Divine Determinism
“We also note that we should consider the creation of the world so that we may realize that everything is subject to God and ruled by his will and that when the world has done what it may, nothing happens other than what God decrees.” -John Calvin Acts: Calvin, The Crossway Classic Commentaries, p.66
“If God’s foreknowledge is perfect, does it not follow that the future is, in fact, fixed? And if it is fixed, upon what basis did it take the shape it did?” -James White, Debating Calvinism, p.360,
“For if there is one maverick molecule, it would mean that God is not sovereign.” -R.C. Sproul, Now That’s A Good Question
“God’s sovereignty brings assurance for His people, knowing that there is not one maverick molecule”. -Steve Lawson, All Authority
“Because it’s the truth, they [unbelievers] can’t receive it. Because they are preprogrammed to believe lies.” John MacArthur, The Most Hated Christian Doctrine
Divine determinism, which is the asserting that every event is preordained by a higher power, is at its best a perverse form of spiritual gaslighting. In this paradigm, individuals’ choices and struggles are trivialized, ascribing everything to a predetermined plan of a God. This can erode personal agency, fostering a sense of powerlessness in direct contrast to the humbling of oneself prescribed by the Word of God. The belief that suffering is part of a cosmic script dismisses genuine human pain as either corrective or even consequential. This in turn then discourages critical self-reflection. While some may find temporary solace in the idea of a predetermined fate, eventually it is unsatisfying as an explanation and must inevitably lead to cognitive dissidence, as logic as well as one’s emotions and experiences are downplayed in favor of an overarching, meticulously predetermined narrative that diminishes the validity of personal struggles, growth and understanding. All things that God goes out of his way to vehemently demand of us.
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