Predestination VS. Free Being
The question is: How is our being determined? Whether or not any specific individual is among the select? Is this determined by an unconditional, unchangeable order of God? Or does God offer salvation to all men, and then give each individual the power to choose for himself whether to accept or reject that offer? Calvinism says that the decision whether or not a particular individual will be saved is entirely up to God, and man cannot influence that decision. Although there is strong evidence stating other wise. Salvation is offered from God to all men, and God's desire is for all men to be saved. If God sincerely wants all people to be saved and wants none to rot in the flames of hell, and if the decision is entirely up to Him (man has no choice), then all people will be saved and none will be lost.
Icon depicting the First Council of Nicaea.
John Calvin
God the Father 16The logical conclusion of unconditional decision must be choice. Yet we know only a few will be saved and most lost (Matt. 7:13-14) [22:14]. Therefore, God does not sincerely want everyone saved, or else man does have a choice.
Calvinists argue that, since God knows everything, He must know all about a person's life, even before he is born. Once God knows a thing, then it is decided and cannot be changed. Therefore, one's eternal destiny is chosen before his is born. He has no choice. This defeats the purpose of sin. If God knew what his people were going to do before they did it he could change their action (since God wants to save all). God also gave man free will. Free will the choice to take their life and do what they wanted with it. Then once judgment day came the person would...