Glenn,
There is a very common Arminian caricature of Calvinism in which certain
events (such as conversion) are independent of all other events, and so
all human attempts to influence the outcome are futile. It would appear
that the authors of the Westminster Confession were well aware of this
misconception when they wrote, "God did...freely and unchangeably ordain
whatsoever comes to pass;...nor is the liberty or contingency of second
causes taken away, but rather established." (See also Eph. 1:11 and Matt.
10:29,30.) In other words, the means are as sure as the ends. Therefore it
seems ironic to me that you in one of your posts portrayed the
Sierpinski's gasket analogy as being supportive of Calvinism. Since it
determines the end independent of the means, it seems to support the
caricature that I mentioned rather than true Calvinism or Arminianism.
Many of the posts on this thread appear to assume that there is a
contradiction between God's foreknowledge and man's freedom. Even I can
know people's *past* decisions without taking their power to decide for
themselves away from them. Since God is outside space-time, it shouldn't
be surprising that He can do the same for future decisions and can
therefore plan accordingly.
Gordon Brown
Department of Mathematics
University of Colorado
Boulder, CO 80309-0395
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