Ah, the age old question: how in the world can the sovereignty of God possibly be reconciled with the free will of man. From this question flows many implications and schools of thought. The most obvious of these would be the Calvinism vs. Arminianism debate that has been raging since the time of the reformation. With this debate comes questions such as, "How does God 'elect'"? "What role does his foreknowledge play in election"? "Does man have a free choice in salvation"? "Does God predetermine who would be saved and those who would be damned"? And the list goes on and on.
How does this "election" take place? Did God capriciously choose some people for heaven and others for hell before the beginning of time, like the Calvinist say? Or did God choose people by looking into the future to see who would freely choose him, as classical Arminianism states? Or, even more, is Christ the "elect" and anyone found in him by virtue is also the elect?
There is one system of thought that I have come to respect and am almost ready to accept. This system of thought is called Molinism. Molinism goes as such:
--God's natural knowledge. (includes necessities and possibilities ex: what could be)
--God's middle knowledge (including counterfactuals ex: what would be in "any fully specified, freedom-permitting set of circumstances" quote from William Lane Craig)
--God's decree to create the universe (decision of actualization)
--God's free knowledge (reality of the actual universe)
It is important to note that these are not chronological steps of progression rather they are logical steps of progression. God has had the fullness of all knowledge from eternity.
Most all Christians accept the two classical realms of free and natural knowledge. Molinism is unique in that it affirms the additional realm of middle knowledge. Middle knowledge is not something that is foreign to the Scriptures. "And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? You will be brought down to Hades. For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day" (Matt. 11.23). In this we find that Jesus possessed the knowledge of counterfactuals or what would have been in a different set of circumstances. Other passages that affirm this fact are 1 Samuel 23:6-10, Matthew 17:27, and John 21:6. In order for the knowledge of counterfactuals to actually be considered middle knowledge it has to come logically prior to the creation decree. It makes logical sense that this knowledge should come prior to the decree of creation. The logical progression goes from knowledge of what could be to knowledge of what would be then to the knowledge of what will be. This progression just seems to fit the natural laws of logic in this type of progression. Therefore, there is good reasons to believe that God indeed does possess the knowledge of counterfactuals that can be considered middle knowledge by virtue of it's logical place before the decree of creation. It, therefore, follows that God "consulted" his middle knowledge to "inform" his decree of creation. This would, therefore, solve the problem of divine foreknowledge and human free will. Another facet of Molinism is that God, through his middle knowledge, has "elected" only those who would have freely chosen him in any possible world. The lost are the souls who do not accept the call of the Spirit of God in this world are the souls who would not accept this call in any possible circumstance in any possible world. This, to me, simply makes logical sense. If, people do not accept the call to salvation in this world, they would not accept it in any other world.
While, this system of thought is difficult to understand at times, I believe that it makes sense of the seeming contradiction between divine foreknowledge and human free will along with the divine election of the saints.
Friday, June 13, 2008
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8 comments:
Here is another line of thought to consider: Must God create the best possible world of all the choices he consulted with his middle knowledge? That also forces us to consider what would be the best of those possible worlds. I have always considered the balance of the saved vs. lost to be an important factor in that decision.
Yea, I would say that's probably true. It makes sense that God would use his middle knowledge to create the best of all possible worlds, not necessarily by the number of saved compared to lost, although this is very possible indeed. In my thinking the best of all possible worlds is a world in which God is most glorified, which could come through a number of different means which definitely could include the maximum number of people being shown mercy.
Hi Josh & Neal,
Hum... If there is one and only one best world, then God had to create it. But doesn't that mean God didn't have free will? I prefer to think there were many equally good options for God to choose from.
Josh, great post on Molinism!
God be with you,
Dan
You've got a great point Dan. Still I would hold to the "best of all possible worlds". I do indeed think that God has a free will, but to me his nature would "force" him, if you will, to create the best of all possible worlds. This is much like the fact that, although God has free will, he cannot sin because his nature does not allow him to.
Josh
Dear Josh,
The expression "best of all possible worlds" itself seems problematic. If God cannot create the other worlds, are they possible?
As for God's not being able to sin, I don't think there are possible worlds in which God sins. Unless we say such worlds are impossible, we must either sacrifice omnipotence or omnibenevolence. Similarly, just as worlds in which God sins are impossible, so to "worse" worlds are impossible. Both imply imperfections in God, which are logically impossible.
God be with you,
Dan
Interesting thinking... I would like to 'chat' in person on this if you don't mind. Shoot me a line and let's try to get together while you're in Nor Cal.
Interestingly enough I am not convinced any longer that there is a "best possible world."
Middle Knowledge, lol
Leibniz, lol
BPW, lol
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