Predestination

There is a belief that God works all things in invisible and unknowable ways. Some call this belief predestination. I laugh at such an attempt to label it. It is those who put this label on the actions of a sovereign God on our behalf who are in error. They are obsecessed with the speck of fatalism when they do not see their own log. Free will and choice do not solve fatalism. The choices and the events of history move out of God's hands and into man's. Our fate does not lie in the infinite wisdom and goodness of God but in the hands of our sinful selfs and many times other sinful men. No man is an island. Our fate, in part, comes from the actions of other people. It is subject to the free choice of another man. It is by this that wars are started. Jobs are lost. People drink and drive. People commit crimes. People ruin lives. People lie, cheat, steal from others. The actions of people are causes the worst evils. Our fate is not commited to a person with infinite goodness to work on our behalf in ways unknown but to one who is fallen. If God cannot help in these things, where is God?

Now let us look at predestination for a sec. It is really God's absolute sovereignty as seen in the future. I must admit predestination has one problem. It become the worst monster if God was not all good. If there be but a shadow of evil, even the smallest part. God turns into a white whale. He works evil towards us. I would hate predestination if God be 99.999% good and .001% evil. I would hate God for it also despite being 99.999% good.

It is from this vantage point that we see predestination is always attacked by attacking God's goodness. They bring up the Old testament with its sanctioned genocide and slavery. Or they can just bring up the evils everyday life. It is as if they believe that the small strand keeping them out of hell already, is not grace. What is hell anyway but the genocide of all unbelievers. What is hell but the chaining up of unbelievers? They attack God and say that God is good but not all Good. This is unbelief. They expect they can get away chipping just enough off to discredit predestination.

It is with this I take issue. It is to make Him less than holy. It is to make him less than good. It is to make Him less than God. I only want my God to be all powerful on my behalf, even in my own choices and the choices of others. I cannot see this happening without accepting some form of predestination. Do I dwell on the predestination then? Never, I dwell on a mighty God, mighty to do good, mighty to save. All on my behalf with an invisible hand. It is too high for us to understand. It is too wonderful for us to know. Job 42 and Psalms 139 put it in the right perspective.

American christianity

We have historically been the most God-fearing nation. The revolutionary war even had many religious overtones. It seems we are now losing that base set down. We have already moved past the Christianity they believed. Yet, never so far. It is entrenched in our folk religion. We still pray for pastors to be effective. Not at being a good orator, but we pray for the holy spirit. This is distinct from most other christianity. It is as if we still believe that God is required to act in conversion. While, the official doctrine says man must act. It is in this belief in which we see that God is the one who opens hearts and eyes to save. Man does not open them.

There is hope yet that God has a place in our society and in our lives as the only sovereign. What evangelism denies in belief has been entrenched by the grace of God. It may take one to become a missionary or evangelist to see it but God still acts in mighty ways. The churches that aught to see this truth do not send out missionaries who bring the truth back with them. They send out a social gospel that is nothing but an invitation to a group hug. Let us waken them to the belief the God works all things. Let us show them his mighty works. Especially in his sovereignty