[caww]

Have to say I don’t agree with Warfields position. Mainly because God doesn’t need us to validate himself.

Warfields frequent use of the word “imagine” itself is distracting, as well as frequent use of “control”.
Additionally, the whole article presents a negative and distorted view of who God is.

Example: Just in his first two sentences his repetitive use of——

..we are controlled
..we are controlled
..we are controlled

I wonder, do you think this guy is clearly not asking questions rather stating his stance pretty forcefully and surrounding his words with a bunch of fluff to make it palitable. Not for me....

[Forest Keeper]

Additionally, the whole article presents a negative and distorted view of who God is. Example: Just in his first two sentences his repetitive use of—— ..we are controlled ..we are controlled ..we are controlled

I wonder, do you think this guy is clearly not asking questions rather stating his stance pretty forcefully and surrounding his words with a bunch of fluff to make it palatable.

IMO, in this article Warfield is not exploring a new idea that he is considering himself and trying to prove. He is sure of his position. I think he is repeating the "we are controlled" theme in order to seriously introduce what to many readers is a brand new, and very uncomfortable, idea. No one likes to hear "we are controlled", by anyone including God. It goes totally against not only our innate natures, but also against us culturally.

We (Americans) have fought and died for freedom. How can we now accept and want to be controlled? Warfield is putting this right in our faces to deal with, if we will. To accept this we must understand that the sovereignty of God is incomparable to our own political sovereignty. God is sovereign over not only us, but also our enemies. God is in control of EVERYTHING.

I think that part of Warfield's approach is to get us to understand that when we think of being controlled we think of losing something, of having something taken away from us. However, with God in control He already owns everything so there is nothing for Him to take away. Warfield is describing a condition which already exists, he is not proposing that we change somehow by "giving in" or "giving up" (except by personal acceptance of what is already true). And with this new way to see what is already true, we can rest easier and in peace with our God KNOWING that He is in control.