Can Calvinism Answer the Problem of Evil? (w/ Tyler Vela) (Ep. #154)

It's commonly said that Calvinism makes the problem of evil even worse for Christians. In this interview, I talk with Tyler Vela about Calvinistic answers to the problem of evil, common defenses such as free-will, and more!

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Timestamps:
0:00 Intro
2:20 The Problem of Evil from a Calvinist Perspective
15:07 Human Freedom and the Problem of Evil
43:05 Problem of Hell & Calvinism
1:01:36 Why Would God Create This World?
1:08:28 Conclusion

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[grahamneville]

Read Job, he knew.

11 Then came there unto him all his brethren, and all his sisters, and all they that had been of his acquaintance before, and did eat bread with him in his house: and they bemoaned him, and comforted him over all the evil that the Lord had brought upon him: every man also gave him a piece of money, and every one an earring of gold.

This evil included murder, theft, plus the death of his children. Last time i checked murder and stealing are sinful and Jehovah brought it all to pass. Job also did not blame Satan for any of his

[quad]

Doesn't God have libertarian free will though? Since he could have made a world different from this one.

[arthur]

Zac @ ~17:42: Zac, granting for argument the unspoken implied premise (which we deny) in the question, is it better for mere creatures to choose than to be determined (by God), or is it better for their Creator to choose than to be determined (by his creatures)? Explanation: IF God does not determine which of his creatures he will eternally punish in Gehenna, for instance, THEN his creatures determine God, who by his own immutable nature cannot fail to destroy all moral evil eternally, to eternally destroy them in Gehenna by refusing to repent. Etc.

IOW, is it objectively better for the Greatest Conceivable Being to choose or be determined by his mere contingent **morally-evil** creatures, or better that his mere contingent **morally-evil** creatures choose or be determined by their good Maximally-Great Creator and Sustainer? Is "being determined" a "greater-making" property, or a "lesser-making" property, Zac? How about "determining"? Is it a greater-making or lesser-making attribute? How about "choosing"? Who's the better "determiner", the good God or evil creatures?

I submit that the answers to the questions above are obvious and reveal a "problem" in those who raise the original question, namely, in this matter they are not "(loving) the LORD their God with all their heart, all their mind, all their soul, and all their strength" (GC1), if they both hate determinism and yet still want mere contingent EVIL creatures to determine their Lord and their God. By definition then, those who hold to LFW or indeterminism (which is really want God to be less great and mere human creatures to be greater. What does this tell us about them, if they want to both exalt themselves against God and to debase him?

Note, Zac, lest you or those who ask the original question be offended or discouraged, all even regenerate Christians continue to sin against the Lord in the Flesh - though we obviously shouldn't. We are all much worse than we think we are in the Flesh. In this life, we all remain partially enemies of God by nature (in the Flesh) and lovers of God by nature (in the Spirit).

[Galatians 5:16-17 NASB20] "[16] But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. [17] For the desire of the flesh is against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, in order to keep you from doing whatever you want."

Our righteousness before God is (for now) only a DECLARED forensic righteousness through grace by virtue of our trust in the Lord Jesus Christ as Saviour (who alone among men is both innocent and righteous in the Flesh, and therefore alone among men can save us), AND NOT ACTUAL righteousness OF OUR OWN in the Flesh.

[Philippians 3:9 NASB20] "[9] and may be found in Him, **not having a righteousness of my own** derived from [the] Law, **but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which [comes] from God on the basis of faith**, "

It is only the grace and kindness of our God and Father toward us that restrains him from revealing to us in one instant all of our wickedness toward him in the Flesh. It would be too much for us - we could not bear it. Therefore, he reveals it to us a little bit at a time throughout our lifetime and requires us to die to the little bit of our evil he has revealed to us when he reveals it. He knows our frame, that we are dust.

Well done, Tyler! Thanks for having Tyler on, Zac. God Bless You Both and Yours. Amen.

TL/DR <><

[lawrencestanley]

As of 9:02, just a kind word of constructive criticism on public speaking, unless you are making a simile, please avoid the use of the word, "like."

[lawrencestanley]

The simple answer to this often cited “Problem of Evil” is that God ordains the existence of evil because He has a morally sufficient reason to do so – He has a plan for it.

[ravissary]

All I have to say is... OOF

This didn't age well.