Our All Knowing God - by Jack Kelley

Calvinism is... probably a thread all of its own. I have a video to post that I think you'll appreciate - because it is critical of Calvinism not even on Biblical grounds, but on logic alone.
Now, obviously Calvinism is false on Biblical grounds too, but this video takes the interpretation factors out of the equation just by examining that doctrine on its own terms. It's very well done.


So... keep an eye out, I'll post that video in a minute.

With that said...
Predestination is a Biblical concept. There's no getting around that. The question is... how are we determined? There are two main lines of thought on this:

SOFT DETERMINISM is the belief that God chooses man, but man likewise chooses God - the two are compatible and in no way conflict with one another. This means that God's foreknowledge and man's choice are concurrent, equally valid, and in many respects, require one another in order to work. Thus salvation is as much dependent upon man's response as it is upon God's calling; without any one part, the salvation of the man cannot occur.

HARD DETERMINISM is where Calvinism falls - this view teaches that God's predestination and foreknowledge are supreme, and everything else is irrelevant. Man does not choose God; God chooses man, and man responds afterward accordingly. This is why Calvinists teach the "I" in "TULIP" - Irresistible Grace. They believe that God's calling cannot be resisted, and therefore only those whom God has chosen are saved. The difficulty with this view is that nobody KNOWS if they're called or not, under these terms - and therefore there is no assurance of salvation. "What if I'm not chosen? What if I fall away? What if I was never really chosen in the first place?" These are the questions the Calvinist has to answer.


Now... to answer your questions... yes, God did know who would choose Him. This is an essential part of God's being, that He is omniscient, knowing all things. As far as creating humans who wouldn't, well... there are hints of an answer in Scripture, but personally I don't believe we'll know the full truth of this one until we see His face. My reasoning on this front is because I feel that whatever it is that limits us from seeing God as He is, is the same reason why we can't see or understand the full reasoning behind God's choices in this regard. This is why we get hints, but not a full explanation.

Regardless - the facts are, purely and simply:


1) God knew what would happen, in terms of man's rebellion.
2) God chose to make man regardless.

If we accept each of those things as being true, and accept likewise that:

3) God is good

then logically, we must infer that:

4) God's purpose in #1 and #2 was good.

We can't really answer in full the question why God chose to do things the way that He did. Was it to glorify Himself? Yes, in part. Was it to glorify Christ? Yes, in part. Was it to be both the Creator AND redeemer of man? Yes, in part. Was it for man's own benefit, in making us Sons and heirs with Him? Yes, in part... but I think there's a lot more to that story than what we've been given at this point, and again, because I don't think we're even capable of understanding it right now.

Time will reveal more!