May 21 2001

ARTICLE TOOLS

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Introduction | John Sanders 1 | Chris Hall 1 | Sanders 2 | Hall 2

In response, let me say that I agree that "In Jesus Christ, God has spoken against evil and sin." This is no small agreement! Jesus is God's definitive response to our evil, demonstrating the divine love toward us. I agree that God "allows" evil to occur and that God has "acted against that very same evil." However, you, as a classical theist, and I, as an open theist, disagree on the role of evil in God's plans. Since you believe that God cannot change in any respect, cannot be affected by us in any way, and that God meticulously controls everything that happens, you have to say that every evil that occurs is part of God's plan and that each and every evil is for the good. Given this, I wonder how you can claim that God acted "against" the very evil he ordained in the first place. Do you have a schizophrenic God? According to your view, nothing happens except what God specifically wants to happen, so God never takes risks, and his will is never thwarted in the least detail. Hence, you are forced to deny that God genuinely grieves over our sin (Gen. 6:6) since it makes no sense to say God grieves over what he wanted to occur!

Moreover, if God never responds to us, then you must affirm the doctrines of irresistible grace (we cannot reject God's will) and unconditional election (God chooses those who are saved without responding to anything the saved do). Of course, you may simply appeal ...