Samuel Wakefield itemized the primary tenets in the Calvinistic scheme of predestination:
- That all things, whether great or small, whether good or evil, whether they relate to the physical or to the moral world, to the history of angels or to the actions of men, were from all eternity firmly and unalterably determined by the immutable decree of God.
- That by this decree ‘some men and angels’ were elected or chosen to everlasting life, and the others foreordained to everlasting death.
- That the decree of election and reprobation is unconditional [U of the TULIP]; God having had no regard to faith, obedience, ‘or any other thing in the creature.’
- That the predestination of moral creatures to everlasting life, or to everlasting death is personal and absolute. They ‘are particularly and unchangeable designed; and their number is so certain and definite that it cannot be either increased or diminished.’
- That the election of some is the sole originating cause of their faith and obedience, and that the reprobation of others is the sole cause of their lack of faith and obedience.
(Wakefield, p 389)
The first bullet item is a comprehensive statement which actually encompasses the other four. It is a variation on the phrasing used in the 1646 Westminster Confession (God from all eternity, did, by the most wise and holy counsel of His own will, freely, and unchangeably ordain whatsoever comes to pass) and the 1689 London Baptist Confession (God hath decreed in himself, from all eternity, by the most wise and holy counsel of His own will, freely and unchangeably, all things, whatsoever comes to pass).
The language of logic can also be used to define predestination by stating the single biconditional expression "A if and only if B" where A = (event happened) and B = (God willed event). Calvinists claim this statement can never be false. In general, a biconditional statement is false when either A is true and B is false or B is true and A is false. But the Calvinist views this particular expression as a tautology (always true) by insisting A and B must both be true or both be false for every conceivable event. This premise defines A and B as having exactly the same meaning. To think otherwise would be to question the sovereignty of God. The Arminian, however, believes God continually permits this biconditional expression to be true or false without compromising His true sovereignty. This means events happened which God did not will and events failed to happen which God did will. One example of either sends Calvinism to the dust bin.
Luther Lee identified one such example in his 1856 volume entitled “Elements of Theology.” He described an Old Testament event in which A is true and B is false based on the pronouncement of God himself.
“The doctrine that God did, by his most wise and holy counsel, ordain whatsoever comes to pass, conflicts with the clearest declarations of his word, in which he denies having made any such universal decree of foreordination. As the decree is claimed to comprehend everything that comes to pass, if it can be shown that God has denied having ordained any one thing [B false] which has actually transpired [A true], the decree will be disproved.
Jer 32:35: ‘They built the high places of Baal, which are in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to cause their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire unto Molech, which I commanded them not, neither came it into my mind that they should do this abomination.’
The clause relied upon in this text, is that in which God asserts that it came not into his mind that they should do that abomination. By this God is not to be understood as denying that he foresaw, or foreknew that they would do it, but simply that he designed, purposed, intended, decreed or ordained that they should do it. Had God, from all eternity, by the most wise and holy counsel of his will, ordained that they should do that thing, he could not say in truth, “neither came it into my mind that they should do this abomination.” Here then, is one thing which came to pass, which God did not ordain; of this we are certain from his own absolute denial.” (Lee, p 153)
The event happened (A is true); God did not will the event (B is false). This should, for those who embrace logic and reason, send Reformed Theology to the dust bin.
(See also Sections 2.1, 2.2, 2.28, 8.14 and 10.18 of Theology Corner)
