Are We Totally Determined?
Personal life plans from God? This is a commonly held view of God's involvement in our lives. It has the appearance of truth, but when we drill down for evidence there is none. In reality, the idea becomes inherently problematic with scripture and the character of God.
The argument suggests that God has written a personal plan, or blueprint, for each of our lives. The application of this so-called blueprint appears to be complete because God has already written the plan. It remains unconvincing because proponents tend to use it in tandem with free will without realizing the contradictions this creates. This plan is often referred to when considering all the good things that happen to us, but never considered when referring to experiences we can’t understand, or painful situations we want to distance ourselves from. According to this plan God is responsible for the person we marry to those who become leaders of the Churches. All these are decided in God's blueprint for each of our lives.
If this personal plan is true, it's impossible to say any decisions can be made independently. And if we focus on all the good things in life, this plan might sound like a reasonable solution, but what do we do with God's statements about free will? What do we do with sickness, accidents, crime, hatefulness, and global pandemics? Bad things happen to good people, and children are murdered in horrible circumstances. If no plumbline is available to test the blueprint it’s not unreasonable to suggest that both the good and the bad, are completely determined by a decision in God's plan.
On the other hand, God goes to great lengths in telling us we have free will, and we’re not slaves. God says that we have a choice to follow him, and we have a choice about where we want to be as his sovereign plan is worked out. So, why do his words and our theology suggest a type of spiritual dualism? Why do so many Christians believe they’re so special that God has mapped out every aspect of their lives? The reason lies in our misappropriation of the language God uses. We take passages of scripture where God is conveying his sovereign plan and make it a personal road map. By doing this we create spiritual dualism at a fundamental level. Free will cannot exist inside a preordained algorithm if God has already written the blueprint. There’s no basis to suggest it can exist because there’s no evidence to describe it. Predetermined free will is an allusion, a false doctrine, and God is a liar. The word itself disqualifies the reality of it. So, in terms of this opinion piece, was I free to write it in the first place?
Why does God say we all come before his judgment seat? Why is humanity judged if God is responsible for writing everything we say and do? God's redemption of mankind only finds a context if humanity is free in the first place. Given that this sovereign plan was created for us to love him, why let us think we have a choice if everything is already decided? Why convey a story of unconditional love and redemption if those going to be saved, are already decided? Unconditional love only applies if we're free of conditions that control the outcome. If God’s plan for each of us has been written, why do we need a saviour? Surely our decision to accept him is determined, according to the plan. If none of this matters we should stop suggesting we have free will. However, this would mean that God does not love us, and the Christian experience is little more than the lies of a condescending bully.
However, the Bible's discourse about God's sovereign plan does not suggest or imply it can be interpreted as a personal roadmap for each individual. The language may appear that way, but if we examine the language, God is conveying a prophetic dialogue in the first person, but the message concerns nations, tribes, and groups not individuals within it. In the same way, he spoke through Moses, that he was leading them to the land flowing with milk and honey, and it sounds like it was meant for those individuals who heard. But those present died in the desert, so who was God speaking to? Was this a plan for each of them? No, God’s sovereign plan should be interpreted through a filter of his foreknowledge of how things will be as if they are, not his control of every detail along the way. The entire point of God creating us was that we might choose to love him of our own free will, therefore free will has to exist with a beginning, and an end (God’s sovereign plan), but humanity must be free if we’re to make any free choices at all. God’s only involvement is working with choices we make along the way, including the good and the bad decisions that often bring pain and suffering. We determine our future, through the choices we make. At this stage, some of you might be struggling with this statement because you think you were chosen personally by God, unfortunately, free will is God’s gift to man and a pillar of salvation. Understanding this truth also provides a conclusive rebuttal to those who might suggest God is a mean God for sending people to hell when in reality, we chose to be separated from God and therefore chose hell over God. This allows God to be sovereign, and humanity to be truly free. So, when I hear of Churches buying land, or buildings, appointing leaders, or solidifying their authority, and then justifying these decisions, by claiming it as part of “God's plan for their Church”, I have little respect for their blaspheming the character of God. And even when things don’t turn out as expected, I never see any display of repentance or change of heart.
About the perverse idea that God causes pain and suffering, for some greater good? Again, this is blasphemy. Narratives about predestination and divine election are often used to support this idea, but predestination and divine election should never be interpreted themselves. Both should be understood through God’s foreknowledge of all that happens. We might consider the type of god this view creates. For instance, a young woman becomes pregnant, and after nine months her baby is born with a serious disability, or worse, dies. Did God know this was going to happen, YES! Did God cause this? NO Was God trying to teach her something? NO. Will God teach her something as a result of this calamity? YES. Was this God’s plan for her life? Absolutely, NO. This is life, and bad things happen to good people.
Personal plan theology is straight out of the playbook of Calvinism, so if you believe in personal life plans, everything you decide, do and say, is determined. No rational or biblical argument is left for having free, will because this view of predestination doesn’t allow it. You’re pre-wired to make every decision you make. And there’s no basis to suggest a personal plan from God is selective, or arbitrary. It doesn’t come with a tick box for what’s in, or not in, the plan. No one can say that any specific decision they ever made, was made by themselves. Teaching the idea of “free will” and a “personal plan” is nonsense, a total contradiction, that places the truth of Christianity under objective scrutiny.
The purpose is to challenge the dualism of this popular belief and question its legitimacy. Most Christians might suggest we have free will, but their words and actions are not always consistent with the claim. This is because many Christians hold a very subjective view about what God does, or doesn't do, in their lives. The position taken by the author is this; God created humanity to be free, and in one single act on the cross, gave humanity the means of choosing life with him. Humanity has total control and absolute freedom about choosing to believe, or not believe. We are not controlled or manipulated by predetermined personal plans, and our lives are not controlled like puppets, under the will of God. No one is predestined or divinely elected, as in being subject to anything beyond their own decision. God’s will, will not overrule our control of the choice. God’s involvement in our lives is far less than we would like to imagine and in terms of The Kingdom of God, we’re not as special as we imagine we are. God doesn’t stop us from getting a job, because he has a better one in mind, he doesn’t manipulate who is rich, and who is poor, or decide who will be sick, and who will be healthy. He doesn’t choose who will be saved, and who will not, and he doesn’t plan bad experiences to teach us valuable lessons, BUT HE DOES KNOW EVERYTHING, from the beginning to the end.
Baptist theologian, Wayne Grudem creates more questions than he does resolutions to this popular belief. He doesn’t address the utter contradiction of personal plan theology. His assessment of personal life plans and predestination do not build from a foundation about the “foreknowledge of God” which appears to be the fundamental flaw in his final analysis. Therefore, his opinion starts by accepting a personal plan exists and works backwards to justify his preconception. This is what many Christians do when justifying the idea. His conclusion does not address the academic contradictions or resolve the difficult experiences of life.
The importance is this; our view of God’s control over our lives has a systemic impact on our view of God, the cross, salvation, grace, freedom, and accountability. It handicaps our responsibility for the decisions we make. In my early days as a Christian, there was little depth in teaching about free will, it wasn’t widely discussed. My view was influenced by those in authority over me. God’s personal life plan for my life and the idea of being "chosen" were regularly conveyed from the pulpit. We love the idea of being chosen because it cuddles our desire to be special, but it’s a false doctrine. As we grow older our view is expanded with experience, and we begin to ask deeper questions and think critically about why what and why we believe.
Does God have a specific individual plan for the life of every Christian? NO! This idea blasphemes God's character and the sanctification process of the Holy Spirit. Biblical support for this is non-existent and emotively driven by manipulating the context of the biblical narrative. That many denominations teach this is unfortunate and religious legalism is a consequence of this blasphemy. It undermines personal responsibility and like all false doctrine, emanates from control. It encourages pride and a lack of responsibility and justifies a sense of self-importance, which leads to idolatry. God has set in motion the beginnings of life, the means of salvation, and the end of all things. Scripture is more consistent and harmonious when interpreted from the standpoint of God’s "foreknowledge of all things". Today Churches, in general, are religious institutions suffering the consequences of their own bad choices, even claiming their existence as an institution is part of God's plan, repentance is of no concern. Christians need to acknowledge that bad choices are ours to own, and our decisions in life are not part of a determined personal plan. However, God works all things together for the good, of those who love him.
