In a foreordained universe, where every act is according to God’s plan, why does he become angry when His actors fulfill their roles?
Again the anger of the Lord burned against Israel, and he incited David against them, saying “Go and take a census of Israel and Judah.” (2 Sam 24:1)
We ask why God would be angry with Israel since they were acting according to His will and then, why would he cause David to sin (via the census) and bring further wrath upon the people?
That’s a good question. I guess no one has an answer?
It’s curious though that no one steps up and says God ordains sin. (cf. Palmer, “The Five Points of Calvinism”, pg 103) Flipping the pages back to 25, one finds that “He has foreordained everything – even sin.” Does this not make Him the author of that sin?
Well, according to Merriam Webster’s definition of sin, that would seem to be the case. But how could that be? If God is perfectly holy then I would think he would not even entertain the idea of evil.
That’s why I see God and sin much in the same way that I see light and darkness. Darkness is not a ‘thing’ – it does not a exist – it is a ‘no-thing’. Total sin (if there is such thing) is ‘no-God’ and there are varying shades of ‘sin’ between that and God himself. Man is the one who obstructs God’s light and creates sin.
Oh, but of course God made man so thereby God is the ultimate source of evil. But that is like saying that if I build a car and someone uses it to commit murder I am somehow complicit (something the trial lawyers would love to see proven). Is it no accident that legal analogies and language are so common with discussions of Calvinist thought?