Ward, I would phrase that a bit differently, but not much.
I would say, "God has always known who would come to Him, but he knew them in the context of His having given them the power to choose Him." In other words, God's foreknowing is not thoughtLESS, but is thoughtFUL.
God's thoughFUL foreknowledge ALREADY KNEW that God would NEVER create a choiceless humanity. God's thoughtFUL foreknowledge was embued with God's attributes of LOVE and RIGHTEOUSNESS. God foreknew a humanity to whom he had granted the ability to make real, individual free choices.
That means that humans today are capable of making real, true, individual free choices. "Whosoever WILL may come."
As you know, I've never claimed to be a theological scholar. I've tried to make it fairly plain that I'm presenting what I believe and attempting to grasp the concept of what others believes.
So, in my passion and in the intensity of this forum - with it's once posted, always posted attitude - I occasionally find myself tripping over my own words.
I'm the first to admit that the Calvinists can out debate me. After all most of them either do this professionally or have been here on FreeRepublic for months or years. They're so convinced they're the only ones with the truth that they "know" that I'll either leave in frustration or come over to the dark side.
But in their assertion of their superior spiritual intellect and understanding they are gravely mistaken. They seem to believe that scriptural knowledge equates with scriptural authority or scriptural accuracy.
But the reality is that Uncle Screwtape could out debate the best of us. And he is known by many screen names.
This debate has raged among scholars for some 400 years. It will not be settled because Ward Smythe stumbles over his own words.
No will it be settled because the "totally depraved" believe they are scripturally inerrant.