The Highway Forums General Discussion Theology Discussion Forum Is compatibilism the only true Calvinist response?

God is comprehensively in control of the world, accomplishing purposes that he has determined in eternity. Because his will is always accomplished, it is evident that God’s creatures (human and angelic) do not have libertarian freedom. This is a compatibilist account that affirms both meticulous providence and human freedom of a spontaneous or voluntary kind. This model is less certain than the traditional Calvinist model that God is absolutely timeless because of a concern that such a concept may not do justice to God’s highly relational personal being. In a significant sense, God is not only determining human history, he is responding to his creatures within it. This divine responsiveness is facilitated by God’s knowledge of how creatures would act in particular circumstances (so called ‘middle knowledge’). God not only knows the actual future, he has determined that future. But in order to do this, God needed to know how his creatures would respond to situations, including their response to his own persuasions or actions. God can know this because his creatures are not libertarianly free and he must know this in order to plan how he will act to bring about his purposes. With simple foreknowledge God would know the future but would be unable to do anything about it. With ‘middle knowledge’ God is able to plan and then to accomplish his plan without violating the responsible freedom he has given to his creatures.