is continually involved with all created things in such a way that he 1) keeps them existing and maintaining the properties with which he created them; 2)cooperates with created things in every action, directing their distinctive properties to cause them to act as they do; and 3)directs them to fulfill his purposes."
So here as some of my myriad of thoughts on the matter(^_^)(although, I know I must tread lightly due to the potentially difficult nature of the subject, so please tell me if something was unclear or misstated) :
First: it is quite clear that God is sovereign over all things. Kingdoms cannot rise or fall without His will, A man plots his course, but the Lord determines his steps. Even a sparrow cannot fall to the ground outside of His care.
So, we ask, can we move without God telling us to? Can I not lift my hand or type a word of my own will?
No, you can't. ^_^
And yet you "can."
To possibly give some insight into the paradox here, consider this. A man builds a robot that is powered by light. He then places the robot in an enclosed room and sets it to work. Now if the robot were to do anything the man did not want it to do, he could simply turn off the light and the robot would no longer be doing what the man did not want him to do.
Now I know this analogy falls short in so many ways, but think about this. You would not be able to live, much less move your arm or type a letter if God were not giving you the power and abilities to do so. But we also know that God does not "turn off the light" the moment we do something that he does not want. I like the phrase Grudem uses: "directs them to fulfill his purposes." The word "directs"....hmmm....you see, God did not create robots, He made humans. And He made them in His image. Robots--as of the present, they have limited to no creativity. They have no choice but to obey what they were programmed to do. Yet we as humans have a choice--to follow God, to serve our Creator, or to serve ourselves. Daily, we make decisions whether to serve ourselves or God.
Continued on next comment....
Yet though we make decisions, we have absolutely no ability to change God's plan. Comets have speed, power, and even some magnetic/gravitational pull of their own. Yet to suggest that a comet could pull a planet off course by passing by is ridiculous. Why? Because the sun has a far more powerful gravitational field than the comet, and keeps the planets in line. Even the comet, though it does not know it, is moving the way it does because of the pull of the sun. God is directing our course, and we can do nothing outside of or changing to His plan.
But also realize that in all of this, God relates to us lovingly. He is personally involved in all of our lives(even, I think, in the tiny details, which we may not think about but He can and does use to further His purposes), and He allows us to choose to follow Him instead of "using the light switch" to force us to. One of the reasons I like the word "directs" is because it takes into account God's love, even though there is no way for us to do anything but what is in God's plan.
So we do choose what we do of free will. But we do not, cannot, do anything that is outside God's control--not even lift a finger without His allowing us to do so.
I hate to say it, but I cannot fully explain what goes on here. And I hope that I have not confused everyone with my explanation(because my explanations tend to do that). =)
But take comfort in this: that God is sovereign. Because nothing is outside His plan, His providence, we can rest assured that all things work together for the good of those who love Him, and who are called according to His purpose. We will probably never understand it all, but it brings me comfort that such a loving, personal God is the one sovereign over my life. And even should it be that I have no free will, I would be glad to be serving my Creator at all. ^_^
I do like the way you put it, Cara: "Perhaps what we really need is a change of perspective. What if He does choose to predetermine what we have for breakfast every day, the clothes we wear, how we spend every minute? This seems ridiculous on one level. But what if it is really a sign of His care for us? Of His interest in every detail of our lives? I don't see any reason why that wouldn't be true."
Yes indeed--praise Him!
--Josiah C.
P.S. I realized while I was writing that there were a whole lot of potential other subjects that people would debate on--should that be the
case, I can explain some more things, but hopefully at least what I was saying here made sense--and more importantly, was scriptural. I invite you to bring me back on track if I missed something, or point out possible mistakes. =)
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