The above is another short podcast from the late Reformed theologian RC Sproul, answering the question: “Do we have freewill?” It is a short but compact, highly nuanced statement that requires quite a bit of unpacking to get to the bottom of it, and identify all the errors in it. The transcript begins as follows:
“God has given us minds and hearts, and he has given us wills. And we exercise that will all the time. We are not robots. Robots don’t have minds. Robots don’t have wills. We are human beings. We make choices. That is why we are in trouble…”
That is a somewhat dishonest presentation of the Calvinistic and Reformed understanding of freewill. Calvinism teaches that although we “freely choose” what we want, our “wants” and desires, which determine our choices (good or bad), have been predetermined by God; which in the final analysis means we have no freewill at all; we are robots. It is a false pretense and a sham, a fake freewill. It is an extremely deceitful and dishonest theology. RC Sproul is perfectly well aware of this, but tries to hide it. He continues:
“I was interviewed for a series of programs that were being presented about Reformed theology, and the person who was running this program asked me what the basic issue was between Augustinian theology or Reformed theology, and historic semi-Pelagianism.”
This is another exercise in subtle deception, by diverting attention from the problem of freewill vs. predestination in the Calvinistic and Reformed theology, to the “Augustinian” issues of the fifth century, which are not directly related to it. Here is an interesting quote from the Wikipedia on the subject of semi-Pelagianism (emphasis added):
“The term ‘semi-Pelagianism,’ a 16th-century coinage, is considered a misnomer by scholars. … The historical theological dispute is also known as the Augustinian controversy. ‘Semi-Pelagianism’ has frequently been used in a pejorative sense. … In more recent times, the word has been used in the Reformed Protestant camp to designate anyone who deviates from what they see as the Augustinian doctrines of sovereignty, original sin and grace: most notably Arminian Protestants and Roman Catholics. Although Calvinist and Lutheran theologies of salvation differ significantly on issues such as the nature of predestination and the salvific role of the sacraments (see means of grace), both branches of historic Protestantism claim the theology of Augustine as a principal influence.” Link
He then continues:
“I said, I think it comes down to a different understanding of freedom, and of free will. I think the principal problem that people have with divine sovereignty, with divine election, …”
Another subtle exercise in deception. He is presupposing, and taking for granted, that the Calvinistic idea of “divine sovereignty,” which it equates with predestination and Unconditional Election, is correct and is not in dispute, which is not the case. The Calvinistic idea of “divine sovereignty,” equating it with predestination and predetermination of all future events, including all future choices and decisions made by man (thus effectively denying human freewill), is very much disputed, and is certainly unbiblical and incorrect. He continues:
“… is immediately they say, ‘Well, we believe that man has free will.’ Well, I don’t know any Augustinian in all of church history who didn’t strongly affirm that we have free will.”
Another subtle exercise in deception—on several fronts. Firstly, the issue is not with the “Augustinian” definition of freewill, but with the Calvinistic one. They are not the same. Secondly, the Calvinistic idea of freewill is a false pretense and a sham, as explained above. It is a fake freewill. It is no freewill at all. It does indeed turn human beings into robots. He continues:
“We are volitional creatures. God has given us minds and hearts, and he has given us wills. And we exercise that will all the time. We make choices every minute of the day, and we choose what we want.”
As predestined and predetermined by God (according to Calvinism); which amounts to a denial of freewill. It is a false pretense and a fake freewill. See above. He continues:
“We choose freely.”
We “choose freely” what God wants us to “want” (according to Calvinism); which is a false pretense and a fake freewill. It is no freewill at all. He continues:
“Nobody is coercing us, putting a gun to our head.”
God is, in his own way, according to their theology. If our choices and decisions are determined by our desires and “wants,” and our desires and “wants” are predetermined by God (which they are, according to his theology), then we are not making real choices and decisions at all. It is worse than someone holding a gun to our head. Somebody with a gun to his head, still has a real choice to make—between being shot in the head, or doing as he is told. He could still choose to be shot in the head, if he thinks that is a better option than doing what he is told. But in the Calvinistic model, there is no real choice at all—if he is predetermined by God to want whatever God wants him to want; and his choices and decisions are determined by those wants. He continues:
“And we are not robots.”
That is exactly what we are—if Calvinism is true—no difference. He continues:
“Robots don’t have minds. Robots don’t have wills. Robots don’t have hearts.”
In a certain sense, they do; except that it has been pre-programmed and predetermined by someone else—which is exactly how it works out in Calvinism—no difference. He continues:
“We are human beings. We make choices. That is why we are in trouble with God. Because the choices that we make in our fallen condition are sinful choices. We choose according to our desires, which are only wicked continuously, the Bible tells us.”
As predetermined by God, according to Calvinism. He continues:
“And that we are, as it were, dead in sin and trespasses; even though biologically we are very much alive. And we are walking according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of air, fulfilling the lusts of the flesh, is what the Bible tells us.”
Not according to the Bible. The Bible teaches that all mankind, believers and unbelievers alike (Christians, Jews, Muslims, Pagans etc.) are capable of doing good or evil, and be rewarded or punished (saved or damned) by God accordingly. Numerous references have been given in previous posts. Here are some highlights:
Acts 10:
34 Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons:
35 But in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him.
That was said of Cornelius, who was not a Christian when he was visited by an angel, who told him that his good deeds and righteous acts were approved and accepted by God, and instructed him to send for Peter. That is what the angel told him:
Acts 10:
3 He saw in a vision evidently about the ninth hour of the day an angel of God coming in to him, and saying unto him, Cornelius.
4 And when he looked on him, he was afraid, and said, What is it, Lord? And he said unto him, Thy prayers and thine alms are come up for a memorial before God.
He was approved of by God for his righteous deeds as a pagan, long before he had become a Christian. And the rest of the Bible says the same thing:
John 5:
28 Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice,
29 And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life [salvation]; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.
Matthew 16:
27 For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works.
2 Corinthians 5:
10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.
Revelation 22:
12 And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.
1 Peter 1:
17 And if ye call on the Father, who without respect of persons judgeth according to every man’s work, pass the time of your sojourning here in fear:
Luke 6:
47 Whosoever cometh to me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them, I will shew you to whom he is like:
48 He is like a man which built an house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock.
49 But he that heareth, and doeth not, is like a man that without a foundation built an house upon the earth; against which the stream did beat vehemently, and immediately it fell; and the ruin of that house was great.
Matthew 7:
21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
Matthew 25:
31 When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:
32 And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:
33 And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.
34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
35 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:
36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.
37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?
38 When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?
39 Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?
40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:
42 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink:
43 I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.
44 Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?
45 Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.
46 And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.
Romans 2:
6 Who will render to every man according to his deeds:
7 To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, eternal life:
8 But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath,
9 Tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew [or Christian] first, and also of the Gentile [or pagan];
10 But glory, honour, and peace, to every man that worketh good, to the Jew [or Christian] first, and also to the Gentile [or pagan]:
11 For there is no respect of persons with God.
12 For as many as have sinned without law shall also perish without law: and as many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law;
13 (For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified.
14 For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves:
15 Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another;)
16 In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel.
Galatians 6:
7 Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.
8 For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.
9 And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.
10 As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.
James 1:
22 But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.
Romans 14:
12 So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.
Ezekiel 18:
20 The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him.
21 But if the wicked will turn from all his sins that he hath committed, and keep all my statutes, and do that which is lawful and right, he shall surely live, he shall not die.
22 All his transgressions that he hath committed, they shall not be mentioned unto him: in his righteousness that he hath done he shall live.
23 Have I any pleasure at all that the wicked should die? saith the Lord God: and not that he should return from his [evil] ways, and live?
24 But when the righteous turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, and doeth according to all the abominations that the wicked man doeth, shall he live? All his righteousness that he hath done shall not be mentioned: in his trespass that he hath trespassed, and in his sin that he hath sinned, in them shall he die.
Ezekiel 33:
10 Therefore, O thou son of man, speak unto the house of Israel; Thus ye speak, saying, If our transgressions and our sins be upon us, and we pine away in them, how should we then live?
11 Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel?
12 Therefore, thou son of man, say unto the children of thy people, The righteousness of the righteous shall not deliver him in the day of his transgression: as for the wickedness of the wicked, he shall not fall thereby in the day that he turneth from his wickedness; neither shall the righteous be able to live for his righteousness in the day that he sinneth.
13 When I shall say to the righteous, that he shall surely live; if he trust to his own righteousness, and commit iniquity, all his righteousnesses shall not be remembered; but for his iniquity that he hath committed, he shall die for it.
14 Again, when I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; if he turn from his sin, and do that which is lawful and right;
15 If the wicked restore the pledge, give again that he had robbed, walk in the statutes of life, without committing iniquity; he shall surely live, he shall not die.
16 None of his sins that he hath committed shall be mentioned unto him: he hath done that which is lawful and right; he shall surely live.
17 Yet the children of thy people say, The way of the Lord is not equal: but as for them, their way is not equal.
18 When the righteous turneth from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, he shall even die thereby.
19 But if the wicked turn from his wickedness, and do that which is lawful and right, he shall live thereby.
20 Yet ye say, The way of the Lord is not equal. O ye house of Israel, I will judge you every one after his ways.
So his Calvinistic theology is wrong on many fronts, not just one or two. He continues:
“And so, the Bible makes it very clear that we are actively involved in making choices for which we are responsible, and which expose us to the judgment of God.”
Except that those “choices” are predetermined by God, according to Calvinism; which makes God a hypocrite for judging them and punishing them for doing what he himself has predestined and predetermined them to do. He continues:
“And yet at the same time, the Bible teaches us that we are enslaved. We are free from coercion, but we don’t have what Augustine called royal liberty. We are not free from ourselves. We are not free from our own sinful inclinations, and our sinful appetites, and our sinful desires. We are slaves to our sinful impulses. That’s what the Bible teaches us again, and again, and again.”
Except that that doesn’t agree with the Bible verses quoted above. He continues:
“The Humanist doctrine of free will, the pagan view of free will, says that man is free not only from coercion, but man is free in the sense that his will is indifferent. It has no predisposition or inclination, bias or bent, towards sin, because the pagan and the Humanist deny the radical character of the Fall.”
Except that he never provides any sources for that statement. It is his own invention. A man’s “will” is not determined by his “inclination, bias, or bent” alone (as he presupposes); but also by a moral conscience which everyone has, which enables him to determine whether a given course of action is morally right or morally wrong, and to act contrary to his “inclination, bias, or bent” if his moral judgement tells him that that would be the wrong thing to do. That is what makes him accountable before the law—not just the law of God, but also the law of man. In his theology, this moral ability in man is completely non-existent; but not so in the Bible. See quotes given above. According to those quotes, all of mankind are capable of doing good or evil, right or wrong; and be rewarded or punished (saved or damned) accordingly. He has obtained all of these wrong ideas from Jonathan Edwards, whom he has fallen for head over heels, and which I have already discussed at length in an earlier blog post which can be seen here. He continues:
“But the Bible teaches us that we are fallen creatures who still choose and make decisions; but we make them in the context of our prison of sin.”
As predetermined by God, according to his theology, which is not biblical. He continues:
“And the only way we can get out of that prison is if God sets us free.”
Unconditionally, according to his theology; which is entirely unbiblical and false. See above.
So the answer to the original question: “What is wrong with this theology?” will have to be, Everything imaginable! It is impossible to think of anything “right” with it, at all! It is heretical and false from start to finish, from the beginning to the end, from top to bottom, sideways, diagonally, vertically, horizontally, back to front, and any other conceivable way or direction you want to look at it. Whether Calvinists will ever be honest enough to acknowledge all of this or not, remains to be seen.
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