Genesis 3:6-7 When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. [SUP]7 [/SUP]Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.
Adam and Eve were given freewill to choose. God did not choose for Adam and Eve to sin. Man chose. Man was in charge in that particular act, where he and she sinned, God was not in charge of that particular act. Man did it. Not God.
Can God be in control still? Absolutely. In his foreknowledge, in his middle knowledge (knowledge of all the possibilities), God can create man knowing that man would sin. He is in control because he decided to allow all this by fundamentally allowing man to have freewill. He did not have to create us. He decided to create us knowing all this, knowing the outcomes, and as scripture implies, planning for all this. Being in control does not mean God has to do everything. Otherwise, that would mean that God would have to do evil.
God was in control when Adam and Eve existed. And Adam and Eve had free will to choose right or wrong. God said Adam and Eve were good, very good. God's sovereignty was intact. Adam and Eve's free will was intact. Both of these conditions happening at the same time are constantly thought of as impossible by Calvinists. Here is a situation in the bible where that those conditions happened at the same time. It's not impossible for a sovereign God to be sovereign while all of mankind, Adam and Eve, have the free will to choose right or wrong.
Bare minimum, Calvinists have to acknowledge if God knew well enough to allow Adam and Eve (all of mankind) to have free will at some point then that should at bare minimum open up the plausible idea that God can allow all of mankind to have free will again. Armenianism proposes something called prevenient grace. This means that when mankind hears God's word mankind's free-will is restored just as if Adam and Eve's free will was in the Garden of Eden.
One of the strengths of Armenianism is that it can answer all objections. However, I have never met a Calvinist who can answer the Adam and Eve question. I have seen prominent preachers such as Piper respond. In his video response he literally just kept repeating "God was in control in that moment." It's not an untrue answer of course but, obviously that's a terrible answer. It's practically glossing over the question. The question is did God determine/forced Adam and Eve to sin?
I'll answer it. No, God did not determine/forced Adam and Eve to sin. God in his sovereign will allowed them to choose out their own freewill.
P.S. - Classical Armenianism is in agreement with Calvinism in that mankind is totally depraved. However, it is claimed that God's word restores mankind's freewill.
What you'll read below is more so theorizing based off scripture. Please take what is said below as theorizing.
Also, a worthwhile thought, God will have two judgements for people who have listened to the gospel and those who did not listen to the gospel. (Matthew 10:15 Truly I tell you, it will be more bearable for Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town.) So, it's not impossible for the other judgement to have a salvation plan that we do not know of. Jesus Christ is the only way. Merely because he is the only way does not imply that Jesus has not shown himself in some way to people who never heard the gospel. (Romans 1:20 For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities--his eternal power and divine nature--have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.) If Christ is SEEN in what has been made, then there may be a possible hope of salvation for people who never heard the gospel. Also, if prevenient grace is accepted then maybe it's possible that God has liberated all our free-wills by God's invisible qualities being seen. This is just theorizing, but the theorizing is based off scripture. We will see the truth in heaven or I will find more solid evidence.
Adam and Eve were given freewill to choose. God did not choose for Adam and Eve to sin. Man chose. Man was in charge in that particular act, where he and she sinned, God was not in charge of that particular act. Man did it. Not God.
Can God be in control still? Absolutely. In his foreknowledge, in his middle knowledge (knowledge of all the possibilities), God can create man knowing that man would sin. He is in control because he decided to allow all this by fundamentally allowing man to have freewill. He did not have to create us. He decided to create us knowing all this, knowing the outcomes, and as scripture implies, planning for all this. Being in control does not mean God has to do everything. Otherwise, that would mean that God would have to do evil.
God was in control when Adam and Eve existed. And Adam and Eve had free will to choose right or wrong. God said Adam and Eve were good, very good. God's sovereignty was intact. Adam and Eve's free will was intact. Both of these conditions happening at the same time are constantly thought of as impossible by Calvinists. Here is a situation in the bible where that those conditions happened at the same time. It's not impossible for a sovereign God to be sovereign while all of mankind, Adam and Eve, have the free will to choose right or wrong.
Bare minimum, Calvinists have to acknowledge if God knew well enough to allow Adam and Eve (all of mankind) to have free will at some point then that should at bare minimum open up the plausible idea that God can allow all of mankind to have free will again. Armenianism proposes something called prevenient grace. This means that when mankind hears God's word mankind's free-will is restored just as if Adam and Eve's free will was in the Garden of Eden.
One of the strengths of Armenianism is that it can answer all objections. However, I have never met a Calvinist who can answer the Adam and Eve question. I have seen prominent preachers such as Piper respond. In his video response he literally just kept repeating "God was in control in that moment." It's not an untrue answer of course but, obviously that's a terrible answer. It's practically glossing over the question. The question is did God determine/forced Adam and Eve to sin?
I'll answer it. No, God did not determine/forced Adam and Eve to sin. God in his sovereign will allowed them to choose out their own freewill.
P.S. - Classical Armenianism is in agreement with Calvinism in that mankind is totally depraved. However, it is claimed that God's word restores mankind's freewill.
What you'll read below is more so theorizing based off scripture. Please take what is said below as theorizing.
Also, a worthwhile thought, God will have two judgements for people who have listened to the gospel and those who did not listen to the gospel. (Matthew 10:15 Truly I tell you, it will be more bearable for Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town.) So, it's not impossible for the other judgement to have a salvation plan that we do not know of. Jesus Christ is the only way. Merely because he is the only way does not imply that Jesus has not shown himself in some way to people who never heard the gospel. (Romans 1:20 For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities--his eternal power and divine nature--have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.) If Christ is SEEN in what has been made, then there may be a possible hope of salvation for people who never heard the gospel. Also, if prevenient grace is accepted then maybe it's possible that God has liberated all our free-wills by God's invisible qualities being seen. This is just theorizing, but the theorizing is based off scripture. We will see the truth in heaven or I will find more solid evidence.
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