God ordained everything (including the sin I suppose), yet he is not the author of sin? This is one of those "curious" things about Calvinism. :)
He appointed the moon for seasons: the sun knoweth his going down
Now that's what I call real science! :)
Works for me. God is the ultimate poet. 8~)
There's a difference between apparent contradiction and actual contradiction. God is sovereign and is in control of His universe, having ordained all that comes to pass. All men are responsible for their own sins.
Those two statements are not contradictory. They co-exist rationally, though apparently paradoxically.
"The secret things belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law." -- Deuteronomy 29:29
Here's an interesting site I just found with lots of thoughts to ponder...
Isaac and Ishmael were both sons of Abraham – but only Isaac was heir to the promises. Jacob and Esau were the twin sons of Isaac – but only Jacob was chosen to carry on the Jewish line. Significantly, in both examples the younger son was chosen, not the older. This reversal of tradition emphasizes God's sovereignty, since no one can say it was the “natural” choice that was made. It was SUPERnatural choice... Mercy is not a matter of fairness, or justice, or deserving. If deserved, it would not be mercy. If merely just, it would not be amazing. If fair, no one could ever be saved. Mercy is undeserved kindness shown to depraved wretches who are headed headlong for hell. What better way to say UNDESERVED than to call it a gift? In His mercy, God does not allow all of fallen humanity to perish.He sovereignly selects those who will be saved, and this is His absolute right as Creator. “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy.” In doing this, He leaves the lost to their choice and the justice they deserve. The saved are brought to a point of choosing Him, and often they do not realize until much later that they were first chosen by Him. This is pure irony: God chooses us, therefore we choose Him, but we cannot know He chooses us until after we have chosen Him.Paul shows that in Israel's history the chosen were divided from the unchosen according to God's sovereign choice (Romans 9:7-13):