Can I Really Make Free Choices? pt. 3
Last week we discussed how incompatibilism, which affirms man’s uninfluenced free choice, ultimately leads to the image of a madman who chooses things arbitrarily. We now turn to the alternative, compatibilism.Compatibilism is the idea that our choices are influenced by many factors, such as cultural upbringing, character, present situation, and state of mind; we do not make choices in a vacuum. For example, a person (like myself) may be tempted to stop at Starbuck’s; a person who thinks it silly to pay four bucks for a cup of coffee will not be tempted. The choice to stop or not is shaped by internal influences—personal values, upbringing, and a full stomach—and external influences—the existence of Starbuck’s, owning a car, and having only a dollar in one’s pocket. Many influencing factors are beyond our control, but the compatibilist affirms that they are not beyond God’s control.
To compatibilists, man’s free will is not so narrowly defined as to rule out God’s sovereign influence, especially in, but not limited to, salvation. When a Christian prays for an individual’s salvation, he is praying as a compatibilist, asking God to influence the will of that individual. According to theologian D. A. Carson, “Compatibilism is the view that…God is absolutely sovereign but his sovereignty does not in any way mitigate human responsibility; human beings are responsible creatures (i.e., they choose, decide, obey, disobey, believe, rebel, and so forth), but their responsibility never serves to make God absolutely contingent.” In other words, we are free to make choices, we are responsible for the choices we make, but our choices are not necessarily free from God’s sovereign influence.
Compatibilism is soft determinism, but it is not fatalism. Fatalism is the idea that all events are predetermined and our choices don’t matter. The question, “If God knows everything I will do, can I really make free choices?” assumes fatalism. It must be understood that although God knows every choice we will make, we do the choosing and are morally responsible. The Scriptures are full of verses that declare God’s absolute sovereignty (Is. 46:9-10; Ps. 115:3, 135:6; Dan. 4:35; Eph. 1:11). However, the Scripture also affirms that God will hold us responsible for the choices we make.
Some suggest that God chose to limit his sovereignty so mankind could have free will, but there is no verse in the Bible that supports this claim. The idea that mankind is sovereign and God is subordinate to human freedom must be rejected.
The Westminster Confession of 1647 struck, what I believe to be, the right balance: “God from all eternity did, by the most wise and holy counsel of his own will, freely and unchangeably ordain whatsoever comes to pass; yet so as thereby neither is God the author of sin, nor is violence offered to the will of creatures, nor is the liberty or contingency of second causes taken away, but rather established.”
Next week we will give Scriptural support for the compatibilist position.
a pdf version of this entry is available here
Labels: free will, sovereignty
posted on Friday, January 26, 2007 |
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