Free Will, Moral Responsibility, and Reformed Theology - Analytic ...
Free Will, Moral Responsibility, and Reformed Theology - Analytic ... Free Will, Moral Responsibility, and Reformed Theology - Analytic ...
22 Paul L. Manata © 2011 powerful bounding, and otherwise ordering, and governing of them, in a manifold dispensation, to his own holy ends; yet so, as the sinfulness thereof proceedeth only from the creature, and not from God, who, being most holy and righteous, neither is nor can be the author or approver of sin. The Westminster Larger Catechism agrees when it asks and answers this question: Q. 12. What are the decrees of God? A. God's decrees are the wise, free, and holy acts of the counsel of his will, whereby, from all eternity, he hath, for his own glory, unchangeably foreordained whatsoever comes to pass in time, especially concerning angels and men. And similarly with respect to providence: Q. 18. What are God's works of providence? A. God's works of providence are his most holy, wise, and powerful preserving and governing all his creatures; ordering them, and all their actions, to his own glory. 28 The 1689 London Baptist Confession is almost word-‐for-‐word identical with the WCF on these topics. Other Reformed confessions, like the Three Forms of Unity, focus more on God’s decree and providence as it relates to salvation. In these areas, they make the same claims about their narrower subject matter as the 28 Westminster Confession of Faith and Catechisms (1788) available at , last accessed 7/2/11.
23 Paul L. Manata © 2011 above confessions and catechisms do about their broader subject matter. Indeed, generally the Reformed tradition has treated issues of salvation as a subset of things addressed by RT. Michael Horton, who confesses the Three Forms of Unity, agrees with Turretin that God’s “predetermination” extends “to all human decisions and actions.” Horton continues, “Foremost, the Scriptures clearly attribute God’s superintendence to all creaturely affairs and not simply matters pertaining to salvation.” 29 Moreover, R. Scott Clark, regarded expert on early Reformed orthodoxy, writes that the authors of the broad Reformed tradition “confess that . . . nothing occurs outside [God’s] decree.” 30 So, there is good precedent say that the Reformed confessions I did not cite would agree with the Reformed confessions that I did cite on this topic. Therefore, what I have cited above is universally confessed by a broad Reformed tradition. From the above we can draw out some basic points. We note that whatever happens, God has decreed that it happen and his decree is grounded in his will. We note that the decree is “settled,” it is “unchangeable.” We note that God does not decree anything because he saw it as future or because he knows a set of truths about what free creatures would do in certain conditions (which rules out systems like Molinism 31 ). For God to know anything that occurs all he needs 29 Michael Horton, The Christian Faith: A Systematic Theology for Pilgrims on the Way (Zondervan, 2011), p. 358. 30 R. Scott Clark, Recovering the Reformed Confession: Our Theology, Piety, and Practice (P&R, 2008), p. 202. 31 Molinism is a view about how God can have a strong degree of providential control over the world while also allowing humans to have libertarian free will. He can through his “middle knowledge” (something the Reformed tradition rejects) of what all possible people would freely do in any circumstance. He then creates a world with the exact circumstances he needs to bring about his plan. This is the footnote version of an issue that has generated thousands of pages of literature, e.g., see, Thomas Flint, Divine Providence: The Molinist Account (Cornell University Press, 2006); W. L. Craig, The Only Wise God: The Compatibility of Divine Foreknowledge and
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22<br />
Paul L. Manata © 2011<br />
powerful bounding, <strong>and</strong> otherwise ordering, <strong>and</strong> governing of them, in a<br />
manifold dispensation, to his own holy ends; yet so, as the sinfulness<br />
thereof proceedeth only from the creature, <strong>and</strong> not from God, who, being<br />
most holy <strong>and</strong> righteous, neither is nor can be the author or approver of<br />
sin.<br />
The Westminster Larger Catechism agrees when it asks <strong>and</strong> answers this<br />
question:<br />
Q. 12. What are the decrees of God?<br />
A. God's decrees are the wise, free, <strong>and</strong> holy acts of the counsel of his will,<br />
whereby, from all eternity, he hath, for his own glory, unchangeably<br />
foreordained whatsoever comes to pass in time, especially concerning<br />
angels <strong>and</strong> men.<br />
And similarly with respect to providence:<br />
Q. 18. What are God's works of providence?<br />
A. God's works of providence are his most holy, wise, <strong>and</strong> powerful<br />
preserving <strong>and</strong> governing all his creatures; ordering them, <strong>and</strong> all their<br />
actions, to his own glory. 28<br />
The 1689 London Baptist Confession is almost word-‐for-‐word identical with the<br />
WCF on these topics. Other <strong>Reformed</strong> confessions, like the Three Forms of Unity,<br />
focus more on God’s decree <strong>and</strong> providence as it relates to salvation. In these<br />
areas, they make the same claims about their narrower subject matter as the<br />
28 Westminster Confession of Faith <strong>and</strong> Catechisms (1788) available at<br />
, last accessed 7/2/11.
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