Like many of you I was brought up in a church whose theology was heavily influenced by Calvinism . In fact , we so closely aligned our selves with the teaching of John Calvin that as boys we couldn't be a part of " Boy Scouts " , instead we were " Calvinist Cadets " . Our girls couldn't be " Girl Scouts " , instead they were " Calvinettes " . Our youth groups were called " The Young Calvinists " . As a denomination we even started our own college and named it " Calvin College ". It appeared that I should be more concerned with the teachings of Calvin than Jesus !
One of the teachings of Calvin is the idea of predestination . That is the idea that God chose some people to take to heaven with Him and some people He chose to go to hell . He determined all this before the beginning of time , and we are totally incapable of doing anything to change our situation . It has nothing to do with our individual merit - we all " deserve hell " , it is simply , according to Calvin all based on God's good pleasure .
This idea always troubled me . Not so much whether I was chosen for heaven , but the idea that why didn't God choose more people ? Why didn't He choose everyone ? Why would anyone , especially God , want any person or persons to suffer for an eternity ? I mean , why would God choose to treat anyone this way considering that He gave His own Son to pay for their sins ! I can't imagine sending anyone I've ever known to an eternity of suffering . I can think of a few that I might want to suffer for a while , but not for eternity . I really don't know anyone who would choose an eternity of suffering for someone else . And so the question kept popping up in my mind - " Are we better than God ? " And then another sarcastic thought - " Maybe God should take lessons on loving people from us . "
For years these thoughts were always at the back of my mind and it was very difficult to connect the teachings of Calvin in my youth to a God who describes Himself as " Love " . Over time I explored other streams of Christianity and read through the gospels over and over again . What I discovered , thankfully , was a God who is so much better , so much more loving , and so much bigger than me ! John 3:17 summed it up for me - God didn't send Jesus to condemn us , but to bring us life ! God is not against us , you , me , or anyone else . God is for us , all of us !!!
So , do I believe that everyone will spend eternity in heaven with God ? I certainly hope so ! But , I do believe that God really did give us a free will , not just an illusion of one . Because of that freedom to choose there is one thing that I believe our all powerful God can not do - He can not make us love Him . If we make an informed decision to reject His love , He does honor our freedom of choice and gives us what we want - separation from Him - hell .
I choose life !
next post - So what now ?
There is a precedence for God choosing some people to be His own- the Israelites of the Old Testament, and others not- the neighboring countries.
ReplyDeleteAlso, what do you do with Romans 9:11 and 14-16 which addresses whether God is just or not in the context of choosing Jacob over Esau? Also vs. 16 is pretty clear on whether it depends on our desire or effort or if it depends on God's mercy.
A concern is whether we answer the question to the blog heading 'Are we better than God? by saying 'no' and then endorsing a theology that says 'yes' because we become the determiners of our own salvation.
Garth
Garth , thank you for your thoughtful comment ! You bring up some important points. Especially , " are we the determiners of our own salvation ? " I believe that there are essentially two ways to read the Bible . One way sees God's sovereignty as the overarching principle . This tends to lead to a Calvinistic view of scripture . The other way sees God's love for all of His creation as the overarching principle . This way of reading scripture tends to reveal a God who is ultimately generous with His love and grace ! Now we see a God who never chose one to the exclusion of another . For example , with the Israelites , see II Chronicles 6 :32&33 . The passages in Roman's 9 concerning Jacob and Esau were not about God choosing Jacob for salvation and Esau not . Instead we see God turning upside down the man-made practice of that time of the oldest son inheriting everything . And then from a Calvinist point of view what do we do with John 3:16&17 and II Peter 3:9 and I Timothy 2:4-6 and etc. To answer the concern " do we become the determiners of our own salvation ? " . Not anymore than a man who has fallen overboard can determine that the life rope be thrown to him ! He can only determine to take hold of it once it has been thrown to him !
ReplyDeleteJoe