The Reconciliation of Divine Sovereignty and Human Freedom!

Dr. Craig highlights under-appreciated theological concepts that help to resolve this long-debated tension!

This is an extended version of a Short we published a few weeks ago, if you wanted to see the full answer.

We welcome your comments in the Reasonable Faith forums:

[maxsirius]

Dr. Craig has stated previously that the Universe is God(dess)'s clock or timepiece. This is the astrological principle of "as above, so below" and why the saying goes "history doesn't repeat, but it does rhyme" (which explains and maintains Free Will), because it's divine to rhyme with time :-) According to philosopher Christian de Quincey "Precognition is not reading[/knowing] the Future, it's a deeper reading of the Present (moment).", and therefore even God(dess) doesn't have foreknowledge of the Future, but he/she has the deepest possible ability there is to read/know the Present.

[thecloudtherapist]

What I would like Dr Craig to expand on a bit more on Monolism is once God knows how creatures would react to certain circumstances, through his Middle Knowledge, how does Good then go about putting them into those circumstances?

Dr Craig clearly states that God knows how people would react, if he were to place them in a particular circumstance. So how does God do that? What action/force/power/will does God use to make future events come about, once he knows what choice they would have made?

[gybx]

Why do we think God's mode of thought is as limited as ours? What if God has characteristics that we simply cannot explain with our present intellectual capacity? I object when we consider God in anthropomorphic terms and concepts. We can't possibly comprehend the entirety of God.

[superapex]

How does this reconcile the Freedom Man and the Sovereignty of God and why would they need to be 'reconciled' in the first place?!?
Molinism has always been a convoluted answer to a nonexistent problem: the Freedom of Man and the Sovereignty of God have never been antithetical!
But what I really want to know is how does this help me get to Heaven???

[eltonron]

What this is saying, is in the kingdom of God, some will have worshipped by a man made tradition, yet still be eligible for salvation. By the word of Jesus, the whole world he declared grace to, long before the apostles did concerning Christianity. Every knee shall bow. So, in the kingdom of God, blessed sainthood is for those who keep the commandments of God. R. 14:12, 22:14. Was it their choice, God knew would be? If so, it appears Sunday Christianity gets regular, counted least salvation only. Is there any free will choice in there somewhere, at least once one is converted?
It's like God is ssying ahead of time who will get what, as NO mystery, even to the professing, especially to the professing.
Want to see paradise?
Keep the commandments.
Mt. 4:4, 19:17, 22:36-40.
It makes sense, those who don't should admit their counted least fate.

[aminuteforchrist]

How does this play out in judgement? Would God jusge the best of our possible lives, or the one we actually live out? It's unfortunate that God knows that if he placed someone in a different environment they would have been the most devoted person yet by the person living in a different environment remained an atheist. God's placement would still put him in direct involvement, although not entirely, of our outcome.

[introvertedchristian]

"Divine sovereignty" seems to mean different things to different people. So does freedom now that I think about it. Anywho, while Craig preserves a more robust version of divine sovereignty than open theists and simple foreknowledge folks do, it is less robust than the Calvinist view of divine sovereignty since, in Craig's view, God is limited in what he can do by the free will of his creatures. He can't do whatever he pleases, as Psalm 135.6 says he can. He has to work with the cards he has been dealt.

[TheMirabillis]

On Craig's position, there is no human freedom once the World has been created. Everything must “play out” or happen exactly as God saw it in His mind prior to creation. So, if God knew that you would do X, then once the World has been created you do not have the freedom to refrain from doing X. You must do X.
That is NOT Libertarian Free Will.

[michelangelope]

I will explain why reality is eternal. Something exists now therefore something has existed always because from nothing can not be created something. Nothing is absence of existence. I know 100% sure reality is eternal. If the universe is not eternal then what created the universe is eternal and God exists. The universe can not be eternal because logically it is impossible the existence of an infinite number of causes and effects therefore an eternal first uncaused cause that caused the universe must exist. Because God exists could you please consider the possibility that you are wrong? Could God be the perfect living metaphysical entity all is part of, with perfect justice with perfect knowledge with perfect hell and heaven because everything we do we do it to Ourself with perfect karma being Time and Space?. God is not a horror tale to scare and control kids, but rather something infinitely more serious. Humanity destroy God's Creation ignorant of the eternal consequences believing they are going to get away with doing wrong. Would you consider the possibility that your life could be your perfect eternal hell and heaven? God is the perfect mind that experience everything created from self. The universe has an ultimate purpose, which make reality even more amazing. Would you let your innocent and vulnerable children read this forbidden poetry?. My poetry is blasphemous. Listen, I just want peace and justice. I am tired, did you notice my straining effort to try to convince? The war must stop. The hemorrhage must stop. The wound would be dealt with later. The priority is to stop the hemorrhage. Time is running out and lives are lost while I am talking.

[Stowerslemalu]

One way you don't do it is by imposing a philosophical system onto scripture, that scripture doesn't teach like Molinism.

[kravitzn]

Divine compatibilism, exclamation point

[somerandom]

This doesnt fix the problem.
God knowing the future negates any possibility of free choice. If god already knows what you will do, you dont have the ability to choose to do differently.