Determinism means God is the one who controls every event. Some say we cannot respond to God's grace without Him first giving us a gift of faith. This makes you totally at the mercy of God giving you this faith and somehow after you have received it, you must be able to know when it was given.
If I say I live in a cause & effect universe and God does not stop me from sinning or God does not interfere with my actions, am I being arrogant? How do we separate free will to sin from God's perfect plan for our lives?
If I start a church and it grows to impressive numbers, does God have anything to do with it? Some would use the verse in Acts 2:47 to say God is always in charge of the membership in church. If this is the case then we have to assume one of two possibilities. If every member or attendee is God adding to the church, then who is responsible when the attendance drops? Is God responsible for the one attending your church who later steals money from members?
If we are going to be consistent, some determining factor has to get credit if man is not allowed to be free to attend whatever church he wants. I have heard preachers say it is not by accident but divine appointment you are in this church, usually followed by a warning to take some action while you're there.
Deists say God made the earth like a watchmaker: once all the parts were in place, God, the watchmaker, wound it up and left it alone. I do not agree with this belief because the Bible is an historical account of God's intervention in history.
If I accept the Bible's claims, I must see it as God's intervention in history. I see a middle ground between Deist and Determinism. If God controls all events then ultimately He allows man to kill himself by the shear fact He is in control and does not stop it. If however, He places the laws of nature in place and sustains them but allows man to move in those laws' consequences, He cannot be be held accountable since the laws of nature were made to operate in a perfect world.
Man is operating in a world of laws meant to govern without the effects of sin. James 1:17 tells us every perfect gift is from the "Father of lights" which means the creator of the universe gave its physical laws. If Satan is the cause of evil events and has so much influence over the laws of nature, he is essentially using the laws God created to taunt God's very creation.
If I say I live in a cause & effect universe and God does not stop me from sinning or God does not interfere with my actions, am I being arrogant? How do we separate free will to sin from God's perfect plan for our lives?
If I start a church and it grows to impressive numbers, does God have anything to do with it? Some would use the verse in Acts 2:47 to say God is always in charge of the membership in church. If this is the case then we have to assume one of two possibilities. If every member or attendee is God adding to the church, then who is responsible when the attendance drops? Is God responsible for the one attending your church who later steals money from members?
If we are going to be consistent, some determining factor has to get credit if man is not allowed to be free to attend whatever church he wants. I have heard preachers say it is not by accident but divine appointment you are in this church, usually followed by a warning to take some action while you're there.
Deists say God made the earth like a watchmaker: once all the parts were in place, God, the watchmaker, wound it up and left it alone. I do not agree with this belief because the Bible is an historical account of God's intervention in history.
If I accept the Bible's claims, I must see it as God's intervention in history. I see a middle ground between Deist and Determinism. If God controls all events then ultimately He allows man to kill himself by the shear fact He is in control and does not stop it. If however, He places the laws of nature in place and sustains them but allows man to move in those laws' consequences, He cannot be be held accountable since the laws of nature were made to operate in a perfect world.
Man is operating in a world of laws meant to govern without the effects of sin. James 1:17 tells us every perfect gift is from the "Father of lights" which means the creator of the universe gave its physical laws. If Satan is the cause of evil events and has so much influence over the laws of nature, he is essentially using the laws God created to taunt God's very creation.
