Is the Sovereign God Actually Free?

Trouble in Paradise - Understanding Orthodoxy by Rethinking ... by Matthew Lyon

Episode notes

Episode 7 —

Christians regularly affirm three things about God:

God is sovereign. God is free. God is love.

But those claims only hold their meaning if we clarify one deeper concept: necessity.

When something happens necessarily, it means it could not have been otherwise. Not unlikely, not difficult, but impossible to be different. Two plus two equals four necessarily. A dropped stone falls necessarily.

This episode asks a simple but far-reaching question: Is God’s willing like that?

To illustrate the issue, imagine two kings.

The first is King Ironlaw. Everything in his kingdom unfolds inevitably from who he is. No one forces him, and nothing compels him. But if you understood his nature perfectly, you could predict every decree ... 

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Keywords
augustineoriginal sinreformedorthodoxyfree willdeterminismGrace Martin LutherEastern OrthodoxyArminian