3 – The Contrast
Between Calvinism & Arminianism – The Providence of God – Evil
The Providence of God – Evil
The basic issue here is whether or not (1)
God does evil or (2) rather uses evil for his purpose (that He never does evil
and cannot be blamed for evil).
We should note that
the alternatives to saying that God uses
evil for his purposes, but that he
never does evil and is not to be
blamed for it, are not desirable ones.
If we were to say that God himself does evil, we would have to conclude
that he is not a good and righteous God, and therefore that he is not really
God at all. On the other hand, if we
maintain that God does not use evil to fulfill his purposes, then we would have
to admit that there is evil in the universe that God did not intend, is not
under his control, and might not fulfill his purposes. This would make it very difficult for us to
affirm that ‘all things’ work together for good for those who love God and are
called according to his purpose (Romans 8:28).”
Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology,
(Grand Rapids, MI: Intervarsity Press,
Great Britain and Zondervan Publishing House 2000), p. 328
This is a tremendous statement as Arminians
seem to elevate man’s position to that of a holy and all powerful God. For after all, God is God. I am not.
Calvin quotes a
statement of Augustine with approval:
‘There is a great difference between what is fitting for man to will and
what is fitting for God . . . For through the bad wills of evil men God
fulfills what he righteously wills. John
Calvin, Institutes, 1:234 (1.18.3),
Ibid., p. 329
On the other hand, Grudem notes that “. . .
advocates of the Arminian position maintain that God’s will cannot include
evil. (Quoting I. Howard Marshall, Predestination in the New Testament, p.
139): ‘It is not true that everything
that happens is what God desires.’”
Ibid., p. 343
So the question remains: “Is God responsible for sin? Arminians claim that Calvinists wrongfully
make God responsible for sin. Those who hold
an Arminian position ask, ‘How can God be holy if he decrees that we
sin.’” In other words, “God’s providence
. . . makes us into puppets or robots who cannot do anything other than what
God causes us to do.” Ibid., pp.
339-340 “Arminians would say that God is
not responsible for sin and evil because
he did not ordain them or cause them in any way.” Ibid., p. 343
At first light, these comments seem to make
sense, but “(t) he problem is whether the Arminian position can really account
for so many texts that clearly say that God ordains that some people sin or do
evil . . . The death of Christ is a prime example of this, but there are many
others in scripture (Joseph’s brothers, Pharaoh, the Egyptians, the Canaanites,
Eli’s sons, David’s census, and the Babylonians to mention a few).” Ibid.
I agree with Grudem who states that
“(t)he Calvinist position seems
preferable: God himself never sins but
always brings about his will through
secondary causes; that is, through personal moral agents who voluntarily,
willingly do what God has ordained.
These personal moral agents (both human beings and evil angels) are to
blame for the evil they do.” Ibid.
Further compounding the problem with the
Arminian position, “Arminians argue that God was able to prevent evil but he chose to allow for the possibility of evil in order to guarantee that
angels and humans would have the freedom necessary for meaningful choices. In other words, God had to allow for the possibility of sinful choices in order to
allow genuine human choices.” Ibid., p.
349
Grudem’s point is well taken. God, being God, should not have to do anything!
Next we’ll look at “The Providence of God – Free
Will.
Doug
Comments