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To: Dr. Eckleburg
That's an interesting post.

Thank you, I try.

And the concept is, like you said, almost "incomprehensible."

It is beyond our understanding how our free will and God's pre-determining work together. We are too limited to understand it. It's a mystery. Where you guys err is by emphasising the one to the exclusion of the other.

Your error is relatively small, but very significant.

Since you are here, can you explain why Unconditional Election and Irresistable Grace are 2 points and not just a re-statement of the same thing?

SD

2,576 posted on 04/08/2004 6:19:26 AM PDT by SoothingDave
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To: SoothingDave
Where you guys err is by emphasizing the one to the exclusion of the other.

I don't have much time, so I'll quickly respond to this part first and get back to you with your other questions.

Calvinists accept both concepts of "God's sovereign and complete control of His creation" and human "free will" within the constraints that are naturally a part of human existence, i.e. man cannot become invisible; jump off a building and fly away; work his own salvation, etc.

However, a Calvinist does not see these two concepts as equal. Rather, the very acknowledgment of the vastness of God's being necessitates that the concept of God's sovereignty trump everything man knows about existence. It is the motivating reality of all time and space. Accurate words to describe God's complete orchestration of His creation cannot be found in human vocabulary.

"And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you." -- Exodus 3:14.

This is the realization that motivated the Reformation and compelled Augustine, Calvin, Luther, Knox to restate the obvious -- "Salvation is of the Lord" and God's plan of creation was put into place from before the foundation of the world. He has always known the End from the Beginning.

If God is truly omniscient, then reality as God has structured it is not as man understands it in his daily life. The feelings of our unfettered abilities are part of our fallen, human natures.

We struggle to reconcile our grasp of God's sovereignty with our "feelings" of freedom.

And we generally miss the comfort that comes with this understanding.

2,636 posted on 04/08/2004 8:16:24 AM PDT by Dr. Eckleburg (There are very few shades of gray.)
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